Simplify Life While Toiling in the Kitchen

For many of us, maximizing kitchen and refrigerator space is a huge boon. I have frequently lived in properties abroad with a tiny kitchen and/or a small refrigerator; hence, suggestions to enhance efficiency are welcome.

Tips aiding with food storage and preparation (not my favorite chore) also interest me. The less time and energy spent in the kitchen, the better from my perspective.

Some tips you may find helpful:

✅ If your kitchen counter space is limited, pull out a cabinet drawer and place a cutting board on top of it. Voila, you have an instant additional surface.

This is particularly beneficial when cooking that massive holiday meal, and every inch of the kitchen counters is cluttered.

✅ To maximize space in a refrigerator, use open-sided magazine storage boxes to organize the freezer. Clever, yes?

✅ For easy clean-up of glass refrigerator shelves, cover them with cellophane wrap. Granted, this utilizes a plastic product, which many of us are trying to reduce, but it may be appealing. Why are the bloody refrigerator shelves so annoying to clean anyhow?

✅ To absorb moisture in a vegetable crisper, place crumpled-up newspapers in the drawer. (For those few folks who still have newspapers around).

✅ For a makeshift plastic glove, cut a hole in the end of a sandwich bag. Slide the knife or spoon through the opening, and you have a hygienic kitchen mitt for the task at hand.

✅ For an easier method of cutting a sheet cake, in lieu of the typical knife that becomes gunked with cake mess, try using dental floss.

✅ Extend the life of roses and other cut flowers by dropping a crushed aspirin in the water.

Although I’ve done this for years, not all floral experts believe it helps. Nevertheless, I’ll continue using it. It’s also essential to change the water every couple of days to extend freshness.

✅ Use scissors to cut a pizza. This is a new trick for me. I’ve always used a traditional pizza wheel roller, but without one, this is an easy replacement. Apparently, special pizza scissors can also be purchased.

✅ Another use for a rolling pizza cutter is to slice soft cheeses. This, too, is a new tip for me that I’m excited to try.

✅ Use that same pizza cutter to chop and slice herbs. Bunch them up and wheel back and forth until they are diced to the size you desire.

✅ Create a slip-free kitchen counter when chopping veggies or other food on a cutting board. Stretch a rubber band over each end of the board to secure a workspace.

✅ Cut an apple into slices, allowing it to return to its original shape. Reassemble the pieces and bind them with one or a few rubber bands.

This retains moisture and limits its exposure to air…less brown, more appeal. How cool is this for your kid’s (or your) lunch box, the next picnic, or a road trip?

AND MY FAVORITE…which I can attest to as being absolutely foolproof:

✅ Place a wooden spoon or spatula across any pot on the stove when cooking potatoes, vegetables, pasta, or rice. It prevents the pot from boiling over!

Trust me, if you do this, never again will you clean a messy stove.

AND THE MOST AMUSING…

✅ Pull out that rarely used, oversized salad spinner taking up cabinet space. Instead of spinning lettuce, use it to dry your bathing suit.

Spin for 90 seconds to eliminate most of the water. Okay, so you may not need your swimsuit to dry quickly, but if you are in need, try it. It’s faster than air drying.

Your time is valuable. I’m honored you chose to spend some of it here. Victoria😎🙏

© Victoria Kjos. All Rights Reserved. 2024.