Our habits are what make up our day – whether we realise it or not – and the more good habits you can incorporate, the easier life will become.
Today I wanted to look at habits specifically for when you are in your kitchen – habits that will make life so much easier…
The kitchen is one of the most used rooms in most houses, so it makes sense to ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible every day.
Adding these kitchen habits into your life (most of them are able to be used daily) will transform how your kitchen works for you. They will enable you to save time and energy each and every day, what could be better than that!
So – without further ado – let’s get started! – these are my top habits to try and incorporate into your life when you are in the kitchen (and I’d love to know how many you already do, so please let me know in the comments below – thanks in advance!).
Easy Kitchen Habits To Try Today
#1 – Wipe Surfaces Daily
Quick and easy to do – but really makes a difference to how you feel when you walk into the room.
This also has another massive bonus – and that is that it makes you much more likely to tidy the surfaces regularly as well. After all – do you really want to have to move lots of bits and pieces to wipe things down every day?
TIP – Only have out what you genuinely use and need daily. Try and hide away as much as you can – even daily used items could be put in easily accessible cupboards instead…
#2 – Empty The Bin Daily
I like to have a small bin in my kitchen, as this makes emptying it a more regular event.
Why?
Kitchen bins smell. Fact. Why would you want that smell lingering any longer than it has to? I definitely don’t want to smell last nights food in the bin when I come down in the morning.
If you can empty the bin each evening, then you can start afresh the following day (you also won’t have to spend valuable time in the morning sorting out a full bin…).
#3 – Leave The Room Tidy Every Night
A quick 5-10 minutes each evening after you have finished eating means that you can go to bed safe in the knowledge that everything is ready for you in the morning.
You can come down and sort breakfast without having to do any extra jobs (and in the morning this is crucial to getting out of the house on time), and you will know where everything is.
Related: Why You Should Put Your Home to Bed Every Night
and on a similar note….
#4 – Turn The Dishwasher On After Tea
After you have finished eating your evening meal, tidy away everything and then ensure you set your dishwasher there and then.
Habits always work best when they are attached to things you already do (they don’t seem as difficult then), and so having this as the last thing you do for you tidy up means it’s not forgotten and you won’t have to come downstairs in the morning to realise you have no clean things for breakfast…
NOTE – If you don’t have a dishwasher then simply have the habit of washing everything up as soon as you finish eating (you can leave to drain/dry overnight to save a little time if you prefer. I like to wash up as I prepare tea, so that by the time I sit down to eat there isn’t actually that much left to sort out. Perfect!
#5 – Empty The Dishwasher Each Day
As soon as you walk downstairs, you probably put the kettle on and start preparing breakfast.
Why not add emptying the dishwasher to this so that you have all your clean cutlery and crockery ready for breakfast, and when breakfast is finished you can load them straight into the dishwasher before you leave for the day…
NOTE – again, if you don’t have a dishwasher, you may have your dishes drying on the rack from last night – so get into the habit of tidying these away instead.
#6 – Put Things Away As Soon As You’ve Used Them
There is nothing more frustrating than not being able to find something when it’s needed. It wastes time and increases stress which could be avoided by doing a really simple thing…
Put it back as soon as you use it!
Your kitchen needs to work for you and your needs, and it won’t work if you have bits and bobs stuffed in every cupboard and don’t have a specific place for each thing.
Take a bit of time up front to work out what makes sense to go where, and then move it around. Once you have given everything a space, then ensure it stays that way by putting things back there as soon as you use them.
This means you’ll keep on top of your kitchen without even trying!
#7 – Put New Behind Old, And Keep Them Together
By this I mean simply that when you do your food shopping, put whatever you buy BEHIND the other similar items in your cupboards/fridge/freezer.
This way you will easily be able to see what you have (and how much of everything you have), you will be able to use everything before it goes out of date, and things won’t get forgotten at the back.
And on that same note….
#8 – Check Best Before Dates Regularly
At least once a month, do a quick check of your food cupboards to ensure that you haven’t got anything out of date.
I don’t know how but it always seem to happen! Things get forgotten for a while (especially things like herbs and spices and tinned goods).
If you get into the habit of checking these regularly then you are less likely to waste your food, and you can plan your meals around what needs eating first.
#9 – Add To Shopping List Before You Run Out
I have gotten into the habit of putting things on the shopping list when I open the last packet or get near to the end of something.
Waiting until you’ve run out usually means it will be too late….
Adding it then means that you can pick up your shopping list safe in the knowledge that you have everything you are running low on as well as everything else, and you don’t have to check the cupboards.
TIP – Put your shopping list on the back of your food cupboard door – and have a pen by the side – that way you can simply add the food to the list there and then. Really convenient!
#10 – Freeze Whatever You Can
I love using my freezer as a store cupboard for food. It’s a great way to manage food because it won’t go off as quickly, and you can freeze things that may otherwise have been thrown away.
People often underestimate their freezer, but getting into the habit of having this as your store cupboard as well will transform how well your kitchen works for you.
For example – I even have lime chunks frozen which make a great addition to a gin and tonic, and saves me buying a whole lime and only using a little each time I want one!, you can also freeze wine left in a bottle to add to stews etc…, mashed potato works well as you can make a big batch and freeze in smaller portions, and freezing some bread always helps when you run out of fresh in the morning! – the list really is endless!
#11 – Cook Double Portions – At Least!
When you cook – think about cooking double and freezing half – so that you have a great home cooked meal with very little effort on a day when you don’t want to cook.
This habit will save money on takeaways and is far healthier, it will also save you loads of time as you don’t need to cook from scratch every time you want a home cooked meal.
How many of these kitchen habits do you already do?
I love adding new habits to my day – and they really do make all the difference to how much you can get done, and how well your home (and life) works for you.
Try adding just one of these kitchen habits to your schedule starting tomorrow – and you’ll see how simple it is. I can’t wait to hear all about it!
