gadget care


 
George - do most homes in your area(yours) have Basements ? (I'm surprised that not everyone has one, like 95% of homes around here. I suspect water-table & quake issues.)

Our Kitchen is a medium-sized galley kitchen that occupies a little less than 1/4 of our main level, so space is a concern for us as well. We do, however, have an un-finished basement that serves our utility & storage needs.

Anyhow - I try to separate my gadgets into two or more categories:
-Stuff that I use on a regular basis is kept close at hand in a kitchen drawer.
-Stuff that I use infrequently is kept in a plastic "Home-Depot" storage cabinet near the bottom of our basement stairs. The cabinet that I have has adjustable shelves for big stuff and pegboard-like grid inside the doors with small pockets and hooks that I can use to hang-up small items. This cabinet keeps the spiders out and helps to keep our "kitchen-surplus" organized.

Some other ideas:
-If I had more wall space, I would use hooks / magnetic bars to supplement the drawers
-If my ceilings were higher, I would put up a rack or rail, to hang-up large pots, pans, ladels, etc.

Look at the type of dishes & bowls, etc. that you have:
-Some types of plates & bowls (Corelle) are thinner, and stack in less space.
-Try to get series of plasticware, so that like-sizes are stackable. (I do not like stuff that "nests", because you constantly have to un-stack & re-stack.

If you have floor space, think about a cart with storage below & a work surface on top.

Order a catalog from The Container Store - you may get LOADS of good ideas. Their stuff is solid and affordable (some things you will want to wait for them to be on sale)

http://www.containerstore.com/welcome.htm

If you are talking about power goodies, etc. - unless you have acres of counter-top, you are simply going to have to store them and lug 'em out when you need them or remodel your kitchen. (Next home will have Large Kitchen with a walk-in Pantry!)

Hope these ideas help
 
Man, thanks for that link, Ron - just took it as I've been looking all over for a lid organizer; they just take up so much space piled up in the bottom cabinet and I usually end up having to pull almost every one of them out to find the right lid for a pot...

Found one for $3.99 - can't beat THAT price with a stick!
 
I keep most of my stuff in plastic storage tubs in my garage. They're stackable so they don't take up a lot of space. The things I use the most (tongs, grill gloves, lighter, non-stick cooking spray for my grates, etc.) fit into one tub so when I'm ready to cook I just grab that tub and haul it out to the patio. I just aquired some new buckets for brining yesterday. I hope I can stack them together and fit them in a tub as well (haven't tried yet).
 
one thing i've learned is that non stainless steel items don't do well outide, protected or not. i've wasted a lot of money on junk. now i only buy ss items. also i use semi hard pencil containers to store each individual remote thermometer. keeps things together and neat and clean.
 
Another item I've found, that I really like is:

http://www.containerstore.com/...tId=10006942&N=74107

A Wrap & Bag Organizer - I mount it inside a cabinet door at a handy location, and use it to store up to four boxes each. (Aluminum Foil, Wax Paper, Cling-Wrap, zip-bags, etc.) A Double-Whammy of benefits:

-Frees-up a drawer, to use for something else.
-Prevents two problems that occur when these types of boxes are kept in a drawer (wrecked box lids & boxes partially opening - making drawer difficult to open)

They're cheap, and they work!
(Oh God, I'm "channeling" Martha Stewart! Need... testosterone ..... Power Tools.... ugh!)
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Russell McNeely:
I keep most of my stuff in plastic storage tubs in my garage. They're stackable so they don't take up a lot of space. The things I use the most (tongs, grill gloves, lighter, non-stick cooking spray for my grates, etc.) fit into one tub so when I'm ready to cook I just grab that tub and haul it out to the patio. I just aquired some new buckets for brining yesterday. I hope I can stack them together and fit them in a tub as well (haven't tried yet) . </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

And speaking of plastic storage tubs, as a cat lover, I save a bit on those by re-using the plastic, about-5-gallon-in-size kitty litter containers for storing the charcoal in partially-opened bags, as well as for wood chunks, chips, etc.

And speaking of plastic brining tubs, Russell, not trying to play nanny here, but with respect to them, please make sure they are made of food-grade material:

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/plastics.html
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by R L Bagwell:

And speaking of plastic brining tubs, Russell, not trying to play nanny here, but with respect to them, please make sure they are made of food-grade material:

http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/plastics.html </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

They are. Got 'em at the local supermarket bakery. They had cake frosting and donut glaze in them I think . I washed them with dish soap and water. Plan to soak them with bleach water for a while and then re-wash with soap and water as outlined in the article you referred to(I think it also suggests using baking soda). I wish I had a better way to store them but I too am limited by space with a small galley-style kitchen. The plastic tubs are kind of a quick fix until I come up with something better.
 
Do I take it the bakery folks gave them to you free of charge? If so, for a tightwad like me, that may be an option....
 
Yes they just gave them to me. They even had lids. Very nice. They were just going to throw them away.
At the end of the article you referred to earlier there's a method for cleaning and removing odors from such freebies.
 
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