Organizing Utensils, Silverware and Such...

In the heat of the moment, that missing vegetable peeler can create chaos in the kitchen. Where is it??? Depending on the amount of humans you have rummaging through your drawers, an occasional organizational clean up of silverware, utensils and kitchen tools is a good project to pursue.

The first step is to remove all your utensils, silverware and odd items (such as cheese graters, measuring cups, etc.) from all your drawers and crocks. You may want to wash the more neglected pieces. If you have a dishwasher, throw them all in!

Next, remove any utensil caddies and compartments. Wash those in hot, soapy water.

Wipe out the inside of all your drawers with a damp rag. If they are really yucky inside, you may want to place some pretty contact paper on them which could give an older area a fresher feeling.

Sort out all like-kind utensils and redistribute in proper places. Our kitchen didn't have a set of slim sliding drawers so my husband surprised me with this portable kitchen island. The size of the drawers are smaller so I had to be a bit creative with how we store our silverware.

There are many ways to organize. I do my smaller utensils by colors. I put the black grip ones on one side of the drawer and the silver ones on the other. This way I can sort through my items quicker than one huge mass of items would allow.

Discard any broken or abandoned parts. Now would also be the time to move those tongs that keep jamming up your drawers. Place a rubber band around them to keep them closed. If you have any bulky duplicates in the lot which are hindering space, put those in a plastic storage container in a closet. When one breaks, check your reserves before purchasing a new one.

If you store some of your utensils in a crock, make sure you include one of each of your favorite pieces. When I went through ours, I found I had two sets of some items and zero whisks. I also had to add in some spatulas that got misplaced along the way.

Our everyday cooking supplies are found in a basket-created drawer underneath our butcher block for easy access. Here is where I store our cheese grater, some measuring cups and spoons, garlic press, sieves, strainers, steamer, garnisher, etc. They are all awkward sizes so this drawer doesn't seem much cleaner but I know that I have washed the basket lining and removed excess items and bulk.

All of our baking supplies are gathered together for convenience in our "baking basket".  It's the place to store our extracts, cupcake tins, nut grinder, pastry dough kneader, cookie cutters, cheesecloth, more measuring cups and spoons, etc. Our other basic baking ingredients are stored like this.

Of course, as you fix one area, your journey often takes you into another! I ended up wiping out my plastic basket which stores my most used small appliances which are the coffee grinder, salad shooter and hand mixer. My drawers feel more orderly when these items are gathered together. How do you store yours?

Once everything is nice and clean, bring over the children and show them the new order of items in hopes that they can help to maintain it. I don't know about you, but there is great satisfaction for me in doing these types of organizational projects! Some things in life are beyond our control, but in our God-given world called "home", we have the power to be creative, change and improve (when we find the time…).

"...the mistress of the household, who ought to remember that cleanliness in the kitchen gives health and happiness to home, whilst economy will immeasurably assist in preserving them…" 

~ Isabella Beeton, The Book of Household Management

You may also be interested in our other (printable) organizational tools: "Good Steward" Record Binder, "Inspirational" Recipe Book, Pantry Labels, Laundry Room Labels, and/or a Baking Basics Jar Set. 

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