By Karina Struven

Upon doing my Spring Cleaning, I wanted to share with you some Kitchen Basics.

It is my belief that every home needs a well organized pantry. If you don't have the luxury of a walk in pantry, don't despair! You should be able to designate and organize an area in your home to serve as the pantry. Even if you put up shelves in your basement.

The benefits of maintaining a well-stocked and neatly organized pantry are numerous. A bonus is that you won't have to make as many trips to the store. If you follow these easy steps that I have outlined in this article for you -- by starting with keeping items inventoried and making a complete list of what you need to purchase -- it will not only save you much aggravation, but will allow you to use the coupons you have clipped and purchase items on sale and even in bulk, saving you: gas, time and money! As well as your sanity!

Function - First in the Pantry

It does not matter how large or small your pantry is, but FUNCTION needs to be your first consideration. Here are a few functional tips for organizing your pantry:

* Just like organizing any room in your home, a pantry should be planned to save time, energy, efficiency; and therefore, money!

* Your pantry should be well-lit so that you can see all areas.

* Make your pantry efficient for you. It should be located centrally in your home. Either in the kitchen or a hall closet that is relatively close to your work area. If needed, it is perfectly fine to create multiple pantry areas. If doing this, just remember to organize each space so that the items needed in the kitchen are in the kitchen, cleaning supplies separate from food, and bedding and bath linens are near your home's bedrooms and bathrooms, and so on.

* Consider the humidity and temperature of your pantry; you don't want to store dry food items in a damp place and a pantry that has a relatively cool, constant temperature is ideal.

* If space is limited, buy plastic storage containers that you can stack in a coat closet, on top of closet shelves, and/or even under your bed. In these containers, I would keep items that you access less often in these storage areas. If you buy in bulk to save money and keep the excess inventory in these less easily accessed areas, you can always restock a smaller supply in your most convenient pantry storage area.

* Keeping a "good inventory" of the items you use regularly will allow you to be able to avoid tempting sale prices on items you don't use and/or you don't need.

Getting Started - Cleaning Out The Pantry

Now that you have planned your pantry for function, it is now time to get started on reorganizing!

Once you have established your pantry area, you'll want to start by removing everything - I know, I know - don't freak - by removing everything will be able to help you get started and in order.

1. Empty your pantry completely - moving everything into boxes, tabletops and/or counter tops. Discard or recycle anything that you find is spoiled, expired, stale or otherwise unusable.

2. Before setting about to put things in order - you are going to have fun by disassembling whatever food cupboards you currently use. Look at everything as you take it out and consider the following: How long has it been since you used that item? For example, Herbs - loose a great deal of flavor after 6 months even in a dark, cool space. While you're at it check expiration date and throw away accordingly. Remember the rule: When in doubt, Throw it out!

3. Clean any dust or dirt off of each item as you go.

4. If something has lost it's label, but you know for certain what it is, make either a handmade (or digital created) label for easy recognition and mount it to your container.

5. The best part about this process - even if it is time consuming, is that it only has to be done twice a year. Plan to do it in the Spring and Fall.

6. Clean the shelving and walls thoroughly with a solution of warm water and mild soap, drying them with a towel and by letting the shelf surfaces dry thoroughly.

Preparation - Pantry Space

Once you have removed everything, cleaned and prepared your pantry space, you are ready to start re-organization. This is the fun part!

Here are my suggested steps for getting your pantry ready for increased efficiency, order and money saving!

1. As you begin to organize your "Well-Stocked Pantry"...look for any available space you can use to store items; the back of a pantry door can be used to store spices and other small items if you hang a rack over the door. You can purchase these racks at either: Bed Bath and Beyond, Home Depot, Lowes, Target and or any other similar retail store.

2. If needed, now is the time to repaint your pantry walls and shelves. I believe that white or off-white is generally the best color for a pantry. It shows cleanliness!

3. At this point, you can lay down some easily wipe-off surface paper on your shelves. This will protect your shelf surfaces from stains.

4. Your next step is organizing your shelves according to the contents that you want to keep in your "Well-Stocked Pantry."

