Oh fun. Now my cooking journey can be like my programming journey, where I spend all my time customizing my development environment and no time actually programming.
My problem with most of this is CLEANING. When everything is so exposed, it will all collect much more dust, and in the kitchen specifically - grease. That's why most of the stuff has to be hidden behind a door
Fully agree. The only thing I hate more than dust is dusting. Commercial kitchens don't have to worry about this because everything is being used and washed so much.
Hard agree. Aesthetically shelves can be beautiful, but unless you have a large kitchen where you can locate shelves far away from the stove, the sticky dust is a problem. And if it is that far from the stove, it's probably outside the work triangle and no longer convenient.
Dust and sunlight are the primary reasons for kitchens with open shelves not being really useful in everyday life. They do make a lot of sense in a professional kitchen since everything is used daily and many many times throughout the day (what isn't stays packed away). Open racks also make a lot of sense at restaurants because there are very rarely windows in professional kitchens and even if there are, it's rare and are usually designed by someone new to the business. While open kitchens (=visible to clients) do in fact get more and more popular nowadays, you will actually mention that many oils or spices actually being used are stored either on shelves below or in a separate room and most of the stuff on the walls is more decoration than anything else. I personally get very confused when I see oils stored in direct sunlight at homes, especially in a bottle with clear glass. Oils do not tolerate sunlight at all.
Hard agree. And it's really sad for me personally because I often forget that I own things that I can't see. Contemplating asking my next landlord if I can install glass fronted doors on the cabinets in the kitchen.
I've noticed cabinets are easier to just wipe down any grease build up on the doors. Whereas if it was something like jars on a shelf, I need to wipe down every jar
If your memory is so bad that you can't remember where you put anything, get glass doors for your cabinets. Better than contaminating everything you have in your kitchen.
@@MAGAMAN what are you talking about? Kyle was talking about the floating grease that emanates from food when you're cooking. It attaches to things. He thinks having a cabinet is easier cause he just needs to clean the door of each cabinet as opposed to grease attaching to everything on open shelves.
@@RockyHoward Maga Man is not contradicting kyledavy. He’s also agreeing that cabinets are better. And that if you’re problems with cabinets is not being able to remember have you have, just get glass doors and keep the cabinets instead of open shelves.
Being able to see everything in your pantry (and kitchen in general) is so important. The reason I still want cabinets is because of the dust and grime that can build up if I don't use something on a particular shelf very often. Having the pantry in a pull out drawer feels like a good solution to having it enclosed but still being able to see everything
Here's another thing: Organize your fridge. Keep similar things in similar places. I got fridge organizers for cheese, meat and sauces to keep them in one place. Makes it easier to control what is still left and in the long run prevents you from wasting food because it was tucked away somewhere in the back!
I have a legally blind roommate, I organize the fridge in a certain way so she knows where to find things because there’s a system. Same as when I serve up the plates. Protein is always in the same spot, on the right side of the plate. Veg is lower left quadrant and carbs at the top left. She appreciates this greatly as she doesn’t have to stare at her plate to figure out where things are (she sees maybe 15% of what a normal sighted person does).
Obviously, he is a visual organizer. He likes to be able to see everything. This kitchen would drive me crazy because of the visual clutter. To each his own. Most of the items in my kitchen are in cabinets, which I tend to leave open when I cook. The countertops are mostly clear. Knives are in the knife drawer, spices are in the spice drawer. Even the paper towels are under the sink. As for fridge organization, masking tape and a sharpie marker are my best friends. Every container gets a label with the contents and date. Takes some time to label, but I spend very little time hunting, opening, and sniffing.
@TallyG Exactly, especially if you already know where things are. e.g., fetching a something from a drawer is much easier than trying to pull a knife off a strong magnet, or to get a heavy pan off a hook.
He cooks for a living!! It's completely different than a woman/man who's in the kitchen primarily in the morning then again at dinner time. We don't live in our kitchens! Most of us don't really even cook that much anymore, there's no need to keep everything at the ready on the shelf. It's 2023. Gimme a break.
@@SlimKeith11 I Live in a small house, My dad was amoung other things a chef, the floor space of the house's kitchen is 64 sq feet, with a table sitting in thee middle of that, the kitchen was the center of a lot of our activity, we all cooked together, canned, played games at that table. We never used a food processor, I live here alone now, both my parents have died, each living to 85. I have never stored pans in a drawer though.
Tip 1, Utilizing Shelves. 0:50 Tip 2, Drawer organization. 2:21 Tip 3, Pots and Pans. 3:47 Tip 4, Knife Blocks. 4:54 Tip 5, Cooking Item Essentials. 6:46 Tip 6, Spices. 7:36 Tip 7, Pantry Organization. 9:15 Tip 8, Storage Containers. 9:50 Tip 9, Counter Space. 11:29 Tip 10, Dish Towels. 12:31
Since I moved into a ‘tiny home’ I’ve learnt everything has a place, and every space can have a thing. During lockdown I have ‘finessed’ the layout, building simple shelves, hanging pots & utensils, refining the layout and making things work logically. Now I prefer my tight but organised space, and I’m working on my ‘workflow’ to further refine it.
My pickle with shelves is that the stuff on them has to be cleaned. And it's a pain to have to clean lots of small things that could be on a shelf. This is true in the whole house, but in the kitchen it's much worse, because exposed things tend to get greasy. Even if you "only" have to clean up things every 2nd or 3rd month, washing a thin layer of grease off of 20 jars + any number of cooking appliances is a major pain. My opinion. I like things in cabinets because I'm lazy. It's MUCH easier to clean a cabinet front than all the crap inside of the cabinet. :D Well, after seeing the whole video, it seems you like stuff left out in the open with easy access. Maybe I fry stuff too much, but if I did that, I'd never finish cleaning up grease & dust. :P
I personally am planning on glass fronted shelves...basically shallow cabinets with glass doors...and if I want to be more compact, I'll adopt the same shelving concept that is used in libraries and records rooms... Where you just move one shelf out of the way to access another...or create a series of pull out shelves and have little placards on the visible edge with a list of what's in the shelf...basically... I am also lazy...and what better way to ensure organization, than to ensure that everything has a place that anyone can find...while also keeping it from being exposed to regular dust quantities.
@@BJCMXY There's an idea used for closet decluttering where you hang your hangers from back to front and at the end of a specified time, those still hanging that way are those you get rid of because you hadn't touched them. In a similar way, the jars with the most dust and grease can be put in cabinets or disposed of as infrequently used. If you keep a cleaning towel handy (as most cooks do) you can wipe each jar off as you use it. It only takes a moment and can easily become habit. We did this in the restaurant to cut down on our side work at the end of a shift.
I think this is a very good point. A solution to merge both ends would be to have shelves encased in glass with some glass doors. I wonder if that would look good.
I agree with you. I cook everyday and there is nothing you can do to keep everything clean. I read one opinion about open shelves that I think is logical: only put on shelves things you are going to use EVERYDAY IN EVERY MEAL, so they are going to be washed constantly.
