I have no idea where all these cooking utensils have come from. Apparently at one time we thought we needed all these things. I’m not sure why I’ve put off dealing with any of it but I finally decided enough was enough already!
Plus my Pampered Chef Turnabout was STUFFED as well.
Those bins in the drawers kept everything contained but stuff was piling up making it difficult to dig through it all especially with knives in those baskets, so not safe! So following the PROCESS steps, I started by dumping the entire drawer and the turnabout as well. If I simply shuffled through it, I would never have been able to achieve the level of purging that I did.
You need to see everything spread out in front of you and once you’ve done that then you can start sorting it out. Putting like with like allows you to see how many of one item you have.
For instance, I had no idea I had THREE pizza cutters. Why in the world do I need three pizza cutters? Two yes (one for regular pizza, one for gluten free) but three no way. Plus this seemed like a lot of spatulas to me.
same with wooden spoons and whisks, yikes!
Once I started sorting through it all, this purging machine went to work. Toss, toss, toss!!! I literally sang that to myself. There were things in there I haven’t used in forever and in fact there were things I didn’t even know what they were used for. Sheesh!!
The purge pile:
So now that my drawer was emptied out and my stock cut by at least half, it was time to do some organizing. I was sent a fantastic solution to try out for holding utensils/knives in place called Drawer Decor. It’s basically a mat you insert into your drawer to keep things from sliding around plus you can add these repositionable “divitz” that come with the kit to hold items firmly in place. I totally wasn’t expecting to love it as much as I do!
One set includes 1 silicone mat (20″x14″), 5 long divitz, 5 short divitz and 5 triangle divitz for $25.99 (comes in different colors too). Now available in my Opensky shop!!
My utensil drawer afterwards:
The white basket in the back holds my fancier serving utensils that I don’t need regular access to and as you can see I’m down to one miscellaneous basket at the front. Basically that holds everything that is too odd sized to fit in my turnabout. I also relocated my home oils to my candle drawer. I love that my knives are easily accessible now and even though I have them face up I think it is much safer than the way I used to have them stored.
Close up of my divitz at work. My two oldest kids (14 and 12) totally think it’s cool because I’ve caught them a few times opening the drawer just to check it out. I love that the knives stay put when you open the drawer. So awesome!
My turnabout after. Things are no longer impossible to remove or put back.
Whoot, such a great feeling to have this done!!! Now I’m off to the thrift store with my purge pile, so happy to get it out of here!
Have you organized your cooking utensils lately?
Emilie says
I have two organizers. One by my stove for pancake turners, slotted and wooden spoons and other cooking utensils. I have another on the opposite counter by where I bake. This crock has my whisk, spatulas, pie server, and other things related to baking. It makes them both less crowded and saves me trips across my kitchen when I am cooking or baking!
I do also have a “scary drawer”. This has everything else…most of which should be tossed or donated. It is on my list of porjects to do! Thank you for the reminder to do it. That will be my goal for the week.
Suzanne Jackson says
One thing a recent move did for me was help me PURGE my utensils! I also keep some oddball pieces that are helpful but not commonly used in a plastic shoebox in the pantry to minimize that drawer clutter.
I love the Drawer Decor concept! I’ve heard that keeping knives in a drawer can dull them; any thoughts on storing them using this product?
Kevin @ KMN Home says
Thanks so much to Laura for featuring our product. It is very cool to see the comments and thoughts regarding our DrawerDecor product. We’re in a continuous cycle of product development and a knife storage system that plugs in is definitely on the drawing boards. Coming soon are taller divitz to allow stacking of similar utensils as well as a flatware organizer!
MaryJo @ reSPACEd: Budget Organizing says
I find that the secret to maintaining order in drawers (besides purging unused stuff regularly) is labeling. I find that without labels, stuff just doesn’t get put back where it came from, because family members don’t pay that close attention to which little container in the drawer they took the item from. Labeling, in my experience, is crucial when more than one person has access to the drawer.
The Divitz are a great idea, by the way. Are the divits repositionable? Do they have stickies on the back to make them stay put?
Laura says
No stickies required…they are repositionable and hold awesome.
Kevin @ KMN Home says
That is the beauty of DrawerDecor, it naturally sticks to itself and eternally repositionable. No magnets, no adhesives, just pure awesomeness. 🙂
MaryJo @ reSPACEd: Budget Organizing says
Hi Kevin,
I just sent you an email about your product. Please let me know what you think. Thanks!
Vickie says
I haven’t organized mine in a while but reading this post has put me in the mood and I can already think of things that need to go!
Karen says
I did my utensil drawer on Sunday afternoon. It would be great to have one of those – if the drawer wasn’t 35cm wide! I had a good cull, though no duplicates. I put stuff that I rarely used in a basket in the pantry, the larger cooking utensils in the holder next to the stove (I need another one as it’s a bit cramped in there) and grabbed some spare baskets from a cupboard to organise the rest in the drawer. Much better.
Chloe says
I cleared my drawer out in the summer and it was such a relief. I’ve been able to find things ever since. I’ve got the basket at the back with the rarely used items which makes grabbing the day to day stuff so much easier. I really like the look of those divitz. I’ve got the same question as MaryJo though – do they just stay in place because they’re on the silicone mat or are they stuck down?