5. I suggest getting some of Tupperware's Modular Mate containers. They are great for keeping dry goods such as flour, sugar, pasta, teabags, coffee beans, and cereal. I believe that using rectangular or square containers will take up less space and stack more neatly than round or oval shaped containers.

The Pantry Re-Organizing

Now that you have cleaned out your pantry, you can begin to get things organized by using the following steps:

1. Start by sorting pantry items into categories: Examples include: fruits, vegetables, soups, condiments, boxed lunches/dinners, canned meats, sauces, baking goods, and rice/pasta/dry beans. While you're doing this first round of categorizing, be sure to put the items in order by their expiration dates, by putting the soonest expiring being the last item to go back into the pantry (i.e. it will be in front, thereby reducing wastefulness).

2. The heaviest of items should go on the lower shelves. Especially if you have a lazy Susan installed. For example, you have a large can of Tomato Sauce, put it on the lowest shelf with the canisters for your baking goods. In the meantime, leave the upper shelves open for those items that you use frequently, and lighter weight items like beans, pasta and/or rice.

3. By using canisters you can keep dry goods and baking items such as: flour and sugar, fresh and bug free. You can keep smaller items, such as tea and coffee, dried fruits and bouillon in small baskets and/or plastic bins, which also helps keep them fresh.

4. Group items that are alike together: breakfast items, snack items, baking goods, cleaning supplies, dish linens, etc. It is important that if you take a bit of time to consider how things are arranged in the grocery store where you typically shop, you can group your pantry items similarly. Using subgroups will help to keep things more neatly stored and easily accessible. For example, all canned goods go on one shelf, organized into subgroups such as: fruits, vegetables, soups, crackers and cookies, etc.

5. Labeling shelves will help you keep your groups in order.

Pantry Inventory List and Restocking

Now that you have cleaned our your "Well-Stocked Pantry," have discarded outdated items, added shelving (if needed), you will want to take inventory. By doing this it will help you to determine what is missing and what needs to be regularly re-supplied.

For your convenience, I have created a starter list of common items you may want to keep in your pantry and add to your own pantry inventory list:

* Canned Items - Soup, Broths, Vegetables, Fruit, Beans, Tomatoes, etc.; * Jar Foods - Tomato Paste and Sauce, Olives, Pickles, Peanut Butter, Jams and Jellies * Baking Items - Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Flour, Sugar, Extracts and more! * Spices - Salt, Pepper, Basil, Italian Season, Tarragon, Paprika, Crushed Red Pepper and more! * Starches - Pasta, Potatoes, Rice * Condiments - Soy Sauce, Vinegar, Ketchup, Mustard, Mayonnaise * Sweeteners - Syrup, Honey, Artificial Sweetener * Dry Goods - Cereals, Oatmeal, Pancake Mix, Raisins & Dried Fruit, Nuts & Seeds * Oils - Olive Oil, Canola Oil, Peanut Oil, Vegetable Oil, etc.

Keeping The Pantry Well Organized

Now that you have your pantry cleaned and organized, you will want to follow these few easy tips to keep it that way:

1. Don't buy things that won't get used; this will save money! 2. Do buy only according your tastes, budget and needs. 3. Look for coupons and sale items to keep in your pantry 4. Use your pantry regularly, checking your inventory to be sure that you are not overstocked. 5. If possible, items such as paper towels, paper plates, napkins, etc. that will not expire or become stale, purchase in larger quantities.

The Wrap-Up

If possible, try to buy reserve quantities of the staple items that you use the most. This will avoid "out-of-stock" items. Having an extra jar of mayo or some reserve cans of chicken and/or tuna salad can come in very handy with a surprise visit from a friend. Be sure to add these items to your shopping list when you break into your reserves. With kids in the house, you might want to consider making a special area and/or basket where you can keep quick snacks and treats handy. This will help keep the kids out the pantry! Homemade trail mix is a great snack and easy to store!

I have found that it is best to try to reorganize your pantry when you are alone, or have a block of time available for you to concentrate and complete the project quickly!

Remember to store cleaning products and chemicals away from your food items!

Keep items that you use the most often in front and readily visible!

Stack cans, jars and other items so that the labels can be easily read.

Always be on the lookout for new organization aids such as: baskets, wire baskets, adjustable racks, stacking containers, and more that will improve your pantry organization.

