10 tips for a Less-Cluttered Kitchen

The kitchen is the heart of the home. And all too often its arteries get clogged with bodies in motion - the perfect place for accidents to happen. Keep your family cooking safely by following these 10 simple rule for a safer, saner kitchen.

1 We don’t touch anything that will go into someone’s mouth until our hands are washed with soap.

2 We don’t cook anything without help unless we’re old enough to have a driver’s license learner’s permit.

3 We always read the entire recipe before we begin cooking to make sure that we have all the ingredients we’ll need.

4 We always turn pot handles away from ourselves. And we put boiling stuff on the back burners only.

5 We always use oven mitts or potholders when handling hot stuff from the oven or stove.

6 We work slowly when chopping or using knives, giving tasks our full attention. And we never pick up knives by their blades. We like our fingers so we use the handles.

7 We do not run or play with knives or sharp objects in our hands.

8 We don’t put our hands in a bowl that has a running mixer inside. We like our entire hand, actually, and make sure we keep it safely away from moving blades. Ditto for blenders.

9 We always make sure the base is tightened and the lid is securely on the blender before we turn it on. (Get tips on How to Clean Small Appliances).

10 We always clean up after a cooking adventure, and before we eat the results. Get 10 tips for an uncluttered kitchen.

ORGANIZE IT: 7 TIPS FOR LONG-TERM STORAGE

When it comes to long-term storage in your home - how do remember what you’ve safely stashed away -- and how can you find it in a pinch when you do need it? These 7 tips for organizing your items stored at home will simplify your storage life.

I borrowed this idea for long-term storage from a friend who borrowed it from another friend. We've all added our own touches to it over the years, and you'll need to adapt it to your needs as well.

This method can work whether you have an attic, a loft in the garage, boxes stacked against the walls of the basement, or even a rental storage unit. You can even track boxes stored in various closets this way. You’ll need sturdy boxes or plastic bins, a permanent marker, and paper to make a storage map and list. Here’s how it works:

1 Divide your stuff into large categories, such as dishes, holiday, kids’ clothes, paperwork, etc.

2 Put the items into boxes, with each category in its own box or boxes. For example, you might have three dishes boxes, four holiday boxes, five kids’ clothes boxes, and two paperwork boxes.

3 Label each box by category, such as Dishes, Holidays, Kids’ Clothes, etc., on five sides in large letters with a permanent marker. (That’s every side except the bottom!) Then assign each box in each category a number. For example, Dishes 1, Dishes 2, Holiday 1, and Holiday 2.

4 Divide your storage space into as many parts as you have categories. (You don’t have to do actually divide them, just mentally imagine your attic divided into four parts, for example.)

5 Assign one area of your storage space for each category. For example, holiday decorations go in the southeast corner of the basement.

6 On your paper, sketch your storage area, divide it up into the category areas, and label them.

7 On the same page or another page, list each box (Dishes 1, Holiday 1) and its contents (Christmas tree lights, Christmas wreath, etc.). If you add more boxes to a category, you can just add a number (Holiday 5, Holiday 6).

Take note on your list of how many boxes you have in each category. That way when you retrieve things, you'll know if you have them all. After Christmas this last year we found one box of decorations we never even unpacked. (We wondered where the Santa hats were.)

Now, when you want to find a special Christmas decoration, all you have to do is consult your list (it's in Holiday 4) and your map. (Holiday is near the southeast corner of the basement.) And so can your family!

THE CHOOSE-A-CHORE CHART

A friend of mine, Mary, adapted a common chore chart system for her family, which includes four children ages 3 through 13.

First Mary created a chore chart out of a large piece of poster board. She made a large table of index-card-size spaces. She listed her family members’ names down the far left column with blank spaces in the columns to the right. In each blank space, Mary placed a piece of Velcro.

Then Mary created a series of Velcro-backed index cards, each labeled with a different chore. The children designed symbols for each chore so that the non-readers could keep up.

On Sunday nights, the whole family gathers around the kitchen table to select their chores for the week. They take turns, choosing one chore at a time and then sticking their chore cards on the chore chart by their name.

The children have to choose as many chores as half their age. The 3-year-old gets one card; the 13-year-old gets six cards.

There are three types of chores: standing chores, weekly chores, and heavy-duty chores.

1 Standing chores are personal chores that you must do each week. Period. For example, making your bed and keeping your room tidy are personal chores. And in Mary’s home if it’s your pet, you feed it. You don’t get a card for this; you just do it.

2 Weekly chores include cleaning the bathroom, washing the kitchen floor, emptying the dishwasher, setting and clearing the table, and helping prepare dinner.

3 Heavy-duty chores are harder jobs such as cleaning the garage, cleaning window tracks, raking leaves, and washing the car. The kids earn extra money for these chores. They can volunteer to do them in addition to their other chores to earn extra cash.

Each kid gets 25 cents per week per year of age as an allowance. The 3-year-old gets 75 cents; the 13-year-old gets $4.25. If they do not do their chores or if Mary or the nanny have to nag, they only get a percentage of their allowances—or none at all.

Mary has been using this system for five years. And she never nags.