Jen says
I recently renovated my kitchen, and in the packing/unpacking process, you’d be amazed at how much purging I was able to do. 3 large boxes went to goodwill, plus a couple of things that I gave to my sister in law, and I threw out a lot of stuff that was just not in good shape. I did need to buy some additional items so it’s not as big of a win as it sounds, but I was pretty proud of all the purging. And embarrassed that the stuff had been sitting in my kitchen for all that time. That silicone mat looks really great, it would be a good way to organize my utensil drawer – it is a pretty big drawer but as you can imagine it fills up fast!
Tammy says
Funny that you posted this today, I was just thinking of how to get enter store knives since a block takes up so much counter space. I think the
Tammy says
Funny that you posted this today, I was just thinking of how to get enter store knives since a block takes up so much counter space. I think the blades up is a little scary, I’m sure it will be fine, but scary none the less. I found this solution at Williams Sonoma and am adding it to my Christmas list 🙂 http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/modular-in-drawer-knife-rack/?pkey=e%7Cknife%2Bstorage%7C9%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C8&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-NoMerchRules-_-
Rooh says
I need to do a purge of my kitchen drawer that’s like yours 🙂 But I LIKE having a bunch of wooden spoons – baking with kids requires a few!
I have to say, though, that your knives standing blade up kind of freaks me out. Some hand going in there the wrong way … ouch!
Candice says
Love this! My giant stash of misc utensils are just screaming for some organization. Eventually I’ll hit that area of the kitchen. Until then I’m still hard at work on my closets. I’m finding it so much easier to part with things now that I’ve found your blog.
And I have to say that my new favourite organizing items are white office boxes from Staples! OMGosh they are awesome!! I love that they are all the same size (stacking made easy!), you can write on the front (I’ll never question what’s in a box again!) & they’re so easy to keep neat & tidy =)
ter@waaoms says
wow, that thing holding the knives is neat.
Way back when I started my blog, I organized my utensil drawer and it has actually stayed pretty organized since!! It’s just a matter of finding what works, then it will stay like that forever for me. However, I do have a container on my counter for the things I use most but for some reason one side is shorter than the other so my things keep falling out. I need something else to keep them in, but until then it’ll do.
Heather B says
Send that purge pile to Heather B in Southern Illinois please! The kids have destroyed my wooden spoons digging up “treasures” in the back yard, my whisk has become a weapon wielded by the 2 year old. My pizza cutter? Hubby used it to cut sleeves off a shirt!?! Now I have to cut pizza with my kitchen scissors! Great purge!!!
More Than A Mom says
Here I was thinking about how organized it was with the baskets and then you showed us the divits! LOL
Thanks for telling us where you brought the discarded items. I find that the hardest part when getting rid of stuff – what to do with the perfectly good items I no longer need.
Laura says
All the profits from our local thrift store go to buy equipment for our hospital so I always feel good about donating there and do so on a weekly basis!! 🙂
JeniferR says
I LOVE the divitz. Never seen nor heard of anything like this. I am re-posting this to my blog right now!!
Susanne says
I purged a bit this spring when I had my yard sale but it definitely needs a more deeper one. I need to get tough.
Food on the Table says
Organizing utensils and spices are two of the most time-consuming tasks for me. I’ve found that the plastic organizers from The Container Store are life-changing in my utensil drawers along with hooks for the bigger things.
Living the Balanced Life says
I did this recently. Once I got rid of the things I did not use (or even know what they were or where they came from, lol!) I did not even need to “organize” them. They just fit nicely into a drawer, plus I have a handy little counter stand to hang most of the cooking spoons and spatulas on.
I do love the divitz though, may have to look at that!
Bernice
Do the holidays throw you off balance?
Lisa says
I recently reorganized several “trouble” spots in my kitchen and the large tool drawer was one place I HAD to tackle. You can see photos here: http://hopewellmomschoolreborn.blogspot.com/2011/10/weekend-of-organizing-part-iii.html
Dee says
I had to laugh, I have too many spatulas but can’t part with them. My kids and husband love the movie VHF, a Weird Al movie. In it he sings a song about Spatula City, a store that sells spatulas, and the advertising line is “nothing says I Love You like a spatula.” So, one year for Christmas my husband and 3 sons each picked out a spatula for me and each time I use one, I hear “I Love You..” Now those kind of things are worth the clutter….But I will get rid of some of the other stuff to keep room for the multi-colored spatulas.
Samantha says
i did recently organize our kitchen utensil drawers – wow! amazing what had been hiding in there! 🙂
thanks for all of your inspiration!
Sarah says
Utensils are on my list to finish before the end of the year. I think the utensils that I never use were once something I found really handy but then I got tired of whatever food it was designed for preparing. I’m going to try not to buy any more utensils that are for a sole purpose, because eventually their sole purpose is to take up space!
Melissa says
These are awesome – but can they be used for regular silverware, stacked? It seems like maybe not. My silverware drawer is organizationally ok..but it gets dirty quickly and is definitely not as pretty as this.
Amy says
Love the organization the DrawerDecor provides, but I can’t find it anywhere! Where did you purchase the DrawerDecor?
Laura says
From my shop on Opensky: http://bit.ly/s7JxOj
Home Page says
Unlike tin canisters or even solid-colored plastic containers, you can find
many fashionable and functional person knife block products to complement the trendy new look.