Make a "guest" or "refreshment" shelf to keep crackers, dips, chips, drink mixes and other items handy so you are ready to have an impromptu party or your children's friends.

Keep paper/pencil and/or a small whiteboard in your pantry. You could also paint a chalkboard on the back of your pantry door. You will be surprised how this will encourage family members to add what they would like to the inventory or what they have noticed is out-of-stock.

If you can't get everything into the pantry neatly, you might store non-essential items in a more "remote" storage location such as the garage or basement.

Basic Pantry Staples:

Baking Soda Baking Powder Corn Starch Flour Sugar (Powdered, Granulated and Brown) Yeast Stock (Chicken, Beef, Vegetable) Maple Syrup Cooking Wine Milk Butter Eggs Mustard Lemons (or Lemon Juice) Mayonnaise Garlic Hot Sauce Onions Parmesan cheese

Other Handy Pantry Items:

Dried Beans Pastas Spaghetti Sauce Canned Soup (Cream of Chicken or Mushroom) Various Cheeses Sour Cream Cream Cheese Frozen Vegetables (usually frozen taste better) Potatoes Celery Carrots

Happy Pantrying!

-Karina's Garden of Grace-

(http://karinastruven.blogspot.com)

By Brian Keith Young

As an Architect, I try to utilize the best means of design to make a house more efficient and well utilized for the square footage. In this article, I'm dealing with kitchen design, and how to make it more efficient in use and storage, make it feel more open than a standard kitchen, but do it in a smaller size (square footage costs money).

I am a big believer in the "Open Floor Plan" which has fewer walls and doors, with rooms tied together as open visual space. Keeping the Great Room, Dining Room and Kitchen "open" (meaning no walls between them) help make all the rooms "feel bigger". The wall removal helps facilitate the open communications between the rooms. You don't feel isolated in the kitchen when wall barriers are removed, and thus people don't have to step into the kitchen to talk to you. They can do it from outside the kitchen zone.

Keep you ceilings tall by putting in scissors trusses. You can make your walls 8 foot tall, but by adding the scissors truss (peak at 13 to 14 feet) will give you lots of visual space and a less confined feeling. And get a skylight in the kitchen. The opening for a skylight can be much bigger than the skylight itself. Get the opening from the peak of the ceiling to the edge of the wall, and locate the skylight near a perpendicular wall so it will disperse the light throughout the kitchen. Put some "niches" in your tall walls above the 8' line for greenery, or statues. Put "puck" lights in these niches for accent lighting.

Use tall, 2' deep cabinets instead of overhead cabinets. 2 foot deep, 7 foot tall cabinets (or 8 foot tall) are also known as pantry or utility cabinets. With fixed shelves, they hold over 4 times as much stuff as an overhead cabinet. Put a line of tall cabinets along a back wall, and near the opening to the kitchen zone. By having a 2' wide, 2' deep, 7' tall cabinet near the Kitchen opening (usually next to the Dining Area) it can store all the glasses, dishes, platters, and bowls that you use on a daily basis. People don't have to enter the kitchen to get the dinnerware to set the table as you would with overhead cabinets.

By using just 3 tall cabinets (2' deep 7' tall) at the rear of the kitchen, and the open floor plan, this allows all the rest of the kitchen to have 36" tall base cabinets and countertops, without overhead cabinets. Eliminating overhead cabinets (and the associated wall) just gives you an incredible open feeling. The kitchen isn't as nearly as cramped. The windows and natural light come from the windows of the other rooms and skylights, meaning you don't have to waste valuable kitchen wall space for windows. Place your sink and cooktop to face the open rooms.

In the corners of the kitchen, install cabinets at 45 degrees to the adjoining cabinets rather than a "blind" cabinet or "lazy susan". While a 45 degree cabinet has some dead space, it utilizes more space than a "lazy susan", mainly because the cabinet shelves and drawers are square, and a "lazy susan" is round.

