Get organised by de-cluttering

Whether you’re cooking for yourself or the whole family, you’re going to spend a considerable amount of time in the kitchen. Make that time as productive and pleasant as possible – and save precious time for doing other things – by following these basic ideas for efficiency.

* If all the cake pans rush to greet you every time you open a cupboard, if you can never find the potato peeler, if you haven’t made bread in your bread machine since the Christmas you got it, or if you own enough takeaway containers to open a shop, identify your specific clutter issues because you’re wasting an enormous amount of time on them.

* De-clutter the second drawer down. Empty out each utensil and inspect it, setting aside anything that’s broken or useless. Throw out broken utensils and take ones you no longer use to an op-shop or charity shop. Clean out the drawer before replacing all the remaining utensils.

* Sort out all the pots and pans stored in kitchen cupboards and get rid of anything superfluous. This will make room and you won’t waste any more time looking for what you need at the back of a cupboard.

* For each kitchen gadget, ask yourself, ‘When was the last time I used this?’ If you can’t think of the answer, don’t waste any more time: give it away, throw it out or at least don’t keep it in the kitchen. Only keep the things you have used in the last month. Don’t be sentimental!

* Put the things you do use every day in places where they are obvious and most easily accessible. This way you’ll always have them to hand, which saves time instantly.

Get organised by de-cluttering

Whether you’re cooking for yourself or the whole family, you’re going to spend a considerable amount of time in the kitchen. Make that time as productive and pleasant as possible – and save precious time for doing other things – by following these basic ideas for efficiency.

* If all the cake pans rush to greet you every time you open a cupboard, if you can never find the potato peeler, if you haven’t made bread in your bread machine since the Christmas you got it, or if you own enough takeaway containers to open a shop, identify your specific clutter issues because you’re wasting an enormous amount of time on them.

* De-clutter the second drawer down. Empty out each utensil and inspect it, setting aside anything that’s broken or useless. Throw out broken utensils and take ones you no longer use to an op-shop or charity shop. Clean out the drawer before replacing all the remaining utensils.

* Sort out all the pots and pans stored in kitchen cupboards and get rid of anything superfluous. This will make room and you won’t waste any more time looking for what you need at the back of a cupboard.

* For each kitchen gadget, ask yourself, ‘When was the last time I used this?’ If you can’t think of the answer, don’t waste any more time: give it away, throw it out or at least don’t keep it in the kitchen. Only keep the things you have used in the last month. Don’t be sentimental!

* Put the things you do use every day in places where they are obvious and most easily accessible. This way you’ll always have them to hand, which saves time instantly.