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Cooking dinner can be that fun thing that you look forward to all day or it can feel like a tedious chore filled with too much mess and involving too little time. It’s a case of different strokes for different folk. But making the cooking process more smooth and streamlined with some easy kitchen upgrades won’t hurt anyone. If a full kitchen renovation isn’t right for you, here are some kitchen update ideas for an easy dinner time:
Open shelving
Open wall shelves create a sense of space in your kitchen and also help you cook just that little bit faster. It makes your pots, pans and dishes more accessible – and no more slamming your cabinet doors shut in a frantic rush every time you need to grab something off the shelf.
Rack ’em up
Magnetic racks are a cook’s best friend. Install one for your knives and other metal cooking utensils so you can dice and dash in a snap. Place the magnetic knife rack near your work area or next time you’re cooking, pay attention to where you stand the longest and keep the rack within an arm’s length.
Let there be light
A good lighting scheme in a kitchen is crucial – it doesn’t just help you with your slicing and dicing, but also influences the ambience of the kitchen. There’s nothing like harsh lighting to curb your appetite.
Make sure your work areas are well lit. For those shadowy spots, such as under wall cabinets or exhaust fans, install clip-on or strip lights and get some good task lighting above the dishwasher or sink. If you have an island unit, install some hanging pendant lights directly above, and put dimmers on your built-in lighting, if possible. Remember to buy energy-saving bulbs.
Get a little help from your friends
By friends, we mean handy kitchen gadgets. Save time and energy by investing in good quality kitchen mod-cons such as food processors and mixers, potato ricers and slow cookers. The list of brilliant kitchen contraptions goes is extensive.
Keep your appliances in top shape
Your kitchen probably sees the most activity in the house. That’s why maintaining your bigger kitchen appliances such as refrigerators and ovens, is important. For example, once every three to six months, vacuum under and on the back of the fridge to keep the coils from getting dusty and eventually creating problems for the refrigerator. If you do these easy maintenance tasks regularly, your appliances will love you for it.
Organise everything
The key to doing any task quickly and easily is being organised. When you know where everything in the kitchen is placed, it saves you from flipping through drawers and cupboards in search of that lemon zester. Add pull-out shelves and drawer organisers to your kitchen setup, hang pots and pans from rails for accessibility, and be in control of your kitchen!