Put a pantry in the corner between your tall cabinets. It doesn't have to be very big (4' x 4') and being in the corner will utilize all the corner "dead" space. The pantry would have a 2' opening at 45 degrees to the adjoining cabinets. The pantry walls could be 2x4 framed with drywall or 3/4" MDF, but the wall shouldn't be taller than the height of the tall cabinets. This allows for crown molding (if you use it) to also be used on the pantry. Have the pantry open at the top, especially if there is a skylight above, to allow daylight into the pantry. Have shelves from the floor to top of wall. Put a "cabinet door" (same as the rest of your tall cabinets) on the pantry entrance, not a frame door like you'd use in the bedroom. By having a cabinet door the pantry, and the pantry walls at the same height as the cabinets, the pantry looks like a cabinet rather than a drywall opening.

In the pantry, install a counter with 4 electric outlets. This is where the coffee maker, toaster, electric can openers, etc are to be permanently located. It keeps them off your kitchen countertops, but they are always available to use. No need to store them in your cabinets and no need for appliance garage cabinets. This leaves your main kitchen countertops "clean" (nothing on them) and more open for the food prep you need to do.

Put an upper counter 8" above your countertops (i.e. 6" wall, 2" thick upper counter). In an "open floor plan" concept, this 8" of height hides a "messy" kitchen counter from view to the other rooms. It also gives you plenty of room for multiple electric outlets in the in the 6" wall areas. The 6" tall wall is the right height for 6" ceramic wall tile. The upper counter is 44" (elbow height) a perfect height for "leaning". This allows your guests to "lean" on the counter (out of the kitchen) and talk with you while you're preparing food (in the kitchen). It's also a good height for serving food or for tall stools as a breakfast bar. Not all of the upper counters have to be the some width. Some sections may be 9" wide (just a top to the kitchen partition, while other sections of the upper counter can be 24'' wide, for serving food or as a breakfast bar.

Now...I'm discussing this portion last because different clients use their kitchens differently, and every person has their own taste. I'm not talking about the size (although it's related), but how many people they want in a kitchen. Some clients want everyone in the kitchen, including guests and relatives, to help in cooking or processing the meal, which means a larger kitchen to handle the people. Others don't want anyone but a few people in kitchen, so they're not tripping over people to get the meal finished, which means a smaller more efficient kitchen.

Most modern house designs have the kitchen open to the garage or rear door and open to family room and/or other rooms such as breakfast areas, dining rooms, or hallways. This means the kitchen has multiple openings to handle these functions. Some kitchens also have "island" cabinets/countertops with two or more openings. All the openings to the kitchen allows people to come in, stand around, or pass thru the kitchen from Point A to Point B somewhere else in the house. Also, one of the quirks of our human psychology is everyone eventually ends up in the kitchen. This design concept uses the kitchen as a "traffic corridor". These kitchens need a large amount of space to handle the volume of traffic. Again, some clients love the flow of people in and out of the kitchen. They just need a larger kitchen space for all this happen

Other clients think the "traffic corridor" kitchen concept "clogs" up the kitchen with unnecessary and unwanted people. Count me in the "keep-the-unnecessary-people-out-of-the-kitchen" category. I like to keep the kitchen open and inviting, I just don't want the extra bodies while the meal is being prepared. By keeping the extra bodies out, the kitchen can be smaller and more efficient, meaning fewer steps between the refrigerator, cooktop and sink.

Keeping people out of the kitchen is very easy to do in your design, just make it difficult for them to get in. Use a wrapping countertop with just one (1) countertop opening into the kitchen, and locate that opening in the most difficult spot to enter the kitchen. This, along with the "open floor plan" is the most effective way to prevent unwanted kitchen traffic. The single kitchen entrance will psychologically keep them out of the kitchen zone, while the open floor plan (no walls) allows you to communicate with family and guests, while keeping them out of the kitchen.

With the tidbits I've discussed above and by keeping the people out of a kitchen, a kitchen size of 16'x10' or 12'x12' is very effective, with tons of storage. Making the kitchen a "traffic corridor" for people to pass through, the kitchen would need to double in size, and you're not gaining storage space with that size because all the openings to the kitchen are eating up what could have been used for cabinets.

