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Fields & Fire BlogKitchen Organizing 2 – Man Your Stations
Whew, this week has nearly gotten away from me, but I’ve been thinking about you. How did your kitchen tool purging go? Are you feeling lighter, and finding what you need more easily? Are you scared? If you can’t bear to give all those tools away just yet, put them in a box and put them somewhere way out of reach. Anything you haven’t gone into the box to get in six months, get rid of it
On to part two – creating “stations” in your kitchen. In a commercial and home kitchens, this happens naturally, as different jobs happen in different places. But it can be really helpful to truly think about what actions happen in what spots, and what tools/ingredients are needed at that station.
We have a cutting station in our home kitchen – an amazing wood chopping block made for us by our friend Rob (he ate dinner at our house almost every night for a year, and then he made us this chopping block – a pretty sweet deal!), with my three most-used knives (a Wusthof chef knife, a Wusthof Santuko, and a Lamson & Goodnow offest bread knife) in it. The little basket you see is for scraps to feed the chickens, and to the right (on the floor) is our compost bucket. I chop, I put scraps right into the chicken basket or compost, I wash my knives, I put them right back in their spot. Under the chopping block lives the tray I use to bring plates/silverware/food to the dinner table (and for clearing up after – a big time saver), and also some rolling pins, since I use the chopping block to roll out doughs. The little white bowl holds butter at room temp, the cruet has some salad dressing in it, and the wine bottle is homemade vinegar. Whenever we have leftover wine, we add it to this bottle (it has a little cheesecloth over the top, so it can breathe but flies can’t get in), and it turns to the best vinegar you’ll ever use. Yummy!
Next to the chopping block is the mixing station. In this corner, I keep my mixing bowls in the cabinets, measuring spoons, ingredients like baking powder, salt, oil and vinegar. The cookbooks I’m currently referencing are lined up right there, and the knife block holds my other knives (steak knives, butcher knife, paring knives that are too small to live in the chopping block). The big blue bowl holds a loaf of bread in a linen bag, and fresh fruit or veggies that don’t need the fridge. The small bowl on the far right holds eggs from our chickens.
Lastly, a little station – the silverware drawer. For years, since we switched to using all cloth napkins, I searched for the right place for them. Next to the dinner table? On the kitchen counter? I’m not sure why it took me so long, but I’m pretty happy that I finally realized this – the napkins live next to the silverware! (We use actual silver, instead of keeping it stored away, so that’s why my silverware drawer is lined with flannel.)
So, I think you get the idea. Instead of having to walk back and forth across your kitchen each time you need to make a dish, try to gather your tools and supplies into groupings that make sense for you and your home. Have fun!
Great ideas! But who has leftover wine ! ?
Cathy
Love your blog. Organization please more.
My kitchen is organized in stations (drives my cooking friend crazy when he cooks at our house; he doesn’t think like that!) and yet I still got good ideas from your post. Had no idea making vinegar could be so simple!! And it never would have occurred to me to have knives in two places (why, though? I have measuring spoons in both my baking cabinet and my spice drawer…) Thanks!
I am loving this. First, my mom uses trays to carry to and from the table outside, but it never occurred to me to do it for everyday indoor dining. (Duh.) I love that we have some of the same storing and use practices. (Although I have found napkins on the table with individual napkin rings works best for us!)
And bread in a linen bag….do you find that it stays fresh enough? Also, we have chicks, our first go at chickens. I just learned today that fresh, unrinsed eggs don’t have to be refrigerated. Sounds from your post that this is true, they don’t?
Thank you for this!
Nicola
Cathy,
Haha, I’m afraid I can’t help you there.
Lisa,
Thanks for the feedback! I’ll be back soon with more.
Adrie
Lise,
Have fun with the vinegar! It is so simple, and so much better than store bought. Thanks for stopping by!
Nicola,
We pretty much only eat sourdough bread, which does keep better. It gets harder as the days go on, but we’ve usually eaten a loaf by day three or four anyways. I just toast the pieces and they’re good as new. The linen allows the bread to breathe (and not mold), but retains a bit of moisture to slow the staling. Be afraid of bread that doesn’t go bad! (You can always freeze some if you don’t use it fast enough – the best way to keep breads.)
And yes, keep your eggs on the counter!
Best,
Adrie
I never thought to put my napkins in the same place as the silverware–they are across the room in a super messy cupboard full of linens. When setting the table, there’s always an extra trip to be made. This makes so much more sense. Now, I just have to follow your advice about getting rid of unused tools to make room for the napkins in the silverware drawer. Lovely silver, by the way. Also, you’ve inspired me to bring my wine vinegar down to the counter rather than keeping it stowed away. It’ll get fed and feed us more often that way.
btw, I keep my bread in a lidded ceramic bowl, with a cloth under the lid to allow air flow. Love your housekeeping, woman. You’re an inspiration.
Kyce,
Right back at you! Loving everything at your place so much these days – always inspiring. Thanks for coming by and saying hello! Good luck with your kitchen weeding