Episode 76: Kitchen and Pantry Organization Tips

On this week's episode (sponsored by IKEA), we are delving into all our go-to tips for kitchen and pantry organization, from using clear containers to sorting and purging. It's the new year, so let's get organized! Plus, we help some Food Fight parents deal with a rambunctious toddler during dinner time.

Disclosure: Some of the links within these show notes are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase, we will earn a commission, which helps support our show. This commission comes at no additional cost to you, our wonderful listener!

Let's taco 'bout it!

• Sharon had Huevos Rancheros on New Year's Day from the Pioneer Women's cookbook. One day, we're going to have her on our show! Christopher Kimball was on our show! We'd love to have Martha and Snoop on!
• Winter made something special--pancakes (we usually eat Hong Kong eggette waffles) using a pancake art kit by Whiskware. I used this recipe, but added 1 1/2 cup milk instead. These make a very tall pancake! What's your fave pancake recipe?
• Our episode is sponsored by our friends IKEA, because they want us to get organized too!
• We are both doing the January Cure by Apartment Therapy. Join us and do an assignment every day and your home will be looking better
• General Kitchen Organization Tip #1: Understand your active zones and passive zones are. Don't put stuff that you don't need in your active zones--it will clutter your space. You want your essentials accessible.

• Tip #2: Keep things findable. Use clear containers (we like these and these ones), glass containers, and labeling things.
• Tip #3: Everything should have a home per Marie Kondo's book. It will make things easier to put away.
• Tip #4: Group things by like tasks and group small things. Spices are grouped together in our awesome stadium seating. We use these Sterlite shoe containers to group things together.
• Tip #5: Divide and go vertical. We use these drawer dividers to get more bang for our buck. We use these wire shelves to give us more vertical space.

• Tip #6: Keep paperwork under control on your horizontal spaces. Be vigilant! Get slots for paperwork that needs to be taken care of later. Create a landing strip.
• Tip #7: Use matching glass containers that are square and rectangular for space. We like these brands. Plus a model of scarcity helps keep your fridge clean.
• Tip #8: Nest, stack, and file vertically. We love to vertically file our plates. Sharon and Ike use something similar for pots.
• Tip #9: 80/20 rule applies in the kitchen also. What are you REALLY using and declutter accordingly? We're keeping a few things: Instant Pot, Sous Vide, rice cooker, food processor (Nicki would be proud), but we will definitely be donating to keep the clutter down.
• Tip #10: Keep your counters clear. It cuts down on your visual clutter and inspires your to cook.
• Let's clean our your pantry #1: Remove everything and wipe down the pantry.

• Pantry #2: Sort and purge. By the way, check with your local food pantry to see if they accept expired food or not. Side note: Throw in a little treat when you donate per Jill Robbins.
• Pantry #3: Categorize things--like with like.
• Pantry #4: Make it pretty and useful. Clear containers and label it. Sharon loves these IKEA brands, Droppar, Korken, Vardagen, and Sinnerlig.
• Pantry #5: Put it back in the way you cook. What are fast movers in your pantry?
• Other tips: Be flexible with where you put things, get rid of packaging (cuts down on visual clutter) and get picky of what food comes into our home (helps with food storage).
• We help some Food Fight parents deal with a crazy toddler during dinner time.

Run Time: 1 hour 4 minutes

Sponsors: Our podcast is brought to you by our awesome and food-loving sponsor, IKEA in Draper, Utah!

IKEA Make Room For Organization Event at the Draper IKEA

Saturday, January 27 and Sunday, January 28, 2018

9:30 AM to 4:00 PM

Customers can sign up for IKEA Family online and use the $25 off $150 purchase coupon valid only Jan.27^th and 28^th 2018. A full list of activities will be available on http://www.ikea.com/us

Some activities will include:

• Junk Drawer No More! Learn how to easily organize your kitchen junk drawer to find a happy home for those frequently used items that don’t quite fit anywhere else.
• Linen Closet Rescue! With bulky items such as pillows, blankets and towels filling the shelves, the linen closet can easily become overstuffed and cluttered.  Learn tips and tricks using storage solutions to give your linen closet the makeover it needs.
• Sampling selected Swedish food items- Free sampling of selected Swedish food items. $5 off $25 purchase of Swedish Food Market items.
• Activities for kids & adults
• IKEA Family offers
• Plus, we'll be there on January 27 Facebook/Instagram Live-ing the Junk Drawer No More workshop at 10 am MST. Join us for fun giveaways!

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