How to Organize Cutlery and Kitchen Tools

Knives, odd baking tools and barbecue gadgets can quickly wreak havoc on your kitchen's carefully constructed organization system. Put these tools where they belong--and where you won't forget that you even own them.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

1. Edit your collection: Throw out or give away that rusty serrated knife, the apple peeler you've never used and the caked-withgrease grill brush.
2. Keep knives in a knife block, on a magnetic strip on your wall (unless you have young kids) or covered with plastic blade protectors in a drawer.
3. Store the tools you use often (can opener, vegetable peeler, measuring spoons) in your silverware drawer, where you can get to them easily.
4. Keep lesser-used cutlery and tools (boning knives, oyster shuckers, cherry pitters, meat tenderizers) in a covered plastic container tucked inside a drawer. Tape a list of what's inside to the top of the lid. See 57 Live Better Through Labeling.

Tips & Warnings

• See 73 Make Your Home Safe for Small Children.
• Store spatulas, wooden spoons, tongs and other frequently used utensils in a canister by your stove-- they'll be in arm's reach and will free up valuable drawer space.
• Make sure your knives are completely dry before you store them in butcher blocks. Bacteria can form from droplets of water left on the blades after washing.