How to have open shelving in your kitchen (without daily staging)
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Showing posts with label The Simple Home - Kitchen Ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Simple Home - Kitchen Ideas. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Pure Style Home: Just One Kitchen... A Learning Experience
A woman's greatest ministry flows from her kitchen. That's what I truly believe and so I've always enjoyed peeking into kitchens to get "other" ideas. Lauren, from Pure Style Home just posted this one - which I'm going crazy over that table. Hit the link quick so you can catch the rest of the pictures! Pure Style Home: Just One Kitchen... A Learning Experience
Monday, September 07, 2009
Kitchen and Residential Design: Reader question: What never goes out of style?
I've just been introduced to this very fun and informative kitchen design blog. Paul's readers asked, "What never goes out of style?" Great question. After you go down memory lane looking at these old style kitchens (I've only posted a view of them) see the rest on their blog here.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Lylah's Sun Oven Experiment - Roasting Chicken for Tonight's Dinner - Part 1
Like every other home maker, I'm thinking about every way I can to not only save money.
I know I'm saving money (after the initial investment) by gardening. I also know that I'll be saving money in developing my year long pantry and a new way that I think I'll save money is to use the sun's resources to cook as many meals as I can outside in my new solar oven.
Related Posts
1. Cooking in Lylah's Kitchen
2. Save Money - Cook with a Solar Oven
3. Developing a Year Long Pantry
4. Who isn't Thinking About Saving Money?
5. Saving Money in the Kitchen
6. Part 3 of Lylah's Solar Cooking Experiment
How are you saving money? What tips can you share?
Friday, February 20, 2009
10 Goals for My Kitchen Space
Spring Cleaning started a bit early this year and my kitchen area and pantry have been my first place of 'attack." As I've been re-organizing my pantry - developing a year long, well-equipped one, I decided it'd be good to also write down some of my goals for this year.
1. Monday Menu planning day and Wednesday's is coupon cutting day – allowing room for spontaneity. I always love to visit Laura's Organizing Junkie! Laura uses Mondays to inspire women to menu plan. I’ve recently started employing Google Calendar for my menu planning and I LOVE it.
About eighteen years ago I was a fan of once a month cooking, but weekly menu planning works best for me in this season of my life. Rachel writes about Batch Cooking here.
2. Maintain a well stocked and organized pantry.
3. Keep my linen closet neatly organized.
4. Plan, plant and regularly attend to our vegetable garden and incorporate the produce into meals.
5. Organize my recipes and evaluate my present system. I like what Lindsay has done here.
6. Keep my counter tops (working space) free of unnecessary stuff. De-clutter, de-clutter and do it again is my mantra.
8. Purge old spices and maintain the alphabetized organization. Develop a year long pantry (post coming soon).
9. Create beauty at my family table with colorful and delicious food – to have the display as wonderful as the food and the company around the table.
10. Keep it all simple.
Related Posts
1. Re-Organizing the Pantry - Part One
2. Cooking in Lylah's Kitchen
3. Making Home Peaceful
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Steps to Re-Organizing Your Pantry - Part One
My spring cleaning has gotten off to a big start - I mean a really big start. I've been evaluating and researching my food pantry and have decided that there would be some huge benefits for me to create a year long working pantry.
So, the past month, I've been charting, shopping, couponing, stocking, researching, re-organizing and re-thinking how I do food from my Simple Home Kitchen. I'll post more details about my Simple Home Pantry changes in future posts, but for now, I want to share how important my kitchen is to me.
My kitchen is the heart of my home and it's always been my starting place for spring cleaning and organization. I believe the kitchen is the focal point and that life flows into and out of the kitchen.
My kitchen is my main working station. Everything I need to manage my home and be a good steward as a home maker is centered in my kitchen area.
I know that organizing the kitchen can be a bit overwhelming so here are my Simple Home Living steps to Organizing your kitchen.
