I read this with a sense of smug satisfaction, knowing that my small kitchen is set up with a similar sense of purpose: crocks of cooking utensils on the counter next to the stove, Kitchenaid and Cuisinart not taking up valuable real estate on the counter because I use them infrequently, knives neatly lined up on my magnetic knife rail on the side of my fridge.
Please give us a tour of your dry goods storage next! I have one very tall upper cabinet for all my dry goods and even with shelf helpers and lexan bins to corral all my spices it's a nightmare in there.
there are some things you just cannot unlearn from working in restaurant kitchens, and aggressive efficiency is one of them. the other is standing and eating where you prepped and cooked 🥲 (or maybe that’s just me, in my tiny galley kitchen).
this is so great- thanks for writing. will print and hand to the designer of my future dream cottage.
Oh this is so valuable. I’m thinking about moving some stuff (cutting boards etc) around in my kitchen to make space for a bigger toaster/air fryer, and I think I’ve been jumbling some of these zones.
i just had to say that your elbows comment reminded me that my boss nicknamed me Elbow Baggins when i was a line cook and im still laughing about it. these elbows fly a little too close to the sun lol
Thank you thank you thank you! We are currently ripping up our kitchen for a total renovation and I am obsessing over how I can ensure that I create the best storage situation possible on the other side. I'd already figured out my prep corner, but didn't think about the other zones. I can't wait to create my own map. Now, unpacking everything will be super fun instead of a dreaded chore. Oh, and I too love to downsize and sharpie/painter's tape whenever I get the chance. It has transformed my life and I'm never going back.
It was amazing how much packing and unpacking influenced my decisions about how to allocate space and what to let go of. Very in line with the kon Mari system, which works best when you take EVERYTHING out and look at it before putting it back. But who would ever want to do that with their kitchen!
I saved this for my big Sunday read because the moment I opened it and saw the *drawing* I knew I was going to be obsessed with every sentence of this.
We inherited an OK kitchen reno from the last owners of our home (don't get me started on their sense of style - aka their lack of one) that we've approached with the same sense of "everything has a place" and "what makes sense with how we use it." 4 years in and we're still making tweaks (most recently moving coffee stuff to an accessible cabinet, much like your friend Ross).
In our next home I hope to be able to create my dream kitchen from scratch, and all I know for sure right now is that a big, shallow spice drawer and lots of pull outs in the pantry 100% have to be a part of it.
Thank you for sharing this! I’ve got a 1940s kitchen that needs eventual remodeling (bye tile countertops!) but have been overwhelmed with making sure I get it JUST RIGHT. This really helped put things in perspective!
I love everything about this. I have one question which is, did you consider cabinet drawers for your bowls? We turned our deep pantry shelves into drawers and one of our lower cabinets where we keep our pans and pots. It is one of my fav upgrades we did in our tiny kitchen from 1990.
I didn’t want to do drawers for bowls and I have no reason why. It must just be a touch and feel thing. I like seeing things from the side? Would rather slide than lift/lower? Totally irrational but strong preference? I love that you love yours, it makes a ton of sense!
Love this zone concept! I bake almost daily and my storage upgrades for bread bakers is using bannetons as lil kitchen caddies. They are good looking bowls of various shapes and sizes - and if you put bread/baking tools in them - form meets function.
I have a week home alone coming up and I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to tweaking (I'm close already with reading the cookbooks cover to cover) my kitchen organization with these tips!
Carla! This was really helpful! We're figuring out how to lay out a very small kitchen and dining space, and we're finding the constraints both fun and frustrating, especially with lacking the vocabulary to describe what we're looking for.
When we saw the photos of your lower cabinets, we went, "YEAH, THOSE, THAT'S THE STYLE!" But what is that style called, where the cabinets are visibly separated by that wood panel that goes to the ground?
I read this with a sense of smug satisfaction, knowing that my small kitchen is set up with a similar sense of purpose: crocks of cooking utensils on the counter next to the stove, Kitchenaid and Cuisinart not taking up valuable real estate on the counter because I use them infrequently, knives neatly lined up on my magnetic knife rail on the side of my fridge.