In regards to lighting, most kitchens have a few main way of lighting (or combination of these)

A. Light in the ceiling fan
B. "Can" lights in the ceiling
C. Under-cabinet lighting (usually puck lights or fluorescent strips)

I generally reject all of these lighting concepts. With a light in the ceiling fan, you always have the light at your back, meaning you're casting shadows onto everything you do on the countertop. Can lights are "energy hogs" because they cut large holes in your insulation, and use inefficient incandescent lighting (usually 75 watt). I don't use overhead cabinets so therefore eliminate under-cabinet lighting, which is sometimes expensive

With the tall ceilings of a scissors truss, I like to use MR16 adjustable light fixtures, not "can" lights. The MR16's are usually know as "strip" lighting. However, you'll want to use a "plate" instead of a "strip" for the fixture connection. By using a plate, the MR16 uses a standard electrical box, so a smaller hole in your insulation blanket compared to a "can" light, and they pump out twice as much light for less wattage (usually 50 watts) than a "can" light. MR16 fixtures can be very small (so you don't see them) and not very costly (around $20). MR16's are adjustable, meaning you can point the light where you want it. A "can" light points light perpendicular to the ceiling. In a sloped ceiling, that's not good. Locate your lights above the countertop to eliminate shadows, along your major work areas (sinks, cooktop, cutting and prep areas) and then distribute evenly along the rest of the countertops. You really don't need lights elsewhere other than for accent lighting. The lights above the counters will be more than enough, assuming you're keeping the kitchen smaller.

If you want to look at some examples, you can go to my website http://youngarchitectureservices.com/home-architect-indiana.html and click on any of the floor plans, and zoom in on the kitchen area. There are also pictures of kitchen in the "Interior Design" section of the website. Larger scale pictures of a kitchen are located on the "Home Page" under "View More House Photos"

Talk to you later
Brian

By Jocelyn O Iyog

Kitchen is the place in our home that usually some people take for granted. However this place must be the cleanest and because this is where we prepare our foods.

A properly designed kitchen is one that makes preparing and serving meals as pleasant and stress free as possible. Rule number one in kitchen design - there is no such thing as too much counter space. It is also a good idea to provide shelf space for cook books, recipe files, etc.

It is best to store items used for cooking - pots, pans, cooking utensils, spices, herbs, etc. close to the stove so the cook does not have to step away from the task at hand to fetch the salt. The refrigerator and sink should not be more than a few steps from the stove, making it easy for cooks to retrieve items needed for meal preparation. Microwave ovens should also be located in the same vicinity as the stove. Small electric appliances - toasters, blenders, coffee makers, mixers - can be stored in drawers or pantries eliminating clutter on counter tops providing they are not used on a regular basis. If, however, any of these items are used consistently, they should be close at hand.

Cabinets containing serving dishes and the like are best located close to the stove, while dishes, glasses, tableware, etc., are ideally located near the sink and dishwasher to facilitate clean-up.Always keep in mind that the best kitchen is the one that has everything in order.

By Phil Caxton

The L shaped and open design kitchens:

One of the best designs for a kitchen it the angular distribution, as it helps in creating a free and open area to install an island. This helps in maximizing the space within the kitchen. Wide countertops can be installed to maximize space. A minimum of 12 square meters is required. Furniture can be installed to one side of the wall and the rest of the space can be utilized well, adding an island or a bar in the kitchen.

For larger spaces you can have open design kitchens. These kitchens are designed with patterns that are specifically planned to connect with the office and at home, with the living room. A bar can be installed to separate the two. Ironing rooms, pantries, laundry space etc. too can be connected directly to the open design kitchens. All you require is adequate space to make such large kitchen designs. Open design kitchens are the latest trend followed by homemakers. The extra open space allows free movement to and from the kitchen and the rest of the rooms.

The U- shaped and parallel kitchen designs:

For some people the best kitchen design might be the U shaped design. This is achieved by using two furniture rows running parallel and connected towards the end by a sink. At least two meters of space is required for separating the rows, without its functionality being lost.

The parallel design is another kitchen distribution. These designs are located opposite each other and are installed on each of the walls in such a way that people can move around in the central area and work between both the countertops. As far as kitchen designs are concerned this is considered as one of the best ways to organize the kitchen, especially the one with reduced space. It becomes easier to communicate within the washing and cooking workplaces.

