The Kitchen

Hello Everyone! We are in the kitchen this month. Perfect timing as many of us are probably doing a lot of barbecuing outside. If you've been following me the last couple of months you will remember we're on a journey to creating a healthier home. Each month we've been visiting a specific room and implementing ideas to create your healthiest home ever. Health covers many areas in our life and sometimes we forget that our environment can have a huge impact on our personal health. If our health is out of balance the impact can affect the spirit of who we are called to be. You've probably figured out by now that I am a pretty simple person. I wasn't always this way, motherhood and age brought me to this style of living. If you think I am extreme that's ok too, I just hope that you find the information useful.

Everybody's kitchen is different so you will have to improvise my suggestions to your needs. I currently don't have a huge kitchen; however I love it because it allows me to keep things simple and useful to our families needs. I have had huge kitchens in the past and I think my thoughts and ideas will be able to meet everyones needs.

As always I start off with simplicity. If you're running out of cupboard space then you might want to take a look at what is in your cupboards. Open the doors and ask yourself, “Is my system working?” or “Do I need everything I have?” If you decide you need to down size make sure it's something you're not using or you know you will never use, replacing kitchen items down the road can get expensive.

I am blessed with lots of cupboard space. This has allowed me to keep things together instead of all over the place. Pots and pans- basically what I use for the stove are all in one cupboard. Baking items in another cupboard, this can include your cookware, baking sheets, etc. Everyday dishes are all in the same place too, glasses follow. I try to keep them away from where I prepare food but yet handy to the stove area. I only have one set of everyday dishes- if you have more than one perhaps trade them out in seasons so you can enjoy them like a new set of dishes.

The plastic container cupboard was always a nightmare until I discovered the inexpensive, disposable glad containers. I love these you can reuse them many times and when they get ruined they're easy to replace without breaking the bank. The best part is I am never upset if one gets misplaced and doesn't make its way back home.

Cupboard organization really has to meet your needs as everybody has different items in their kitchen. I don't have a lot of appliances so the few I do have go in the appliance cupboard. If you have appliances you use everyday then leaving a few on the kitchen counter might be an option too.

My favorite cupboard is our craft one. Some of us are fortunate to have a craft or hobby room in our home. For our family as the kids are getting older this suits us well. We store all paper, markers, glue; basically craft stuff goes in the craft cupboard. It's easy to find and very accessible. I even have enough room to keep my cookbooks in there.

The kitchen drawers are where I lack space so I had to get creative. I do think every kitchen needs a junk drawer. I don't have one so I put a plastic container under my kitchen counter cupboard, this works pretty well at the moment – sure limits the amount of Junk. I follow through with a drawer for towels and pot holders. Silverware in another drawer and then I use a separate drawer for my sharp knives. My utensil drawer is simple too- I have had to downsize this over the years. It's easy to get that drawer full of stuff we never use. So many fun gadgets out there.

The counter space, I have experienced and seen it all. I enjoy a non cluttered counter, this took me a while to embrace but now that I have I love it. The kitchen looks clean and inviting and once you try it I am positive you will like it. Before the clutter interfered with my work space so in the cupboards it went. Instead I added fun inviting pictures on the walls – a bright back splash is a great way to dress up the kitchen too. Don't get me wrong I do have some things on my counters, just very minimal. My inside grill sits in the corner (I use this a lot) Then my vitamin basket is a must. The only other things I have on the counter are my blender and cutting board. Course I can't forget my utensil jar- it stores spatulas, mini graters and other stuff I use everyday.

Like most kitchens today we are blessed with food pantries. If you don't have this luxury then you will have to make room in your other cupboards to do this by setting a specific space. I have a small but functional pantry. This is where we store all of our dry and canned foods. I have pretty much organized this too- the bottom shelf has our baking items – flour, sugar, brown sugar and so on. The next shelf is crackers and similar types of foods. Then the other shelves include breakfast, pastas, beans, rice, etc. (dinner shelf), and the back-up supply. Back up supply is the extras or stuff I don't use on a regular basis.

Where do you put your seasonings? This is up to you- I like to have mine near the stove but if your pantry is handy you can keep them in there. Try to keep them all in one place so they are easy to find as you probably use them a lot.

I am not even going to talk about the fridge because I think that is a personal preference and you just have to do what works for you and your family. The old rule of thumb to keep a box of baking soda inside is always a good idea.

When it comes to cleaning the kitchen I will suggest use safe, non-toxic products. I can't stress this enough. Many products on the market today contain very harsh chemicals which can have a huge impact on our health. You are breathing these products in everyday, wouldn't it be great to breathe something in that doesn't take away from your health? It's nice to know that we have so many choices when it comes to cleaning products, unfortunately the only ones that we ever see advertised are the toxic ones. I would like to encourage you to visit my blog and take the healthy home quiz. http://westadventures.blogspot.com/search?q=healthy+home+quiz

If it peaked your interest in healthier products then take it a step further and visit: www.epa.com - if you are now wanting healthier products in your home I would be happy to help, you can email me at: healthyhouse4u@yahoo.com Knowing that I have healthier products in my home has allowed me such freedom towards living healthier.

I think we have pretty much tackled the kitchen- once you get your kitchen in order I am sure you will find it to be an inviting room in your home where you enjoy spending time and preparing meals for yourself and family. You might even get the urge to have dinner guests.

I look forward to talking with you next month as we step into the Office.

Have a great month of July and happy organizing!