A lot of people think that once you’ve got everything in your kitchen, that’s it - whenever you want to prepare something, you just have to make do with whatever counter space isn’t already being taken up by appliances. If you find yourself frequently running out of room to work with when it comes time for dinner - and with big holiday dinners rapidly approaching, space is going to be at a premium - you might want to consider putting together a designated kitchen prep area!
Remember the ‘Kitchen Triangle’
An idea put forth in the 1940s, the Kitchen Triangle is a concept that still carries some weight today. The thinking is to try and position everything in a ‘work triangle’ between the stove, refrigerator, and sink, in order to accomplish all of the tasks associated with cooking with a minimum of effort. While not every kitchen is going to be designed to accommodate a ‘triangle’ shape, the idea of locating your work area with the easiest access possible to all the needed appliances is an important one.
Use the Right Surface
An easy way to indicate the location of your designated prep area is to make it out of a different surface than the rest of your countertops. Setting up a cart with a butcher block top will provide the perfect surface for any food or ingredients you have to work with, and will allow you to differentiate that space from the rest of your counter surface.
Keep Everything Together
Once you’ve got your surface set up and put together, it’s a good idea to keep your most used supplies right nearby. Try to keep common ingredients, spices, and the like on adjacent shelves to your work surface, or maybe on baskets underneath if you’ve got a baker’s rack. Keeping everything at arm’s reach will let you cook more efficiently and keep everything you need right there in the kitchen triangle to save time and energy.
Sure, you’re going to have enough on your mind when you start getting everything together for Thanksgiving or the holidays and you might not be in a big mood to relocate some stuff in your kitchen, but trust us - the effort and time you save will be worth it.
Keep Everything Together
Once you’ve got your surface set up and put together, it’s a good idea to keep your most used supplies right nearby. Try to keep common ingredients, spices, and the like on adjacent shelves to your work surface, or maybe on baskets underneath if you’ve got a baker’s rack. Keeping everything at arm’s reach will let you cook more efficiently and keep everything you need right there in the kitchen triangle to save time and energy.
Sure, you’re going to have enough on your mind when you start getting everything together for Thanksgiving or the holidays and you might not be in a big mood to relocate some stuff in your kitchen, but trust us - the effort and time you save will be worth it.