Can the jars and other kitchen organization tips : Rooftop Views

Rooftop Views

Can the jars and other kitchen organization tips

An article in the January 4th Denver Post hit us where we live. We love to cook but our kitchen needs a little, shall we say, CLEANING AND ORGANIZATION. Here are the tips th Post recommends:

Toss the live stuff - like baking soda, baking powder, self-rising flour and yeast. These all lose their power after a few months and have probably been sitting around in your cupboard for much longer than that. Throw them out and get new.

Arm & Hammer the fridge - Arm & Hammer now makes a box of soda specifically designed to be placed in the refrigerator. Remember to change it every 6 months.

Can the jars - Get rid of all those jars and plastic containers that lurk in the back of your cabinets "in case you might need them sometime." If sometime hasn't happened yet, it probably isn't going to happen any time soon.

Cull your cookbooks - If you haven't cooked from one of your cookbooks in the past year, you probably aren't going to. Donate them to the local library.

Organize your loose recipes - Buy a three ring binder and put blank sheets of paper in it. Trim out all those sheets of newspaper and magazines that have the desired recipe in the middle of the page so only the recipe remains. Tape them onto a blank page. Voila! Your very own cookbook.

Get rid of glasses - if you don't have a set of four that match put them in the Goodwill box.

Clean out the utensil drawer - Remove the drawer and take everything out. Now dump that mysterious grainy stuff that collects in the corners into the trash. Wipe it down with the cleanser of your choice. Toss the melted spatulas. Donate the gadgets you never use. Consider splurging on new organizing trays.

Wash the walls - Give all the walls a good wipe down to cut the greasy haze. And don't forget your hood filters.

Get on your knees - and give thanks for the good meals you had in the past year and the ones yet to come. And while you're down there, grab a scrub brush and clean the baseboards.

Fight fire - Maybe most important, keep a small fire extinguisher within easy reach, just in case.