By Pieter West

Even with help from remodel professionals like interior designers, plumbers, electricians and lighting specialists you can easily run into trouble using a kitchen layout that is too complex or difficult to construct.

If you have ever wanted to update or redesign your kitchen but are worried about which kitchen design layout to use then you should read this article. Discover which kitchen layout design is the best for your lifestyle and your budget.

"So, can I really design my kitchen layout?"

Yes, you can if you stick with the basics. The classic "kitchen triangle" is designed to control the flow of food from one work station to another. The three main triangle points are stove/oven, the sink and the freezer/refrigerator. When you think about your new kitchen design layout, you need to visualize the cook moving from one point of the triangle to the next.

You should be able to move freely from the freezer to the stove to the sink and back again without a lot of unnecessary walking and dodging tables, chair or islands. But be aware that with this classic design to work properly it may require some structural changes to the walls, plumbing, and electrical systems, etc.

This is why some homeowners have hired pros, "This is too complex. First I had to deal with the design problems and now I have to deal the electricians and the building permit people. I am so glad that I hired that designer to design my kitchen layout and deal with all these issues. "

But if you really want to create your own kitchen design layout so that you have everything just the way you want it there is one type of kitchen layout and design that is both easy to build and straightforward to plan: the One Wall Layout

The One Wall Kitchen Layout

Is one of the most commonly used kitchen design layout besides the classic triangle. Still used in most industrial and commercial designed kitchens it has lost ground to the "kitchen triangle" over the years of in most modern home kitchen layouts and designs.

The one wall kitchen layout basically setups all appliances and work stations against one long wall. The wall and counter normally can be no shorter than 8 feet or you will not be able to get in all the appliances.

Often this type of kitchen layout is setup in order of the cooking process goes from one of four work zones to another. For example, the process starts at "Food Storage" (pantry/freezer /refrigerator) then moves on to "Food Prep" (a cutting or seasoning station) then goes on to "Cooking" (stove/oven) and finally ends at "Clean-up" (sink/dishwater).

In actually the true order of the setup is extremely flexible. You can have the lineup go from sink, refrigerator, stove, food prep and then sink ...or from stove, freezer, sink, dishwasher panty and prep. Because this kitchen design layout [http://www.kitchenlayoutguide.com/kitchen-design-layout.html] is no small, the actual order does not matter and can flow around existing water lines and electrical outlets.

If you have your heart set on designing your own kitchen design layout then you may want to consider the One Wall Kitchen Layout.

By J M Robinson

How would you like to lose up to 16lbs this month! Sound exciting? Well you can accomplish this goal with The Pantry Diet. The Pantry Diet takes you back to the basics on dieting. Eat real food and watch your waist line shrink and the numbers decrease on the scale.

The Pantry Diet is designed following a calorie control and portion control way of eating. You eat constantly throughout the day. In fact you can eat up to 6 times daily, that's 3 meals and 3 snacks. Eating on a consistent basis keeps your metabolism revved and you don't go too long without eating, which helps you to ward off hunger pangs. This diet presses the 4 No's:

NO calorie counting - Calorie counting does help you keep an eye on your food intake, however, it can be a tedious and tiresome process. To avoid having you count calories you are given a huge list of foods allowed on the plan. Because The Pantry Diet can be customizable, you simply pick your food selections from the foods allowed list and fill into the appropriate place. For example, for breakfast if you are allowed 1 carb, 1 fruit, 1 dairy, this could be a serving of oatmeal, a cup of fresh strawberries, and a cup of nonfat milk. The Pantry Diet also offers a general option for those who prefer a more structured plan. The menu is already laid out, you simply shop for the foods listed and enjoy your week's meals.

NO cutting out food groups - Many diets promise weight loss by cutting out a food group, like no carbohydrates or no protein. Though this may work on some plans, when you get off the diet and return to normal eating, you will likely binge on the food that you were in withdrawal from. This would be like binging on a loaf of hot french bread on a no carb diet. With The Pantry Diet, no food groups are off limits.

