Kitchen Organization + Food Storage

Kitchen Countertop Accessories

The saying of “a tidy home is a tidy mind” follows through to your kitchen. Tidy cabinets and clutter-free countertops create a calm ambience while an assortment of equipment that’s close at hand helps streamline your cooking schedule. When you know where everything is and can reach for it quickly, you’ll save time and be able to concentrate on your delicious creations. At west elm, we have a whole host of kitchen countertop accessories for complete organization. These range from bowls to dispensers and cleaning supplies to food containers. With these aids in place, you may be surprised at how spacious your kitchen suddenly seems.

An essential part to any cook’s routine is the initial food preparation. You’ll no doubt have measuring cups or spoons on the countertop or loose in a kitchen drawer. As you need different quantities for each dish, there are bound to be a few lying around and these take up extra space. Fit hooks to the wall so they’re not cluttering the side, and you can just reach up and grab them when you need to.

Batter bowls and measuring jugs tend to have handles. You could just store them in a kitchen cabinet but, as with the measuring cups and spoons, why not hang them from hooks on your wall? Make use of your wall space instead of taking up precious room that needs to be dedicated to the cooking task at hand. Don’t forget to hang your apron up too for convenience as well as the oven mitt, if it has a hanging loop.

You need many utensils when cooking from scratch in order to stir, beat, whisk and blend your ingredients. Keep them all neatly stored together in an attractive utensil holder. This means you can find each tool quickly as you need it and ensures your countertop stays free from clutter. There are many designs to choose from, including colored or patterned stoneware, decorative copper wire and marble. This makes it easy for you to pick one that matches the rest of the kitchen accessories.

When you’re following a recipe, place the cookbook on a stand. Not only does this make the recipe easier to follow, but it saves valuable space on the countertop and keeps the pages away from food splatters that may stain them. Your cookbook stand can be pushed against the wall when not in use, giving you the appearance of being a professional chef when you’re in the full throes of cooking.

One ingredient you’re sure to use while cooking is butter. Instead of storing it in the refrigerator, remove it from its packaging and use a decorative butter dish. Choose the material, such as enamel or stoneware, that best suits the rest of your kitchen decor. A butter dish looks attractive compared with packaging and keeps your butter fresh. The butter stays softer than when refrigerated so you can spread it easily. When seated at the dining table, use a butter dish when enjoying fresh bread with your meal.

Condiments look much nicer in decorative dispensers too. Use an oil and vinegar dispenser set both in the kitchen and at the table. Prevent salt from absorbing moisture when you store it in a salt cellar. Kept near to your mixing bowls and pans, it’s easy to grab a pinch of salt for seasoning and put the lid on top when not in use so the salt stays fresh.

Canisters are a pretty way to store food items. These can include tea, coffee and sugar placed conveniently next to your kettle or some pasta and rice placed near to the stove top. The tight-fitting lids keep the contents fresh and protect them from moisture.

It goes without saying that cooking causes a mess so make cleaning up easy with cleaning supplies close at hand. Reach for your paper towel rack on the countertop or paper towel holder on the wall. Wash up the mixing bowls and leave them to dry on the foldable wire rack. When you’ve tidied the bowls away, fold up the dish rack for compact storage.

Now you can relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor.