The Golden Rule of home organisation...

I’m in the kitchen but not cooking today!

This time I’m here to talk to you about keeping an organised home.

I don’t live in a show home. I absolutely love ‘things’ and my home is not always perfect and it is not always immaculate.

But I have found that the golden rule of home organisation is this -

If everything has a place, then it’s relatively easy to keep an organised home.

Think of it this way, if the Sellotape has a specific place, and everybody in the household knows that that is where the Sellotape lives at all times, you avert stress and chaos and maintain organisation.

I’m going to have a little walk around my kitchen and just explain where I keep certain things, and why it works for me. Keeping your things in the same place may not work for you, but the trick really is to find out what does and make those places the places that those things stay.

The secret of course to this method of organisation, is to make sure that everybody learns where those spots are, and that can be a challenge but you will get there!

FRIDGES/FREEZERS

We redesigned our house 9 or 10 years ago and I worked with the kitchen designers to ensure we ended up with a kitchen that worked really well for us. We have a big American fridge freezer and it is perfect for what we need.

On the front are my special photos, fitness workouts, schedules and children’s chores.

In the right-side door, we have butter at top, salted on one side and unsalted on the other.

Dressings and ‘grown-up’ bits are on the shelf below, with sauces one shelf down from that so that the children can reach them.

I keep a fridge thermometer clipped onto this shelf as I think it’s really important to keep an eye on the temperature of the fridge. All of mine have one!

Lastly, we have milk and juice.

Over in the main section of the fridge, we have jars up at the top, with savoury on one side and sweet on the other.

On the shelf below we have dairy such as yoghurts and cheeses, followed by our butter dish, more juices and green tea! I was advised by a lovely Chinese gentleman that green tea should be kept in the fridge and have done so ever since.

Next up we have the veg & salad drawer, and in the lower drawer, we have fish on one side and meat on the other. I also like to store fresh pasta in this drawer, normally on the fish side.

Inside the other door, we have at the top more cheeses, in the middle children’s snacks such as Pepperamis and snack bars, and on the bottom wine and water.

Making our way down to the freezer drawer, we have Tupperware filled with surplus products such as white sauce, that I always make when cooking for ease later on. I label absolutely everything to ensure I know what it is and when it went into the freezer.

I also keep adult meals on one side, and children’s on the other! I do like to keep any leftover/opened but not yet used food inside Tupperware as it is much less likely to get freezer burn and much easier to store.

I always have one large Tupperware for breadcrumbs and crumble mixtures, as these are always brilliant to have to hand.

This freezer in the house is for every day, storing the things I use the most and need to have to hand, but I do have two more freezers in the garage, one for family and one for catering.

I do have a Freezer Diary printable download that I’d love to share with you all so you can record everything you have in the freezer at any one time. It is absolutely brilliant for knowing what you are running low on and what you might need to gather more of and basically works as a stock take for your freezer. Do click here to download!

Our other little fridge is for drinks. We were going to have a proper wine fridge, but they are really expensive and actually this one is fully integrated so it’s hidden away and holds lots of drinks so is great for catering or hosting a party!

CUPBOARDS/DRAWERS

I have our Microwave hidden away in a cupboard above the drinks fridge so it’s not being seen when it’s not being used.

Below our cutlery drawer, we have a drawer for children’s plastic plates and bowls, collected from when the children were younger. We don’t actually need these for our own children any more, but they are good to have to hand for visits from others with little ones.

Below this, we have one drawer for Aga-specific towels and cloths.

EITHER SIDE OF THE AGA

In the first drawer, we have plastic bags, cling film and baking paper etc. These are all very useful too have to hand next to Aga.

In the cupboard below we have baking dishes, jam-making bits and pieces, cooling racks and big serving dishes.

Over on the other side, we have phone chargers etc in the drawer, followed by our frequently used saucepans in the cupboard below.

Next to this, we have a brilliant pull-out corner unit to make the absolute most of the space. This contains salad bowls, sieves, jugs, bowls, a vegetable steamer and the cafetiere.

Right next to this one as we make our way towards the kitchen sink and dishwasher, we have the bin hidden away in a cupboard.

UNDER THE SINK

The cupboard under the sink houses rubber gloves, cloths and cleaning products. When the children were little, I didn’t keep anything like this under the sink for safety reasons, now they are older I am still careful and don’t keep bleach under here, but other products are okay.

We also have cleaning brushes, scourers and baby wipes for quick action emergencies. I do like to keep a soap dish hidden away here too, holding the dish sponge and scourers from the sink so they are tucked away when not being used.

My absolute favourite dishcloths are from Spontex and they are £1.50 each for a pack of 2. I do find that they don’t get properly clean in the washing machine, so every now and then I like to soak them overnight in bleach and then run them through the washing machine. This spruces them up whilst also killing the germs.

Also housed under the sink is one of my absolute favourite products, Zoflora. Zoflora is fantastic for wiping surfaces and cleaning your fridge etc whilst also leaving a gorgeous scent around the home. You simply dilute with water before use!

KITCHEN ISLAND

Over on the other side of the kitchen island, we have a few cupboards and drawers. All utensils go into the sectioned top drawer, and everything has its right spot, for example, all wooden utensils in one section.

In the drawer below I keep cheese graters and more and in the drawer below that, frying pans and big Aga trays.

In one of the cupboards, we have a really handy compost bin. This means that as I chop or peel materials that can be composted, I can simply sweep them into the small bin and take it away when needed! I also have Tupperware and empty yoghurts pots in here so I can recycle them for holding sauces etc.

CUPBOARDS BY THE FRIDGE

We have plugs wired into the back of a few of our cupboards so I can keep things like my Nutribullet and toaster inside and they can be kept tucked away. Mugs and glasses sit on the shelves above these.

Over on the other side, I have some bits that may seem a bit random but that work for me! Firstly my trusty Kenwood and Magimax with the accompanying jug and bits on the shelf above.

Daily vitamins for the family are kept on the shelf above these, and our medical baskets are kept on the very top shelf. Keeping these here is handy for if anyone comes in and they’ve cut themselves, for instance, I have everything I need right there but the children can’t easily get to them.

If you’d like to know exactly what I keep in my medical baskets, do check out my previous blog post all about what’s inside them by clicking here!

In the drawers below this cupboard, I have my own ‘Mummy’s Drawer’ with eternally handy things such as a tape measure and calculator.

Baking things are kept below here, with items such as scales, my Kenwood attachments and then my trusty baking trays are all below that.

I hope you’ve found my little kitchen tour useful, if you’d like any more areas looked into with more detail please do let me know!

Love,