NO eating diet food-The Pantry Diet prides itself on allowing dieters to eat real food that you would find from your own kitchen pantry. This includes cereal, popcorn, granola bars, chocolate, and much more, just to name some examples of snacks. The diet is laid out in 4 phases, each 1 week long. At the end of phase 4 (4 weeks) you can stop if your goal is achieved or restart at phase 1 again. The diet can be structured any way you would like, it is very flexible. For those you love to cook, you are able to prepare foods like seasoned grilled steak and whipped potatoes. If you prefer not to cook, you can easy-to-make foods like turkey sandwiches.

NO exercise required - Nowadays, people are busier and busier. It is getting harder to squeeze in time for exercise. Exercise is a great way to help you lead a more active lifestyle. It can also make you stronger and build your endurance. If you do incorporate exercise into the diet, you will see that you results will only improve, but The Pantry Diet was designed to melt pounds off without exercise. I struggle to fit in a workout every now and then and I know others probably have the same struggles so, rest assured. For those who are able to workout, there is a chapter in this ebook dedicated to exercise, giving you ideas at home, and suggestions for workout routines.

By Ryan Coisson

When it comes to closet organization, the emphasis is usually on bedroom closets, kids' closets, and maybe even the front hall closet; but when is the last time you thought about cleaning and organizing your kitchen pantry? After all: it's a closet too, and frankly, one of the most important in the entire house. Here are a few tips on how to get it to really work for you instead of against you.

--Take everything out and start from scratch

There are probably things in your pantry that expired 10 years ago: get rid of them. If there are unopened packaged or canned items that are still good but that you realistically will never use, donate them to a food bank.

--With a clean slate, design with utility in mind

If you are lucky enough to have a pantry, you still may not be making proper use of the space. Now is the time to redesign that space with utility in mind. Hire a closet consultant or look for ideas online as well as pantry organizational products for sale. You can turn your pantry into an organizational marvel thanks to pull out baskets and trays and even enclosed drawers.

--Go for portability

Think about your kitchen routine when organizing your pantry. For example, put baking-related items into a pull out basket that can easily be removed, taken to your work space, and then slipped back into its proper place. You can use this system for spices, cookie-decorating items, and other similar supplies.

--Keep it clean

Once you get your structure and design in place, restock your pantry in categories: canned fruit, canned vegetables, snacks, etc so you can find things easily. Then make a commitment to keep it clean!

By Chuck R Stewart

It is important that you take it one step at a time when doing the remodeling of your kitchen. This home improvement project, just like with most of the other home remodeling and improvement projects, can really be heavy on the pocket. Take a stock of what you already have inside your kitchenette. During the planning stage, you must have to discuss with your contractor on how you can do the remodeling using the current pantry cabinet and kitchen pantry storage as the basic features for the new design. Of course, you may opt to do some alterations and changes on these fixtures. It is only when such option is not possible will you consider a total remodeling of your kitchenette. You must also have to take into account the available space by which you can comfortably work for the remodeling project. You may have to set your priorities if you expect to have problems fitting all the fixtures in a room that has limited space.

Homeowners must be prepared to go beyond the traditional norms in the design and try out new design concepts in order to find a work around to some limitations in space. This means that you must not limit your design options on the usual cupboards as there are other ways by which you can achieve both functionality as well as aesthetic appeal in your interior design. Before you embark on any major home remodeling project, it is imperative that you weigh all the possible design options by taking a look at the project from all the possible perspectives.

Once you are able to adopt the right approach for your remodeling project, you will discover that a lot of the initial challenges and problems can be resolved by simply doing reorganizing of the existing buttery furniture. It is essential that you are able to explore ways in which you can efficiently utilize these essential fixtures so that you don't have to replace it with new ones. You may seriously consider modifying the design of the structure to add more shelves so that you can handle more or varied items which you want stored in your larder.

You can also look at the bottom space as ideal portions where you can place bulky items such as the foodstuffs for your pets, food processing devices and other items that normally eat up a lot of space and are usually needed on few occasions only. You can arrange the shelves in your buttery closer together if you are planning to use them to store canned food items. In this way you are not wasting too much space in between the shelves. The general rule that you must adopt under this kind of situation is to maintain about 3-inches gap between in the shelves when filled with canned items. The main purpose of the design is to properly organize these food items without wasting space by setting the shelves as close to each other as possible. In this way, you are able to achieve both functionality and aesthetic appeal without putting too much strain on your budget.

