Drawer Disorder

When I met my boyfriend this morning I was greeted with, “So, there’s a bunch of stuff I need you to do in my apartment today.”  While my first thought was “well hello to you too” and then “oh man and here I had planned to spend the day doing my own apartment projects” I took another look at his how-can-you-resist-me-smile and puppy-dog eyes and figured, oh what the heck! “Plus,” he added happily, “It can go in your blog!” 

Walking into his kitchen I knew immediately what the project would be. The Silverware Drawer. It was a disaster. He had the right equipment (divided tray), but he wasn’t actually using it. You can have all the right pieces, but if you aint putting them together, it won’t do you a lot of good.

So the first step, as all first steps go, was to empty the drawer.  After that we sorted all the different implements into various piles and I had him go through which items he actually used. We were able to get rid of a couple of things (a really rusty can opener, an old wine corker) and also found that some things in the drawer really belonged elsewhere (an apple corer and a trivet). The next step (as always) was to clean out the drawer, along with the silverware tray. 

Now we were faced with an empty drawer, a cleaned out silverware tray, and a variety of utensils that needed a home. 

After placing what we could back in the tray (without overcrowding!), we still had a bunch of items that were homeless. I suggested checking out The Container Store for some extra drawer organizers. He decided on the bamboo design and voila- his serving spoons, baking utensils, and other various instruments now have a pretty place to live!

The key with kitchen drawers is not overstuffing. You want to be able to easily get to items when you need them and then be able to actually close the drawer once you’ve gotten what was needed. It is also important to keep like utensils together; for example, having a section for your wooden spoons that are used for baking, and then another container for serving pieces. If you are so lucky as to have more than one drawer in the kitchen, group the silverware in one, baking utensils in another, and the miscellaneous kitchen tools (does anyone really use a garlic mincer??) in a third location. This makes it easier when cooking to know where to go, plus grouping like items together means fewer trips to different places within the kitchen. 

One more tip about drawers- liners give the space a nice fresh finish. Plus they are easier to clean and if they get really gross you can always replace them. Container Store even sells scented liners which add a cool touch (or smell, rather!).