That curved blade knife in your knife block is the "birds beak knife" (named for its shape, not it's function) and is most typically used for peeling fruits/vegetables because it's shape allows you to cut very shallow to avoid wasting any of main part of the fruit/vegetable when you're peeling it.
Are you sure? My dad was an avid fisherman and he used a knife just like that for cleaning fish: gutting and filleting, he used a different kind of knife for scaling.
@@brendancurtin679 he's probably exaggerating but he likely means he has a very small space he feels he can't work with. But that's probably even more reason to try some of these tips because they're very space saving in some ways. And Mike also said you don't need to re do your kitchen if you can't, just make sure it's organized in a way that makes cooking easy.
How about vertical space? You did not mention that. What is it, 2.7m? that's 80cm above your head, 2 and a half feet above your head that you're not using.
Very true! I'd love to have so much kitchen space :D I'm usually thinking about what item can be stacked on what other item, so the "tower" is stable enough...
@@AnimsOnDemand She was exaggerating a bit yeah, but barely :p Apartments in the outer Paris area (aka: you need 1 hour to go to work and it's not a nice place to live) go around 30 euros per sqm. That means 750 euros for 25 sqm / 270 sqft. No matter how amazing you are at organizing yourself, you will never manage to fit a stand mixer or anything fancy in such a place :p (also I love the "how about vertical space" answers, from people licking the boots of landlords who rent their shitty old lead-painted apartments for 2/3rds of your salary lol. Oh yeah and since it's lead paint, you're not allowed to dig holes in the walls, tough luck)
Note: lots of produce is light-sensitive, e.g. olive oil spoils when exposed to UV light, beans can bleach etc. - you *do* need to have some covered shelf space if, say, you're not using/opening a new bottle of oil every other day
I have a few oil bottles out that are small enough that the oil doesn't go bad, while the larger bottle sits in a rolling cart in a closet that I use as a pantry. Ideally, keep them in the fridge--just like nuts.
A lot of ingredients keep better in a cool, dark place. Keeping things on open shelves exposes them to light and fluctuating temperatures. Also some people find it looks cluttered when everything is on display on shelves and prefer things to be hidden in cupboards.
Yes, I am in constant conflict with family members over how to store things. I want them mostly out of sight, my husband wants everything on the counter where he can see them.
I laughed out loud when he recommended a spice rack. Do I need to keep an eye on my oregano at all times to be inspired? No, I don’t. Perfectly fine to keep spices and dry herbs in a box in a cupboard: you take out the box and go through it, then put it back.
I have a 48 jar spice rack that's on a lazy susan. Keeps them out of the cupboard and in reach, but also lets them stay in their dark little corner since the tops of the jars block a lot of the light.
Very true. I appreciate the tips, some very useful. My children are all grown but I have pets. I do not want to have to clean every item I grab from an open shelf, such as bowls they have on display. To me, that is very counterproductive. Things in pantry closets closed up for me are less things to clean before using each time, and things that shouldn't be aren't exposed to light :)
My mother was a great cook and loved to entertain. She took a wall in her kitchen and removed the drywall to expose the studs and and put up 'shelves' (2x4's) to create a pantry. Then placed sliding type closet doors over the area to cover it up when needed, but left opened when cooking. Your shelving idea for the mason jars reminded me of her pantry. And you gave me encouragement for my own kitchen because I like to have things handy too that I use a lot, but want things to be neat as well. Organization is the key to achieving both goals. The magnetic knife rack and S hooks on 'towel' rods is what I did, but now I think I have the perfect place for some narrow shelves...whereas the cabinets can be used hide my supplements in baskets! Decluttering does not have to be minimalistic if practical works better. Edit: Looking at other comments, I would not put a bunch of jars on the open shelves but the other things that are already out on the counter to give me more room to work. Eg, who needs a toaster out 24/7? You can just wipe it down when finished using it and put it back on the shelf = less of a cleanup mess.
The only small tip I'd throw in there, in terms of the magnetic knife strip. Space out your knives! - especially if the magnet isn't "firmly gripping/holding" onto your more heavy knives, but maybe just "does the trick", so to speak. I've grabbed a few knives before, and when doing that, I've accidentally bumped one of the other knives and it fell down, cutting me on it's way down.
One of my few fears. 😆 Thanks guys-i've been shopping for a strip, now I'll save up for two. It's amazing the simple stuff you don't think of yourself! Actually, more hesitating than shopping-due to that fear. I have 15 sf TOTAL counter space, half of which holds coffeepot, toaster, spoons, etc. I will be happy to get rid of stupid knife block. I thought it was illegal or something.
As a broke college student, instead of buying clear plastic containers for drawers, I cut up some cardboard boxes and taped the cardboard together to make drawer organizers. Cost nothing, and you could say that it's customized to the drawer! Also, I can just do it again when I move to somewhere new.
A few hints: If you’re storing in cabinets, deep enough to get things lost. Buy some plastic shoe boxes, to organize things into. I have translucent, shoe boxes in the cabinets to sort ingredients, spices for savory food in one, spices for sweets and deserts in another. And I have rack on the outside of the cabinet above the stove, which holds my seven spice grinders. I have grinders with herb and spice blends for different meats and sauces and they are right there so i can put them on searing steaks, or add them to a pan sauce. On knives, the ones I use the most are on the island with the cutting board. I store them in a decorative metal tin. I lined the bottom of the tine with three layers of cardboard to keep the tips form hitting the bottom, and then poured the tin almost full of dry beans. The knives get pushed down into the beans to the handles. They stay in order, and are readily grasped for use. The specialty knives are in a drawer in the island, along with diamond hones, micro planes, egg separators, measuring spoons and cups. If I’m butchering or cutting down large cuts of meat those knives, cleavers or kitchen shears come out when I need them. I’m diabetic so it takes me a while to go through starches such as pasta and grains. I store them in mason jars, and vacuum seal them. The jars are clear and air tight, and in the wide mouth version somewhat square so they store neatly on a shelf. One of the best ways I have to deal with left over soups, stews, and sauces is to purposely make extra, and freeze it for future use in vacuum seal bags. making one cup of a marinara sauce is impossible. Making five quarts, and freezing it in portion sizes works well. And, most of them can be canned in glass jar with a pressure cooker, and stored in the pantry if needed.
@@sleepingroses761most home vacuum sealer systems have adapters to seal wide and standard mouth mason jars. You fill the jar, and add an oxygen absorber, then set the lid on it, before putting the adapter on the neck of the. jar. As the vacuum system runs it evacuates the jar, and when you release the vacuum system, the lid stays in place sealed by the vacuum suction. There are videos on RU-vid, showing the process and equipment. Just remember it doesn’t sterilize like pressure canning, and only use it for shelf stable things like dried beans, and pasta.
