In last week's article, we tackled kitchen shelves in a two-
step process of Decluttering and Reorganizing.
Why bother to store food in baskets and boxes?
These containers serve several purposes.
* They keep everything of one kind together - you'll know
exactly how many of anything you have.
* Little things, like vitamins and vanilla extract, won't get
buried under the bulky ones.
* The containers become a handy pull-out shelf for everything
that's in them. When you clean or look for something, you
need only move one item instead of a dozen little ones. Also,
you use more height of your shelf space with self- contained
boxes.
* And last but not least - the a esthetics. Filling an entire
shelf with matching, labeled containers will give your
kitchen a beautiful, streamlined look. Imagine the pleasure
of opening a cabinet and seeing everything neatly sorted
instead of finding a confused jumble of foods.
And some final hints to maximize the effectiveness of your
new system.
Fill the shelves, but don't force the containers in. You want
them to slide out easily. Don't overstuff the containers
themselves, or else things will fall out every time you
remove one item. If you've got too much to fit into one
container, divide that category into two groups. Store spices
in one container and soup mixes in another, etc.
Cans and jars stack well and stay organized without
containers. The ideal way to store these foods is in a
special shallow pantry shelf that's only one or two cans
deep/high. There are also special cabinet organizers that
attach to the cabinet doors and serve as a small pantry. If
you are remodeling your kitchen, look into these
possibilities.
Those of us who have no plans to make major changes should
stack cans no more than two or three high, with the same
types of cans together or on top of each other. If necessary,
add an extra shelf between widely spaced ones. It's a small
investment for a major improvement! Try to leave `aisles'
between rows of cans so you can see at a glance what's in the
back.
Take our grouping principle one final step father and make a
`baking box'. Find a cardboard box that fits in your cabinets
and is large enough to include all your baking ingredients,
except, of course, foods that need refrigeration. It's worth
having doubles of certain items so you can save steps looking
for the different ingredients involved in cake baking. When
it's time to bake a cake, you can remove the whole box as a
unit and everything will be close at hand. [If you buy
certain items in bulk, like cocoa and coconut, fill small
containers for the box and store the large packages on a
higher shelf.]
Work your way around the kitchen until you've covered
everything. And, as always, when you finish, invite the
family to the exhibition. Explain the new system and where
everything is stored.
And be sure to listen for the compliments!
Some of the information in this article can be found in
"It's About Time" by Nechama Berg and Chaya Levine, Targum
Press.
Readers are invited to ask their specific organizing
questions. Call Chaya Roizy at 02-651-0025 between 9 and 10
p.m. Her services are available in your home, too.
TIPS FROM OUR READERS:
Miriam tells us that she keeps a small supply of ONIONS in
the refrigerator. She says that her eyes never sting when she
peels these. However, she intends to use the swimming goggles
for Pesach when she knows she'll be needing large amounts of
onions and won't have room to refrigerate them.
Nechama shares a tip from her mother-in-law. She advises us
to line the kitchen GARBAGE CAN with two bags at all times.
At garbage disposal time, lift out the inner one partway and
check to see if it has leaked. If it has a hole, simple
remove the outer one together with it. A sure way to keep the
garbage can clean and prevent dripping trails from your
apartment to the garbage bin outside.
Nechama adds that she uses CLEAR NAIL POLISH to seal button
thread after she's sewn on a button. She says it prevents
threads from unraveling. Also good for the ends of shoelaces
which have lost their plastic `hats'. Another tip for
shoelaces of 2-year-olds who love to pull them out - a knot
at each end, bigger than the shoe-hole.
Ruchie uses clear nail polish to protect the shine on
anything that's gold plated - costume jewelry, buttons (to
prevent rust stains in the wash), even decorative zipper
pulls.
And, of course, clear nail polish stops runs in stockings
quickly and effectively.
La Vista - Jerusalem - for the artists amongst us, if
the view from your windows is nothing to stimulate you, do
what Meira Adilman did. Create your own view! Meira painted a
breathtaking scene of a distant horizon right on her dining
room wall and applied decorative wood strips (available by
glaziers and known as leistim) around it to look like
a window frame. It really does give the feeling of endless
expanses. Meira is a professional artist who will be happy to
create the view of your choice. Call her at 02-537-8638.
In other rooms, Meira bought floor-to-ceiling WALLPAPER
MURALS. Large selections can be found in stores that sell
wallpaper, with scenes to fit every wall size and taste, from
gardens, to waterfalls, to mountain ranges, to children's
motifs.
Or do what Shoshana did. She chose a mural of a lovely island
in the middle of a lake. Since it was a very wide picture,
she continued the picture onto the adjoining wall. The bed
that stands in that corner looks almost as if it's about to
float away...
Readers - your ideas are great! Keep them coming!
