WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER AND SAVE TIME AND MONEY
The kitchen is often the busiest room in the house, making it a central hub of activity. As the “heart of the home”, we tend to spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing meals to share with family and friends. Here are some tips to save you time and money and keep the space functional.
It is important to keep your space clean and germ free. Think about painting your kitchen with an antimicrobial paint – and any leftover paint is perfect to use in your bathroom too.
PLAN AND PREP MEALS
Eliminate the stress of deciding what to cook every night by planning meals, doing an inventory check and making a shopping list for the week ahead. This will avoid last-minute grocery trips and impulse purchases during the week. It is also beneficial to keep an ongoing grocery list of items as they run low. Plan a few one-pot dinners for the weeknights that can be finished off with a quick salad or an easy side dish, such as fries or pasta.
Also consider:
- Cook once and eat twice by cooking for lunch leftovers e.g. roast meat in a sandwich or pasta in a salad.
- Cook freezer-friendly meals in bulk.
- Use fast simple recipes that will save cooking time and use a timer so that you can do other things while the food is cooking.
- Take things out of the freezer the night before or first thing in the morning.
- Pre-cut veggies and store them in the fridge to use during the week.
- Set the table for the next day or stack everything you use for dinner towards the end of the table or on a kitchen counter ready to be laid out for the next meal.
- Wash and clear as you go to save time, in the end, cleaning up.
Planning and prepping for the week ahead will save trips to the grocery store and saves time during busy weeknights.
TOOLS AND UTENSILS
Invest in quality kitchen tools and appliances that will save you time and money in the long run. A good set of sharp knives for example can help to safely speed up your work in the kitchen. Keep your most frequently used tools and utensils close at hand. You will save time by not having to sift through numerous kitchen drawers if your utensils are readily available. Keep your most-used cooking utensils close to the stove including spoons, spatulas, whisks, tongs, and ladles. Several of these can also be hung from racks or hooks that are fixed to the wall or ceiling to make use of vertical space.
CLEVER STORAGE
As mentioned previously, keeping the most frequently used items close at hand and the least frequently used items farther away (on higher or lower shelves) will help you save time each day getting to the things you need. Arrange your cabinets and other storage areas so that larger pieces are accessible rather than hidden behind fragile glasses that may cause an avalanche with a single careless move.
Put children’s items at their level so that they can help themselves by grabbing a drink or making their own breakfast.
Choose the appropriate containers for storing food. You will want air tight containers that keep your food from spoiling.
Label containers and utilise storage bins and baskets to keep everything in its place. Great storage ideas from https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/kitchen-organization-ideas-to-maximize-storage-space
For more time saving kitchen hacks click here: https://foodal.com/knowledge/how-to/30-time-saving-kitchen-hacks/