My husband and I we’re just talking last night about reorganizing our kitchen. I love that you found your style/process, but I hate visual clutter. For me, as little things on the counter and out in the open as possible is better. When my house is visually cluttered I feel bogged down and overwhelmed 😕. Despite that, your video has inspired me to get a move on with the reorganization! 😁😁😁
But everything gets covered in grease and oil from cooking, along with random dust. Cabinets with glass doors are therefore superior. Way easier to clean
Then ur not cooking enough If u only cook once in awhile, u can just stuff things in cupboards Someone cooking even twice a day will be washing things No dust No grease buildup
I agree. Also I prefer the more minimal look with most stuff hidden behind cupboard doors. I don't want all pans and things on show, it looks too cluttered that way.
This actually made me feel better about my current set up. I've been watching some 50's kitchen design ads. They really took everything into account. Keeping most used items in easy to reach locations. Containers you can actually fit measuring cups in. The kitchen is really just another tool for cooking when done right.
Did you see the one that had flour dispensers behind the cabinets?😍 *not sure how hard it would be to refill that, though!! Maybe some clever carpenter could design one that swings out for easy access and also detaches for cleaning...
@@hoperules8874 there's a youtube baker that has those flour drawers. Her oven is great too. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-n5BSsciwcog.html
@@holybathook Those are cool, they almost look refrigerated, but the ones from the 1950's scientifically designed kitchen had dispensers behind the upper cabinets and were gravity fed--like mm--I'll see if I can find it or something similar.
Great advice! One thing I would like to add is get rid of all the extra stuff you NEVER use from your kitchen space! I relocated seasonal items to a rack in my garage which is also organized, I got rid of a million extra mugs and cups, utilizing mason jars for drinking glasses as well as storage. I don’t leave small appliances on my small counters, but instead freed up cabinet space to put them in to make my kitchen clean and less cluttered. They’re easily accessible. One day I’ll have a house where I have space to hang my pots and pans and have more pantry space to organize my baking stuff better. (I don’t have a pantry, I have two medium size deep cabinets 😫)
I have a whole collection of mugs, but they don't just sit in the kitchen. I use them for small plants, to hold objects, etc. I rotate them in and out of use as drinkware, thus they always have a place even when they're not hanging above my tea area. :)
Three things I bought recently that really created space and organized my kitchen way better. 1. Baker's rack. I don't bake, but the area to hang pots and pans and the shelves to put my microwave and big bowls really frees up a lot of space. 2. Over the sink dish rack. This frees up so much counter space as you can dry your dishes, cooking utensils, and have all your cleaning products right there to clean up a mess. 3. Magnetic knife strip. I have all shapes and sizes of knives. Where else would I be able to store them, except on a magnetic strip? Great video btw! I like the sliding shelf idea and the expandable utensil tray!
I have little kids and when you showed that picture of the “efficiency shelf” all I could imagine were my kids climbing that thing and making off with all of my stuff to play with somewhere 😂
"Play with it somewhere", lol! So true in my house. Found some chopsticks in the fridge, long lost scissors under the bed, all my pens in a play purse...
uuuuuhhh y'all ever heard about that thing called "raising your kids"? I knew what was a toy and what wasn't. Tell your little shits "no" and kick them out of the kitchen. Happens to millions of kids every day all over the world and they're perfectly fine.
This was my first though! While I have a baby gate to my kitchen, the 2yr old loves helping my wife stir.... so we rarely close it. And when our second starts to crawl... it will be impossible to cook and keep an eye on both.
@@birdgirl8390 Not really applicable to small children like 1-2 year olds or special needs children, were they don't quite understand that they shouldn't play with things like that.
Regarding spices affected by sunlight, use a tinted medicine jar. You've seen them in antique shops, but even McCormick uses them for their vanilla extract, as well as your higher end olive oil companies, and even wine bottles. The tinting of the glass is in fact to protect the contents from UV rays while also allowing view of the remaining contents. Use such a jar, and you can keep your UV-sensitive spices out in the open with the rest of them, though maybe tossing a black cloth over the jar would still be prudent.
A personal example on how i combined tip6 and tip 8: Every so often i buy a pizza kit, just a ready-made pizza dough with a tomato sauce for it. The small glassjar that contains the tomato sauce, instead of throwing away perfectly working glass jars. Now I'm using them to store spices that come in weird bags and also made spice mixes like cinnamon+sugar or onion+garlic. Also work nicely as nice drinking glasses
My local supermarket chain's house brand uses a very standard plastic "sandwich keeper" type of container for their line of sandwich meats. The slices come packed in a vacuum-sealed bag inside the box. After I use up the meat, I keep the boxes because they make the perfect stackable containers for dry goods. I cut the labels off whatever package I'm opening, stick it on one of the boxes, put the contents in a ziploc and that goes into the box. They all stack neatly on top of each other, and the lables make them easy to find. Lots of storage in a small footprint. :)
Containers, baskets, drawer organizers are all game-changers when it comes to organizing the kitchen! You don't want to be digging for anything. Nothing slows me down, and I try to notice if it takes me a little too long to reach an item I'm aiming for. That's the signal that something needs to be rearranged!
I think one thing that alot of people also neglect, would be their knives in general. Keep. Them. Sharp. Nothing demotivates cooking, like a dull knife that won't even slice a tomato. Also, that small knife with a curve in it, is a paring knife, known as a ''tourné knife'', it's mainly used for shaping vegetables into a specific shape, or giving a chef more dexterity when working with smaller ingredients like fennel, potatoes, onions... The works. I hate the thing, but it has its uses.
It’s obvious that Pro Home Cooks is not a professional chef. He has no knowledge of knives or their usage. He goes so far as to say that he’s never used a boning knife except to open a package! He also makes no mention of commercial kitchen design fundamentals like hot zones,cold zones, prep zones, or cleaning zones. These are the essential factors in laying out commercial kitchens, but he appears to lack an understanding of this. He does have some clever tips on storage and he mentions workflow but does not distinguish if he is laying out his design for a single home cook or two+ people. This can make a significant difference. To be fair, this is just a short video, but if he is going to present his message in the right/wrong style that he has chosen, he might want to collaborate with a professional chef or architect.
@@HariSeldon. THIS, I have worked in multiple commercial kitchens (the largest doing 3000 meals a day) and I so miss the organization/flow of a commercial kitchen. It's something that someone can't truly appreciate unless you've worked in one. Trying to be better about implementing the same concepts into my home kitchen
@@HariSeldon. I hear you. Good points. That's a video I'd like to see as well. But he's also giving newbie home cooks an attainable view of the little things to improve without piling on with lecture.
As someone that likes things clean, I don't recommend open concept shelving at all. In fact, the only difference between these are less depth and no door. You'll end up spending more money on cleaning supplies as you notice dust build up as you're opening your jars. There are other ways to organize, and you can always swap out the doors that your cabinets came with for some with glass so you can see inside. It's no easier to access. And open concept shelving is definitely not parent friendly, as kids can now just see exactly what they want AND THEY WILL FIND A WAY TO GET IT AND IT WILL BE A MESS!