Step One
Get out a notebook (used or new) and mark it: Kitchen! Next,take a look around your kitchen. Look at your counter top, refrigerator top, open drawers, cupboards, and look under the sink.
What do you see? Ask yourself:
1. What needs tossed? Old plastics, tefelon pans that are peeling, broken equipment, etc? Well used wooden spoons (which need to be replaced every three months)? Cutting boards - don't use a cutting board that you've cut chicken or other meat on with one you use for salad. You're cross contaminating.
2. What needs cleaned?
3. What needs to be removed - because it isn't necessary or doesn't belong there or because you have too many of them?
4. What needs re-organized? (the knife drawer, cups, plastics)
5. What needs to be in a better spot? Is your counter top cluttered? Is everything on your counter or just what you use on a regular basis? Is your counter top space used effectively? Do you need cabinet organizers or shelves to make better use of space? Does your spice rack need attention?
Step Two
Write it down and start SIMPLE. If you feel overwhelmed, ask a girlfriend to help you out. A few years ago, my daughter Candace came over and re-organized all my cupboards. She had eyes to see things that I couldn't. That boost helped me to continue to make further changes.
In the past, my counter tops were pretty cluttered. My daughter, Jenni, helped me de-clutter the counter tops. In time I enjoyed and realized I worked more efficiency with a simple counter top.
I keep only what I use on a daily basis: French Press coffee press & bean grinder, a red pitcher that holds tools such as spatulas and spoons, and a two tiered Crate n' Barrel wired basket that holds my onions, tomatoes, garlic and other vegges or fruit.
Don't be afraid to make changes.
Do re-structure or re-organize your working station, your cupboards and drawers for the purpose of being productive, making good use of space, and having an efficiently working kitchen. You don't want to waste time looking for something. Remember, your kitchen is the hub of your home.
Start small but start
Maybe you need to begin with a small project like Lindsay's? Or you might need to take an hour or two and overhaul the kitchen cabinets like Laura did.
I did a fifteen minute project to organize all my spices in alphabetical order. That was huge a help for me and time saver.
Think about your different tasks: mixing, cutting and rolling and organize around those tasks. I also created specialized work areas storing my tools near those places that I thought would be most practical. For example, I put all my sharp knives and a cutting board within reach of the area nearest my stove/oven. It made sense for me to chop onions, carrots, celery, kale, potatoes, garlic, etc. to the right of my stove, because most of the time they're headed into a big pot that is on the stove.
The whole idea with kitchen organization is to get to the place where you create sanctuary and have a peaceful Simple Home and not a chaotic one.
I'll post the next set of steps on Wednesday. For now, go seize the moment and do the following:
1. Clean your sink - great principle from FlyLady
2. Make your bed - it's a must to start the day off right.
3. Read your bible - just one section - Proverbs 31:11-12
4. Hug your little ones and read them a little book.
5. Get started back in your kitchen with the above steps.
1. Steps to Create Sanctuary
2. Get Organized for 2008
3. The Simple Home Planner
4. What is The Simple Home
5. Step Two to Reorganize Your Pantry
What I strive for my kitchen to look like.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
sunday special
Since I've been home, I've been working on my kitchen. It's the hub of the home. It's my key serving center and when my kitchen is clean, ordered and functioning according to purpose - I feel much more "centered."
This sale at The Great Indoors caught my eye.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
i remember grandma leary's grilled corn
As a little girl, I loved going to Grandma Leary's summer cottage, out in the country side of Lancaster, PA. One of the things I loved most about those summer days was the home made ice cream and the corn on the cob that was grilled on the BBQ. What sweet little girl memories that I'd like to repeat with my grandkiddos.
As I do some summer fun planning, I thought these corn holders would be fun to use. I'd sure make a memory of the grandkiddos with these.
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Sweet Easter Brunch Dishes
Martha's got her dishes on sale here. I think this pattern would make for a fun Easter Brunch table setting.
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