If you start thinking about your kitchen like it is a playroom, you open up many entertaining and efficient options for yourself. No matter if you have a huge roomy kitchen or you have a small and cozy one, there are numerous interesting ways to improve it. Applying all sorts of different hacks is a smart way to increase your overall efficiency, and even allow you to play with your food a little bit – who says it just needs to be used for nutrition?
Food preparation is actually a form of art, and it should be treated as such.
Use the Inside of Cabinet Doors
This is the one obvious thing that everyone seem to miss.The fact that the manufacturer that made your kitchen cabinets didn’t mention you could use the doors for storage too doesn’t mean you can’t utilize this hack. By installing a rack or just a couple of nails on the doors themselves, you’ll be able to organize the lids of your pots neatly and store them properly without taking up much space.
Implement Tech Upgrades
There are all sorts of smart kitchen tools and devices you can use to make your meals faster, but equally tasty, and you should definitely invest in at least some of those. My suggestion is to start with a tablet and a tablet holder. Trying new recipes will look completely different – you won’t have to check your notes every two seconds, because there are all sorts of tutorials that run in real time, so you can cook along with them, without pausing or rewinding all the time.
It’s More than Just a Cutting Board
People who have a small kitchen know that the biggest problem is the work surface – or better put, the lack of it. This very simple hack I started applying recently is probably the cheapest and the most efficient solution to this problem you could ever find. You just need to open the closest drawer, place your cutting board over it and voila – a new extension of your work surface just appeared.
Frozen Dairy Products?
Dairy products are delicious and necessary for a proper nutrition, but coincidentally they also become inedible in a very short period of time. Also, some cheeses tend to be on the expensive side. Fortunately, there’s a simple hack that will solve these problems for you – the next time there’s a sale on milk or cheese or some sort of other dairy product sale, you can get a larger amount and simply freeze the items. When stored in your freezer, dairy products can last anywhere from a month to six months, depending on the type of product.
Light It Up
A huge percentage of kitchens have improper lighting, which is a major oversight, but, on the other hand, it’s completely understandable – it somehow never climbs to the top of your priority list. However, this can really damage your eyesight and overall efficiency, especially if you spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing meals for a big family. It’s a common misconception that this is an expensive investment – you should explore your options because there are all sorts of simple DIYs you can utilize. Basically, a quality lamp could make a huge difference.
Ice, Ice, Baby
The internet is overflowing with different ways to use ice cubes. Don’t you hate it when you try to chill down your drink but it becomes watery instead? It’s quite simple really – instead of making ice cubes out of water, make them out of that drink you want chilled and this works with absolutely everything!
Other than drinks, this works with food, as well. I’m sure you have a favorite seasoning, but the thing with them is they only last for a season – obviously. Take an ice tray, fill it with your favorite combination of herbs and pour some olive oil over it. The next time you want to achieve that particular taste in a meal, simply extract one cube and that’s it.
Play with Cookie Cutters
If you have problems with your kids who avoid certain types of foods, you should try to change your approach. It’s quite important for their development to ensure that they consume all of their required nutrients, and screaming and yelling usually just has a contrary effect. By using cookie cutters, you can easily shape that undesired food item into flowers, stars or hearts. This simple hack will make your children fall in love with all sorts of foods they found to be icky in the first place.
Straws for Pips
Many delicious and healthy deserts can be made out of red fruits, but the problem with them is in their core – literally. Cleaning them and trying to get rid of pips can be extremely time-consuming, which is why you should turn to straws. Make sure to get firmer ones, so they don’t bend too much and simply pull them through a cherry – it’s a lot faster and a lot more efficient, especially if you want your cherries to stay in their original shape.
Homemade Cleaner
This could be another time-taking and expensive issue. We are all aware of how important it is for a kitchen to be impeccably clean. Instead of trying to find a cleaner that’s efficient but cheap, you should make your own. With a balanced mixture of lemon, baking soda and vinegar, you’ll be able to have a spotless kitchen.
Organization Is a Powerful Time-Saver
In order to get everything done properly, you need your space and you need to know exactly where every item is. This is more of a piece of advice than a hack, but it can be considered as one if you consider how much time you can save simply through setting up an organised kitchen system. You should use jars and bottles of all sorts, label them properly and have a special place for each of them. Also, consider implementing magnets in your kitchen, because they are an efficient way to organize your spices and your knives. Implementing a pegboard is also a great idea – it can hold anything from a pan to a ladle.
Once you start applying these hacks to your kitchen, you’ll be able to see how clever they are. Perhaps it’s not a bad idea to take it slow and implement them one by one – if you do them all at once, you won’t be able to recognize your kitchen.
Let me know how it goes!