Thank you! This goes for the bathroom too it’s so gross to leave MAKEUP and stuff out to be coated in floral spray. (Look it up if you want to ruin your own day 🤮)
There's a reason why professional kitchens don't have open shelving: it's an invitation for bacteria. The reason why pots and pans can hang in the open is because they get sanitised whenever they get heated on the stove or in the oven. But items like plates, bowls, utensils and knives should always be in a closed cabinet or drawer, unless you want to clean them every time you use them. It's funny that many home cooks look down on the knife block, when they were literally created to keep the blade of the knife from being exposed to the open kitchen and attracting bacteria, unlike magnet strips which are basically bacteria magnets.
That was my thoughts too... Cabinet are literally shelves with door... It make sense for a couple of things, like used everyday item (salt, pepper oil etc) to clear more counter space but otherwise.. Not a fan.
@@Clone683 well.. You're always allowed to put up something if you can take it down without a trace. Shelves which are more of a rack for instance, that are resting their weight on the counter can be an option. There's strong double side tape that can be used for some applications instead of making holes with screws.. There are some workaround
I worked in a kitchen for a while and omg the tea towel is the most versatile tool in the world. My family always thinks its odd when i get a tea towel out to start cooking but simply having it over your shoulder to quickly wipe off a surface, a knife or pick up something hot is so incredibly useful
Interesting tips. A boning knife is handy for breaking a whole chicken apart or for deboning other cuts of meat, like pork shoulder, when making sausage.
yeah, I use the boning knife a lot, it's a game changers for chicken. I usually only buy whole chickens (it's cheaper when you are trying to buy free range and organic) and break them down into portions. Getting this knife has made this so much faster and efficient.
What about only keeping what you actually use/need. So many kitchens I've seen have pots and pans and utensils and small appliances that get used once then just sit and take up space. A "home cook" will need more variety of equipment, but the vast majority of people could make do with half of what they fill their kitchen with.
When I have most of the stuff out on shelves or hanging from hooks I tend to use them way more often than if they we're in a cabin. But it's true that many people have a lot of spare cookware that they don't use.
I got rid of all my miscellaneous Home Goods cookware and bought one 10-piece Tramontina tri-ply set, a nonstick braiser, 10" and 8" frypan (OXO -- highly rated); and a friend gave me a ceramic-lined cast iron Dutch Oven from Costco. Gave me a ton of room in my pots and pans cabinet. The only thing I miss is having an extra 8-qt. stockpot.
I agree. I have drawers in the garage (my storage) for i.e. a food processor, the stand mixer and the vacuum sealer. I got rid of all the pots, pans, boards, knives etc. that I haven't used in a while. My kitchen is super clean, organized, everything has it's spot and I know there's only stuff in the kitchen that I use at least occasionally. There's nothing that sits there for a year or more and still doesn't get used. I don't have room for that kind of stuff.
I hear that. Growing up we had so many different pots and pans but used the same ones over and over, now that I own my home, we have 3 skillets, 4 pots, 4 pans, and 2 cooking sheets. And I LOVE it
5:46 - it’s a turning knife, basically a modified paring knife, you can use it for some pretty cool delicate stuff, spiralling a tomato and things, never had a use for one but I work with chefs and have asked about the claw looking thingy
It’s also very very useful for peeling. In Europe we don’t necessarily use peelers, we use these small curved knifes instead. Perfect especially for potatoes and apples, the curves makes the peel coke of way easier
You could not have made this at a better time. Yesterday I was thinking about how I was gonna organize my kitchen once I can get more supplies later this month and them BOOM! You drop this awesome video. I just got my first apartment and I'm excited to learn how to cook. Thank you for this!
Oooh! Congrats on your first apartment! I got my first last March and oh my goodness, it’s the greatest feeling to have my own place. Best of luck with yours! :)
My kitchen has always been a terrible mess, and my pantry is full of stuff I don't use. I'm currently moving and this video inspired me to leverage this fresh start to do better.
Great video. My personal preference disagreement: I like knife blocks. But it's because I personally choose, and hand-sharpen my knives with a whetstone to make them absolutely, wicked sharp. It makes it both a comfort to have the edges protected (and in some cases people / pets protected from them), as well for transport for when I go to sharpen them all.
IKEA sells drawer inserts for knifes. Much like a knife block but IMHO a better system because they just have slots for knives, no dedicated slots for specific knives. Plus the knives are off the counter, so more counter space, no dust and dirt and no kids playing with sharp knives.
I agree completely. I sharpen my own knives as well and I don't like having sharp edges out and about where a guest could cut themselves in my kitchen.
I'm a knife block guy as well. I don't have a real argument against a strip, I just prefer them. And you don't need to buy the whole set to get a block.Take a run around a secondhand store and you'll usually find a couple for cheap.
Your tips for shelving and hanging racks gave me the perfect idea for how to use the extra wall space in our new kitchen! Thanks for making this vid, it's super helpful!!! :)
Yeah. I'm definitely adding a hanging rack when I renovate my kitchen. Having them easily accessible but also in place where they can DRY more quickly is so useful!
For christmas dinner this year, I took ALL OF MY STORAGE CONTAINERS WITH LIDS and passed them out. People took home left overs in them and my aunt took home a bag of the rest for her to do the same thing on our next family gathering. I then ordered the deli cups. 100% space saver. Best idea ive ever taken and used. I will use them from now on. Those lids are a tight fit I mean, hello, they keep EGG DROP SOUP IN THEM WITH NO PROBLEM...lol. 100% GAME CHANGER! THat tape on the door in your newer video is something im ordering also, for labeling.
One of my favorite organizational things I've done in my kitchen is to use magnetic strips under the upper cabinets to hold my spices. Many already come with metal lids or you can use jars like yours are in. Great ay to use space that otherwise would be used.
I love the shelving idea, but as many others have stated it presents two problems: dust/grease accumulation and light exposure. Most modern home kitchens are designed to maximize the natural light with lots of windows making this system a challenge. Also, I personally can't stand "clutter" (even when it's well organized and lovely clutter). I have a weird tick where anything out on the counters or lots of small things in the visible eyeline kind of make me feel like everything is too chaotic. Clean lines without "things" around make me feel calmer. BUT, when we remodeled our kitchen we built a lot of these organizing ideas into the cabinetry. I don't have a full walk in pantry closet in my house (older house built in the 80s so it just had a tiny pantry/closet thing) so we replaced that with a giant pantry cabinet that has fold-out shelving (so it's deep but the first layer of shelves swing out like a door allowing you to get the second layer of shelves). And we had a specific cabinet put in with pull out pan/pot drawers and lid organizers. Every drawer/cabinet has pull out/slide out organizational features and it completely changed my cooking game. I do keep my most frequently used spices/oils/etc. on the counter but I'm loving the lazy susan idea for that stuff so I am going to go that route to consolidate them. And I have a giant magent strip on the fridge for knives - I totally agree that this is the best way to store the handful of knives that I'm always using!
One thing that really motivated me to cook more was to buy a really nice one or two Japanese knives that I liked a lot... there is something incredibly satisfying and motivating about a very good knife. I also started with a subscription service like Green Chef. Really good food, and training wheels and less waste if you're only cooking for one or two.
