Kitchen Coordination, Like a Boss

People often say kitchens are the hub of the house, which is true – anyone who’s hosted a party knows most of the guests end up jamming themselves together, cramming eats into their mouths, elbow to elbow, crowded over the dip.

The smaller the kitchen, the more organised one has to be in order to remain efficient.

Not everyone can have a massive kitchen, and that’s okay. The space is primarily used for preparing things to feed yourself and your family, so really, as long as you have a place to refrigerate stuff, cook stuff, and clean stuff, you’re living the dream. The smaller the kitchen, the more organised one has to be in order to remain efficient, so you can reign supreme as Kitchen Queen. Or as Cake Boss. Or whatever. Even if you’re no Master Chef, set up your kitchen as if you wish you were. Looks go a loooong way – after all, with kitchens, it’s what’s outside that counts.

Sleek IKEA high gloss white cabinets with Whirlpool White Ice series appliances.

If a new kitchen is in your midst, consider the excellent range of cabinets by IKEA. Besides being completely customizable for any space, be it large or small, they make an array of product to trick out your cabinets and drawers, so everything has a place. And because IKEA kitchen products are standard in size, oftentimes one can acquire items to retrofit one’s existing IKEA cabinetry (or regular cabinetry!) so keeping your stuff sorted within the drawers is never a hassle again. A person could even change the cabinet doors for a refreshed look – perhaps just the ones on top, or on the bottom – there’s a plethora of possibilities when it comes to IKEA. Everyone knows IKEA is Swedish for common sense. GO GET SOME.

The white cabinets and appliances create a sleek line of vision.

As trends go, white appliances are en vogue for a classic look that feels seamless in all-white kitchen scheme. And unlike the hugely popular stainless steel finishes, which plagued many a home-cook with messy-looking fingerprints and streaks, the WHIRLPOOL WHITE ICE series is easy to keep spotless with a simple wipe, which will allow your kitchen to forever look and feel like the sexy beast it is. You’ll want to go in there and whip up something delicious. Or, just order-in something delicious, and gaze at your sexy beast all the livelong day. All energy-efficient, choose between built-in appliances, or free-standing – either way, your sleek, gorgeous kitchen will be a WIN. But at the end of the day, whether your kitchen is old or new, if you want to max out your kitchen like a boss, here are some other things to consider:

1. If you like a neat, tidy, everything-put-away space, like the one in the magazine you covet so hard? It’s because you can’t see anything behind the doors, so watch out for glass or frosted cabinet fronts – they can be disappointingly showy, and if you’re not a neatnik, you will hate the way your kitchen looks most of the time, but you won’t know why.

2. Set up your space into zones, so you can save steps. I don’t mean, preparations steps or cooking short-cuts, I mean actual physical steps. It’s tiring walking around more than you have to… store your cutting boards near your knives. Stash utensils next to the stove, of course. Arrange your (short supply of) mugs near the coffee maker, and maybe those near the toaster too, like a little breakfast area. Or if you like the look of a long run of countertops, consider stashing your toaster away all together, if it’s not used a lot of the time. And if you’re re-designing your kitchen from scratch, why not opt to store your microwave on a shelf at eye-level, or below the counter, where the kids can easily reach it? Either way, it’s one less massive appliance on your kitchen counter, which can be prime real estate, especially in the smaller kitchen.

Get rid of anything superfluous.

3. Get rid of anything superfluous. This means your electronic cherry-pitter, your avocado caddy, and your travel-sized cappuccino milk foamer. Because, come on. Though, once you’ve pared down the range of your gadgetry, arrange your often-used items in the appropriate spaces at hand, and stash the seldom-used items someplace else – but please resist the urge to line up all those non-essential items, like your air-popping popcorn maker, and your George-Foreman-Fat-Separating-Blah-Blah-Blah machine along the tops of your upper cabinets – it just looks cluttered and awful. (Neither should you use baskets to stash things up there, decorate with dried flowers, nor hang wallpaper boarders that feature chickens of any kind.) It’s not 1989 anymore, so just get over yourself and get modern.

4. Speaking of superfluous, you don’t need 37 mugs, even if you’re the World’s Greatest at All The Things. (And if indeed you are the World’s Greatest, then you should know it already – you don’t need a crappy chipped mug to prove it.) If you don’t love it, and you don’t believe it to be beautiful, then GET RID OF IT. If you have only 3 containers, but 17 lids? Unless you know without a doubt that the 14 missing containers are under your bed or in the back of your minivan, then GIVE UP THE DREAM of thinking things can be any different than they are, and throw some of that stuff away. (And if they’re not BPA-free, then get rid of them anyway. TRUST.)

Re-assess your needs often.

5. Re-assess your needs often. If your kids are over the age of seven, you probably don’t need all those sippy cups anymore… nor the plastic food-catching bibs or other baby-esque stuff rattling around that deep drawer you could be using for other things. Congratulations – you’ve moved past that stage! If babies visit your house regularly, their moms usually bring all the necessary items, so pitch with glee – don’t be sentimental about that plastic Mickey Mouse plate. Perhaps you used to entertain more than you do now, or in different ways… you might not need 18 beer steins anymore. Or that guacamole-and-chips server shaped like a sombrero. And no one needs more than one fondue set – not even if you keep kosher. Think carefully about what you hold onto – chances are, you don’t need any of it. So, whether you have opportunity to have the kitchen of your dreams, or you have only the means to edit the kitchen you have, be a boss – make it work for you the best way you (now) know how.

Happy cooking!!

Kitchen appliances for Jen’s kitchen were sponsored by Whirlpool Appliances and the kitchen cupboards sponsored by IKEA. All other experiences and opinions are my own.