Please give us a tour of your dry goods storage next! I have one very tall upper cabinet for all my dry goods and even with shelf helpers and lexan bins to corral all my spices it's a nightmare in there.
Loooooove a satisfied customer!!
there are some things you just cannot unlearn from working in restaurant kitchens, and aggressive efficiency is one of them. the other is standing and eating where you prepped and cooked 🥲 (or maybe that’s just me, in my tiny galley kitchen).
this is so great- thanks for writing. will print and hand to the designer of my future dream cottage.
Fully standing and eating in my prep zone now and always!!
Oh this is so valuable. I’m thinking about moving some stuff (cutting boards etc) around in my kitchen to make space for a bigger toaster/air fryer, and I think I’ve been jumbling some of these zones.
Don’t jumble the zones!
i just had to say that your elbows comment reminded me that my boss nicknamed me Elbow Baggins when i was a line cook and im still laughing about it. these elbows fly a little too close to the sun lol
Thank you thank you thank you! We are currently ripping up our kitchen for a total renovation and I am obsessing over how I can ensure that I create the best storage situation possible on the other side. I'd already figured out my prep corner, but didn't think about the other zones. I can't wait to create my own map. Now, unpacking everything will be super fun instead of a dreaded chore. Oh, and I too love to downsize and sharpie/painter's tape whenever I get the chance. It has transformed my life and I'm never going back.
It was amazing how much packing and unpacking influenced my decisions about how to allocate space and what to let go of. Very in line with the kon Mari system, which works best when you take EVERYTHING out and look at it before putting it back. But who would ever want to do that with their kitchen!
I saved this for my big Sunday read because the moment I opened it and saw the *drawing* I knew I was going to be obsessed with every sentence of this.
We inherited an OK kitchen reno from the last owners of our home (don't get me started on their sense of style - aka their lack of one) that we've approached with the same sense of "everything has a place" and "what makes sense with how we use it." 4 years in and we're still making tweaks (most recently moving coffee stuff to an accessible cabinet, much like your friend Ross).
In our next home I hope to be able to create my dream kitchen from scratch, and all I know for sure right now is that a big, shallow spice drawer and lots of pull outs in the pantry 100% have to be a part of it.
lost 30 min on dinner because i couldn’t find my waffle maker. i can’t wait to read this
Lolll
Thank you for sharing this! I’ve got a 1940s kitchen that needs eventual remodeling (bye tile countertops!) but have been overwhelmed with making sure I get it JUST RIGHT. This really helped put things in perspective!
I love everything about this. I have one question which is, did you consider cabinet drawers for your bowls? We turned our deep pantry shelves into drawers and one of our lower cabinets where we keep our pans and pots. It is one of my fav upgrades we did in our tiny kitchen from 1990.
I didn’t want to do drawers for bowls and I have no reason why. It must just be a touch and feel thing. I like seeing things from the side? Would rather slide than lift/lower? Totally irrational but strong preference? I love that you love yours, it makes a ton of sense!
Love this zone concept! I bake almost daily and my storage upgrades for bread bakers is using bannetons as lil kitchen caddies. They are good looking bowls of various shapes and sizes - and if you put bread/baking tools in them - form meets function.
I have a week home alone coming up and I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to tweaking (I'm close already with reading the cookbooks cover to cover) my kitchen organization with these tips!
Carla! This was really helpful! We're figuring out how to lay out a very small kitchen and dining space, and we're finding the constraints both fun and frustrating, especially with lacking the vocabulary to describe what we're looking for.
When we saw the photos of your lower cabinets, we went, "YEAH, THOSE, THAT'S THE STYLE!" But what is that style called, where the cabinets are visibly separated by that wood panel that goes to the ground?
Just moved my knives to my "prep" area and my cooking utensils to my "cook" area because of this email and my life got 10x better. Thank you!
I would say my kitchen follows a lot of this guidance with a dash of pure chaotic mayhem thrown in.