I’ve been debating on a food subscription service. They still holding up? Also I keep seeing different Japanese knives have different complaints. Any recommendations there too? Thanks in advance lol
I love your channel, and your ideas,my husband was a chef at a fancy country club in Los Angeles and he passed away in October, he cooked everything for me when he retired, I was so spoiled and now I have to relearn to cook, and your channel is inspiring to me,thank you for sharing your talents
I love how functional this kitchen is. I think most kitchens are built in designs by people who have no idea how a kitchen should function. I would much prefer to DIY my own storage (and have done as much of that as I can in my teensy rental kitchen)
I love how you prioritize inspiration, something i think everyone disregards in every facet of life and something i find hard to come by but when i see something out like brown sugar makes me feel like making cookies or when i see my paints out on my desk i can just get some water and start painting because the passion to create is there but when its all hidden away and you have to find things you need to create your less likely to create.
The biggest mistake, in my view, is the endless unused counter space in expensive designer home kitchens. Counters, particularly marble and granite, are germ traps and are not good for food preparation. They always seem to end up collecting nick-nacks, photographs, flower vases and, of course, a basket of imitation waxed fruit. The yards and yards of unused counter space in expensive designer kitchens do not contribute to meal preparation. I designed my kitchen to efficiently produce meals from scratch using raw ingredients by filling the counters with commercial food processing equipment. Where I used to purchase sauces and premade ingredients, I now can quickly and efficiently process raw ingredients shortly after they are purchased. Nothing that I know of can process a finely minced mirepoix faster than a Buffalo Chopper. Because of my time constraints I don't have daily blocks of time available so I make a lot of meals in one gallon quantities. After they are cooked I store the food in stainless steel hotel pans. They stack perfectly in the refrigerator. One might contain a salad made from an entire head of lettuce, another may contain chicken marsala, another may contain a pork roast and so on. The salads last from 3 to 4 days and the cooked meats are fine for a week. Tomato sauce, salsa and chili can last longer than a week but the food is usually consumed in less than a week. The raw ingredients are always processed on washable cutting boards. The cutting boards used for raw meat are sized to fit in the dishwasher. This is my kitchen. I designed and built it myself with the concept of utilizing my time in the most efficient manner. In the end, a person's kitchen needs to fit their personal time constraints and not the vision of a clueless mouse clicker pretending to be an expert kitchen designer. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Xb3scYQfF5w.html david
Thank you for the suggestions - we ended up buying a "Lazy Swayze" turntable for oil, salt and pepper right next to the stove and immediately love it. The are also ridiculously cheap and we can put it on the dinner table as-is. 😊
Since I live in a small cabin turned apartments(with zero closets or other storage) I've had to get really creative in my kitchenette sized kitchen with only 1 small upper cabinet, which I keep most food in. My husband brought home a steel industrial stand from his old shop job, so I took the thick cork board off the top frame and mounted that the wall next to my stove and hang all my pots and pans that i can there, even my cast iron ones. I hung 2 shelves between that and the small cabinet for coffee cups, larger spice jars and some flours. I found a small metal shelving thing(which was probably meant for the bathroom) and hung that below the shelves for my smaller spice jars. In the last year, we've gotten a new counter top and base with cabinets and drawers, so that now helps to store cleaning supplies, the drawers are big and deep enough for my mixing bowls, plates, cups, etc., and finally 3 drawers for utensils(instead of them sitting in a cup on the counter!) I bought shelf organizers for under my sink(since this particular cabinetry didn't come with shelving in the cabinet spaces) and a rack the hangs on the inside of the cabinet door for my cutting boards, to maximize more storage space. I also bought a 5 tier, very durable metal stand to put between my fridge and stove. That fits my coffee maker, my glass pitcher of larger cooking utensils, my microwave, baking pans, bigger pots, my giant cast iron skillet and my other various supplies like paper towels and paper plates, etc.. I also purchased a small portable wooden kitchen island, that fit right under the space of my shelving. It has a drawer and a 2 shelf cabinet that I use for things like kitchen towels and other food stuffs, plus my air fryer sits on the top. I can wheel that in and out of the kitchen if/when needed. I also utilize the top of my fridge to hold things i keep out of reach from my youngest child, like my small appliances and knife block, plus keep snacks and breads in an old bussing tote. I think videos like this just give ideas and inspiration for what you can do with your own space. To make it work what's best for you. That's what it's really all about! (side note: if you rent, get your landlord's permission before mounting things to walls, etc. Luckily for me, mine let's me do what I want if it improves the place and it makes my living here more enjoyable)
8:04 spices last way, way more than 2 years lol. In fact they last indefinitely if you keep them dry. While they might lose a bit of flavour over time (especially if their packaging is not airtight) (honestly not noticeable unless the spices are literally years old, in which case you can always just use more lol) they never go bad in the sense that they are unsafe to eat.
I was thinking of having everything hidden if we have a new kitchen as our kitchen now is small and have a lot of things in the open. On second thoughts, I was actually inspired to bake a brownie last night seeing my cassava flour on the shelf! Will keep these in mind! Thank you!
You have to be a bit careful about what containers you use, some ingredients don't like being exposed to light, in which case you'd want to use opaque containers. If you leave adequate space between the items on the shelf and don't have loose items, it should still look nice and neat.
Quick idea for spice storage. It’s often possible to put a spice rack on the inside of cupboard doors. It’s great if you’re limited on space. (Or have tons of spices like me coz I’m a chef)
I cannot even describe how satisfying it is to watch your videos! These organization tips make cooking (and life) wayyy easier & more enjoyable 100%! Sent to my mom who's renovating her kitchen. Cheers!
When I lived with other people, the way it had to be done is tossing dozens of rubberband wrapped bags of random spices in a cabinet. Once I moved out and away for university, I went back to an aesthetic I liked in the cooking industry. I tossed everything into 1/2 litre round reusable plastic containers and organized them by type. So the first third of the bottom shelf is whole spices, second is ground, the third third is herbs; The second rack is gimmick stuff like toothpicks, then whole spice mixes, then ground spice mixes. The top rack isn't as organized, but it's dried beans, rice, broken rice, legumes like barley and farro, raising or spreading agents like baking powder and soda, and miscellaneous like cornmeal. Whenever people visit they're taken aback and confused as to why a university-aged male and bachelor 1) has spices, and why they're this organized.
Absolute mood. As soon as I left university and had my own kitchen I got a bunch of 4 oz mason jars from walmart and organized and labelled all of my spices. They're still in a drawer since I don't have a spice rack, but all the labels are visible and it's always fun to pick out random combos and cook with them.
Personally, over time I bought 3 of those 'here's 20 cheap spices and glass jars, but at least it's in a rack where you can see them' contraptions, and then got a labeller and printed labels for everything I use. I arrange it alphabetically, and have it like 'paprika, sweet' and 'paprika, smoked' when I want to keep it in a natural order. Lastly, I put a quick tiny piece of masking tape on the bottom of the jar with the month and year I filled it, and a small star if there's more in the pantry to refill the jar. That way when I grab a jar, I can know at a glance if it's fresh, and if it runs out, I don't have to dig through the pantry box of hidden away spices to see if I have more somewhere if the answer is no. Twice a year I check all the jars en-masse to see if anything has expired, and order spices online, using prior orders to see how much of a spice I went through over the last 2 years in order to reorder in a appropriate quantity, so I don't end up tossing spices again 2 years later. Has worked really well as I've refined it over the last 6-8 years.
Great video of helpful tips for those who have not worked hospitality i.e. been in commercial kitchens. It made me realise why I do these things already - 14 years in hospitality - bars and kitchens both do these things. I'll now consciously apply the "layout and organize my kitchen like it was a restaurant' approach for my next place. Thanks for the upload!
Lots of great ideas! I am sure he didn't mean for everyone to implement everything as shown here. After all, we are living in houses not industrial kitchens or filming studios. Our kitchens are also aesthetic living spaces and not 100% utilitarian. The key is to have those "most needed" items placed so you can access them easily and efficiently. That is the takeaway (IMHO).
Hey I'm some months too late but about those containers. There is some square one you can buy. They take way less place , can be stack way more efficiently and are easy to take a bunch at a time since they are really stable. The 1000ml is almost half the height of the round one and where I work I can just stack 8 to 12 at a time when I bring them in the fridge. Made them buy to 2 of my chefs and they just loved it. It was also really useful for me for all my spices since I can use all the limited space I have in my pantry from top to bottom and it make it way easier to find than with all those bag or small round container you can buy them into. For me it's really a must have at home and at work. You can also use liquid in them and I've drop some without spilling anything. Also some personal tips from the 14 years I've been working in the kitchen 1- Buy a good all around knife, learn to use it and take care of. Yes it can be a bit of money but the time you will save with your prep is enormous. 2- Don't buy crappy tools like Starfrit. Most of the time you will end up not using them or breaking them. Just spend a little more and keep them forever. You will probably save some space in the end. 3- Always check review before buying appliance or small appliance. I've seen a lot of people buying stuff that are 25% cheaper and end up buying the same thing 2 years later because it broke. Kitchen aid mixer and Vitamix blender are a bit more expensive but you'll probably never broke them. I've seen them been abuse in the kitchen and not many broke over the years. It's really work the investment especially if you use them.
I'm not a butcher. I do use boning knives. I've got 2 of them. What do I use them for? To debone meat and chicken. It's that simple as that. Also, restaurants can have all their pots and pans hanging on display because they use them all the time. Like, literally, to cook a hundred different dishes everyday. No normal household does that and needs pancake pan, fish pan, grilling pan, fried eggs pan, tamagoyaki pan, regular pan, asparagus pot, steaming pot, 6 regular pots, etc., hanging all there, collecting dust 😃. Magnetic knife strips are great👍🏻👍🏻
I'm now a Nana. That's my super power. My kids were raised in open plan kitchens in which they could explore, help mix and try/taste ingredients. They now are the cooks in their homes. If I needed to make a fast meal and the youngest needed entertainment while I cooked, she/he could pull out all the pots and pans and non-glass storage containers. Yes, it was dangerous to walk - not slide - around containers and lids, but dinner was soon on the table. That was the point. A quick pick up of those pots/pans/lids and a plate of finger foods were the answer to satisfaction in the kitchen and soon in the tummy. Also, there was a rule that when you turned 9 years old, you would choose a night to cook dinner every week. Many times, hot dogs and buns were wrapped in paper towels and microwaved. As kids grew up, they experimented with international, local, unusual (to them) and breakfast for dinner foods. Today, their kids learn to get around the kitchen, too.
Thank you for this overview. I would add one point, which I find terribly important - the kitchen should organised in a way that makes it easy to clean. After a long deliberation, I opted for open shelves, and yes - it cleaning them, and the items that are there, is probably a more frequent chore than cleaning the cabinet, but for me seeing is using. And gradually get rid of things you do not use - that really, really helps. Curating what you have + ability to view the things you use (or want to use) often (keep the rest in the closed storage/cabinets + ease of cleaning process make the kitchen space so much more workable.
Finally, someone who gets it with open shelving. Granted, it's not for everyone, but agree, it does require a bit more periodic cleaning from time to time, but at bare minimum, you only need to do it maybe 3-6 months, or periodically just empty a shelf and wipe it down good and put stuff back. I need to do that myself at the moment, but have in the past and used to do it twice yearly by cleaning the ceiing and walls and floors too ever fall and spring. Took all day, but your kitchen stays cleaner overall that way and wipe down cabinet fronts when I saw they needed a clean every so often.
I used to work in several professional kitchens, some fine dining, some not so much. I learned and applied lots of things to my home kitchen. I love to see so many things that I do in this video. It is definitely encouraging, and I think it says a lot that so many professionals arrive at similar conclusions!
My little trick has always been a little 3 foot tall rack with spices and oil in squirt bottles on top (with types and temperatures on the bottles on a little piece of tape). You can just roll it away when you're done but it stands next to me at the counter.
I am jealous of anyone that has a pantry. We are using just an old shelf from a convenience store that they were tossing out (the ones they put chips on). Really looking forward to a larger/better kitchen when I move again :D
I have a 50 sq ft galley kitchen in my apartment as well. I swapped out all of my pots for a good quality stackable set. My saute pans hang from S hooks on a heavy duty chain that hangs from the ceiling on one side of the kitchen window. There was exactly a 13 square inch footprint of unused floorspace in one corner. I found a tall Ikea storage tower that fits perfectly in that spot. The shelves are open and adjustable. I even added a few more shelves to customize it further. Such a lifesaver. It is my entire pantry. I use clear square or rectangular stackable storage containers though, rather than round, in my pantry to save space. My measuring cups and spoons, paper towel holder, and dishtowel holder hang from the side of my fridge on magnetized hooks. A tension curtain rod hung holds a wire basket for dish soap and air drying kitchen sponges and scrubbers and there are multiple S hooks for tongs and other often used utensils. Now I just need to get a magnetic knife bar.💪
"All of these knives are ready for action" unless you live with roommates who are Manic and tend to throw things then I recommend you keep knives far far away and hidden if possible😂😂😂
Idk if it's just me, but the open knife racks like that scare me. I know they're magnetic, but I just have this paranoia that they will fall and either stab me or break something
We used to have a pots and pans hanging rack in the house we bought. Got rid of it because the pots and pans were in the perfect spot to hit your head against when you were preparing food on the counter underneath. What may work in one space might not work in another.
A pro tip for the knife magnet: Arrange the knives with the edge to the left for right-handers and vice versa. This means that the knife rotates away from the magnet when you lift it off (instead of digging the edge into the magnet like you see Mike doing in the video)...
so have the blade facing away towards yo uand risk cutting yourself when you reach for a knife further down the strip? I thinky ou need better knives if that rolling motion is enough to dull your knives. or better yet just adjust your technique.
@@TheJanope13 Maybe I didn't explain myself right. There is no risk of cutting yourself, cause the handles are all aligned below the rack. Sure you can try to work on a technique of twisting the knife outwards, but I just find it easier to arrange the knives right in the first place. I have made a small video demonstrating what I mean: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aDCg_kFiGEk.html
@@jonasbrandt4399 That just seems unsafe honestly cause then you have to rotate the knife in your hand after grabbing it every time which can always pose a risk i would think
@@migz019 there is really no rotation (or at least no more rotation one way or the other). I am just over-doing the motion on the video for demonstration purposes. Actually the knife is closer to the right orientation if the blade is already pointing away from your hand. Try it yourself and I'm sure you'll find it to be just as safe/unsafe as picking up a knife with the blade pointing towards you...
All great tips, but it should be noted that it's easy to organize your kitchen when you don't have kids in the house cause the kitchen you're modelling is in a filming studio that's separate from your actual apartment. In real life (for most people anyway), this can be very hard to maintain.
Yup. We are 4 peoples, 2 adults and 2 kids, 2-3 yrs old. 2 bedroom, one kitchen, one living room, and... ... That's it. I will NEVER hang our knvies on a magnet in the kitchen... What a terrible idea when you have kids jumping around. And NO, we will NOT stop the kids jumping around... :) C'mon guys, make a mess, you'll sleep well that way. 🤣
For me I like everything put away. It's all organized and my spice rack in the pantry is on an extended shelf and alphabetical order. I love your show because you have so many cooking ideas. I'm 71 and self taught so you help me a lot. Thank you for your show. Really enjoy everything.
The dusting that this kitchen needs is giving me asthma! Everything exposed will have that tacky greasy dusty feel. I prefer to have everything in cupboards, but completely organized. Shallow shelves in one cupboard for spices and shallow shelves for canned foods, pasta, pulses, etc. Everything keeps it’s dedicated place, so I don’t need to look to find anything. Deep revolving shelves for saucepans, deep drawers for baking trays, shallow drawers for frying pans. I know where everything is and only I put things into place, so I don’t need to see any items to find them. A good memory can save a lot of kitchen space
I think this advice is great for people who value accessibility over aesthetic. Mad respect. Just not my vibe. I need a peaceful kitchen that’s a blank slate for my creative cooking flow. If I could see everything I would be organizing/ dusting said things until I go cross eyed, and still never be happy because my kitchen looks busy/ cluttered- also kids/pets can often make this kind of storage very impractical. But for those who are utilitarian in their spaces and don’t have those limitations, I think it’s great. Just not me.
For you, I'd say stick with the essentials- pan, pot, saucepan (cross btwn the first 2). If you're gonna have a tool, probably electric mixer. Other good but optional things are a sieve (for flour), strainer, and a big bowl to mix things in. Since they all shaped the same they can stack You really only need 3 knives for literally any dish- vegetable knife, chef's knife, and a paring knife. And a honing stick to sharpen them That's about it. Only other thing I can think of is a grater and masher, but that covers a lot of recipes. Hope this helps! I also have limited space in my kitchen so carefully choosing a few tools is a good way to start, I think
I honestly feel like this is easier to organize. You just have to smart about what kind of stuff you own. Hang all your pans from the ceiling. Trust me, it helps. Get square organization jars, that you can just stack on top of each other.
I regret not organizing my kitchen sooner, but this last year I've had a lot more time on my hands and finally did it, and a lot of the things I did are what you suggested! I hung up all my pans, switched to a magnetic knife holder, decanted all my dry goods into jars, used a shelf to display my loose leaf teas, but the biggest improvement was my spice table/wall. Now all my spices are displayed so I can easily find them, my oils and vinegars are on the table near the stove for easy cooking, and I even got a lazy susan for my every day spices like salt, garlic, pepper, ginger, etc. Another tip was to put my salt in a regular spice jar for regular sprinkling, but also have another wider mouth jar for salt that I could easily pour into my hands for cooking rice and soups when you need a lot of salt at once. Organizing my kitchen has been such a game changer, and it just brings me a lot of joy, so I'm more motivated to cook.
For me the important thing is distance from use. Not having to carry a heavy pot of boiling water a long distance, kind of thing. Other than that, I'm a big fan of the mise en place, where you just layout everything you're going to use on your counter, and then put them back once you're done. That way it doesn't really matter how organized your stuff is when put away or if it's hidden away behind a door or not. As long as you don't accumulate piles and clutter of stuff you'll never use, it doesn't really matter where you put your kitchen things away.
One additional tip: if remodeling or building a kitchen from scratch, become familiar with the Golden Triangle. This is about the ideal placement between refrigerator, stove, and sink, and what kind of/what size of countertop is needed around/between each. For example, you want to be able to set things down from the fridge towards the stove or towards the sink as you cook (think of taking out a container of marinated meat that you're about to fry in a pan on the stove, or taking things out of the fridge to wash for a salad.) If you are done with a pot of boiling water and want to carry it towards the sink for dumping and washing, what direction and how many steps is ideal? If you've got something overcooking on the stove, where are you going to set it down after you yank it off a burner? If you're going to take out a just-cooked sheet of cookies, where are you going to set down that hot cookie sheet? A well-designed smaller kitchen is far easier to use than a poorly-designed expansive kitchen. Surfaces matter, steps matter, non-slip flooring matters, lighting matters, and most of all, safety matters. You don't want to have to walk the length of your kitchen, around and over kids and pets, to dump out a boiling pot of pasta!
I love mason jars for organizing, and use them a lot. One thing I noticed is that you have nuts in your pantry in mason jars. Someone told me a while back to keep the nuts in the refrigerator ! Wow they stay so much fresher in there. The walnuts get rancid so quick at room temperature. The other nuts just taste so much fresher. Just a tip I love and wanted to share.
I highly recommend the Calphalon sharpening knife block set. It comes with a minimal set of knives plus a steak knife set and there's a sharpener built into each slot! Just 1 serrated, 1 chef, 1 santoku, 1 paring knife, and 1 utility knife. Bread knife sold separately for some reason. I experimented by putting away all my knives except what's in this block, and I don't miss my other ones at all!
I’ve been feeling this so much lately, but sadly my current place has an atrocious kitchen. I live on a military post in a pretty small townhouse and the kitchen is about the size of a bathroom. And literally the only free wall is above the stove. But this is great to get more inspiration for whenever we move to a place with a real kitchen and some space!
Unpopular opinion: I've worked in restaurant kitchens for 15 years and I despise knife magnets on walls. I've had so many idiots nearly slash me by knocking knives off of them while trying to put too many knives additional knives on the magnet. This is wayyyy less of an issue in a home kitchen though, but I still have a general aversion to them. Instead I built a sort of knife block to hold seven various sized knives and mounted that on the wall (and yeah, I know I took the long way around to solve the problem, and I wouldn't recommend that everyone do it.) Also, that curved paring knife is a bird's beak knife and I vastly prefer them over regular paring knives, but again that's my personal preference
Instead of a bad childhood experience you had a bad work experience to bias you with negative feelings about magnetic knife blocks on walls as you admitted to. If you live alone or are the primary cook and everyone in the house is on the same page, there should be no danger to you. Context is everything.
I reuse glass containers for everything I store. Also, putting a 1x4 shelf under the cabinets not only gives you that spice storage, but it looks very decorative.
Look for cotton towels. I mean 100% cotton. They're great to wash, they can withstand high temperatures in the washing machine if you happen to get a really bad stain on them, plus, when dry, you can use them to pick up hot lids, pots, pans, take stuff out of the oven and whatnot. Fuzzy dish towels are great for drying your hands, wiping counters just to get rid of crumbs and the sort. Keep a couple of non fuzzy dish towels (also cotton, but they're a smooth fabric) for actually drying your dishes, pots, pans, etc. You can dry off your stuff without the risk of having a bit of fibre stick to them.
I buy big packs of white Terry cloth towels for any random cleanup, they're cheap enough that I can just throw them out when they get ratty or gross, and I also buy yellow microfiber ones for stuff I don't want to get lint on / drying things. Both can be bought at Costco, or any hardware or restaurant supply store.
I live in an apartment. The only available wall I had was a single half wall where I mounted a metal peg board that I use to hang all my pots and pans. Shelves are not an option. There are no walls to hang them on. All my spices are in metal cans with magnets on the base and stuck to the side of the fridge so they are always out. My pantry is in the coat closet right off the kitchen. It's about a foot wide and 7 ft. tall. It holds at least a months worth of food. The one cupboard holds all my dishes. My silverware drawer is 6 inches wide. I cook all the time. I love cooking. What's really nice is everything is within arms reach. It was fun organizing this place.
The only way I would ever have open shelving is in a walk in pantry where I could close the door and not have to look at it. I don't get the trend of no cabinets and just shelves.To me everything looks cluttered. I don't need to see it to be inspired. And if I were buying a house and the kitchen only had open air shelves, I would turn around and walk out. I would not want to go through the nightmare and expense of installing them. Personal preference. Now if you could figure out a way to store all of my many bottles of spices and specialty ingredients when there is no space would be genius.
I completely agree, the kitchen can be the most beautiful room in your house and pull it off if you can. I think this video is great advice for people that have to make due with much smaller spaces that they rent or they can't afford to put cabinets in. I think it's most important to view the kitchen as a workspace if you want to make your own food- do what you have to do in your circumstances to give everything its place and get organized even if it's a bit unsightly. It makes the process of cooking so much smoother. That being said I feel fortunate that I'm at a place in life where I can balance aesthetics with functionality.
Yeah, his solutions use available space, but a lot of that space is open/visible space. "But you can keep your cabinets!" And there we see the second (unspoken) bit: have less stuff than space. And since he has a rather large kitchen with a rather large pantry, he can afford to put a lot of stuff in that space. Not that his tips are bad, but tip number one should've been assessing amount of space to amount of needed stuff. Even he ends up admitting he puts seldom used things in some drawer somewhere (in cabinet organizers).
I think open shelving is cool if you're in a geologically stable region. I live on the Pacific ring of fire and while we don't get earthquakes as often as our neighbors to the south, it's often enough to organize my kitchen with that in mind. One time my mother had put up about 10 pounds of peaches in the same pantry space as our kerosene and the ENTIRE shelf fell down and EVERYTHING was ruined. It was terrible!
I actually prefer a mix of the two. In my house i have cabinets on top, but one small shelf right below the cabinets. So i can keep my essential spices (im indian and thus use a couple spices basically everyday), in the open. More bulky storage(sugar, flour, etc) go into the cabinets. Pots and pans get one side cabinet, except for a couple that hang out in the air. Shelves are great when you just need to constantly access them. I dont see the point of a shelf that is not within reach from the stove
I love the idea of everything being out in the open and easily accessible but it's not a friendly design to homes with small children and pets. Knives hanging on the wall is unsafe when you have cats or children, open shelving is unsanitary when you have 4 pets- you don't think the hair goes everywhere but it definitely does. We just purchased our house late last year. One of the previous owners was a wheelchair user and the house especially in the kitchen had been completely redone to be accessible to them. We only have 1 upper cabinet which is where we store our plates and bowls. All of the lower ones aside from the 2 corners are large, deep drawers. I thought I'd hate it, but honestly I love it! It's easy to keep things super organized while keeping them out of the way. I think every kitchen I get to build for the rest of my life will include almost exclusively drawers for the lower cabinets. Everything is still super accessible and organized but out of the way of pets and children if they're around.
Many years ago, we bought a small, empty knife block. Because it isn't customized to a specific knife set, the slots are generously cut. We've been able to buy what we need and easily fit it in. I don't feel safe with a magnetic strip around my clumsy self, and have no wish to have one. But a modestly sized knife block sitting on the counter beside the cutting boards, at the back corner of the best work space in the kitchen (between the sink and the stove), can make food prep a safe and easy task. Btw, because we have storage space issues in our small apartment kitchen, those cutting boards are in a plastic magazine holder with a fully open side. Easily cleaned storage tool that takes up little space and keeps the cutting boards easily accessible. Office supplies aren't just for offices. We also use binder clips for keeping bagged food items closed, instead of chip clips or clothes pins. They're small, secure, and their "storage" spot is one good magnet on the fridge.
Single greatest (and affordable) piece of advice from this whole video: keep and reuse the “standard” plastic takeout containers. Not only for kitchen use, but literally any cheap storage solution you can think of. Once they’re too old or stained or have had too many trips through the dishwasher, for food, they’re great for organizing household items. My garage has a whole stack of them for all manner of small things that come in useful. Also, definitely keep your spices visible. Especially your favorites. It’s amazing what you can do in a glance to whip up something from seemingly random leftover bits in you fridge when you have all the flavors to play with out in the open.
These tips are only good for large kitchens, I know you touched on that but I don't see a lot of these being realistic. The knife strip isn't safe either, and I'd have to put it on a wall somewhat far from my counter, plus I'm in a wheelchair so I need both hands to move, so that's why I use a block. Spices go bad? Maybe they lose a bit of flavor over time, but I don't consider that going bad.
I love having a clean kitchen. usually I cook 2 to 3 meals at the same time or at least do some preparing. so I definitely need space and clean items. really saves a lot of money when it comes to groceries
NO! Just NO to those damned magnetic strips! Way too dangerous for not only yourself but your knives that you paid $100-5,000 for per knife just to risk them getting damaged in a random accident!
This is everything I've come to learn through multiple moves, and having a passion for both cooking and organizing spaces. This was the easiest kitchen org video to watch and follow along. So much of what youtube feeds me (as a white woman in her 30's) is just junk - saying I need these 10 items from amazon (which aren't affordable!) . I appreciate the practicality of this video. Thanks!