By Renee M. Matt

Cabinet manufacturers have responded to consumer demand for pantry storage in small spaces and kitchens. In addition, closet manufacturers have identified the market as a cross-product user of their clever storage innovations. Finally, the small kitchen owner is getting the attention they deserve. Purchased organizers are not the only way to maximize your pantry cabinet space.

Here are some great ideas for creating more pantry storage in a small kitchen:

1. Re-organize to make a smarter pantry. Taller items on pantry shelves in back, shorter in front. Use baskets for bulky items and containers to corral small, misc. items.
2. Adjust height of shelves to match the size of the pantry item and maximize the efficiency of your pantry storage space.
3. Consider moving food items to drawers. More items can be stored in a drawer; label tops for quick identification.
4. Install roll-out pantry drawers for easier access. Because you can see more, you can store more.
5. Reclaim a closet.
6. Reclaim storage between studs of wall.
7. Take out the kitchen soffits to move infrequently used items above kitchen cabinets; make new pantry cabinet space below.
8. Delegate pantry food storage outside of the kitchen: under the living room couch or out in the garage.
9. Tuck pantry food items inside decorative furnishings, like a crock.
10. Think on a smaller scale: consider a mini-version of a walk-in pantry.
11. Take 12" out of hallway width for pantry shelves.
12. Recycle wooden crates from wine, mount to walls as a shelf (can get free from wine stores or superstores).
13. Make a skinny box on wheels next to empty space next to your refrigerator (same height) that can wheel out.
14. Use over-the-door racks for extra storage on closet doors. For very narrow doors, take a hanging shoe pouch for over-doors and cut to fit.
15. Purchase an antique or used furniture cabinet at a garage sale or flea market and refit the furniture for pantry use.
16. Hanging up items is an alternative to using cabinet space.
17. Install pantry shelving in kitchen where spices and staples can be stored out in the open.
18. Hang pots up on a pot rack to free space up inside cabinets for pantry goods or keep inside oven when not in use.
19. Put utensils in utensil caddies on the countertop to free up additional pantry space inside cabinets - flatware can be stored also in a decorative container on the table.
20. Take a lesson from closet clothing storage experts and copy their unique storage ideas or even utilize their products for your food storage needs.

If you are looking for more kitchen pantry ideas, Everything Pantry can help. From deciding on what kitchen cabinet will fit best into your design plan, to choosing a pantry door or the best organizer, we cover a broad range of topics.

By Dennis Seeley

The availability of different designs for kitchens can really be different from customer to customer. However, the basic premises for a kitchen use and functionality are ease of operation while you're in the kitchen. Functionally and ease of operation mean different things to different people and this is why it is so difficult to build a one size or one design fits all kitchen. So, some basics designs allow for functionality and those designs include a kitchen pantry and a kitchen island.

The kitchen pantry can involve an actually room or a pantry could be considered something like an armoire. Turn of the century have these rooms off the edge of the kitchen and were used quite often. However, the lost their allure as people wanted to redesign their kitchens and didn't grow gardens as much and do canning each year after they harvested their garden. The point being, people typically will use all their storage if given enough time. So, people that bake or cook large meals definitely will use a pantry to store staples that are used to help prepare baked foods or staples need for normal day to day meals. You could expect to see canned goods like crème of mushroom, or cans of chicken broth or spaghetti in the pantry. In addition, people that like to create their own garden each year often like to can food and a pantry is the perfect storage area for this.. You definitely will find canned tomatoes for chili or other things such as pickles in a pantry. So, being able to store additional staples in a fairly close area to your kitchen helps save money during sales and stops the person from having to travel back and forth to the store which costs money in gas.

Although the pantry is old in the thoughts of convenience and functionality the kitchen island is a newer thought to adding functionality with a modern appearance. The kitchen islands have evolved from a basic table in the middle of the kitchen to a full blown kitchen island that has a electric stove top with a faucet and sick for quickly washing vegetables while you continue to prepare your food. The problem with kitchen islands is they tend to be fairly expensive when you start to add all the amenities to make it useful. The island also requires the manufacture or designer to make sure it is finished on all sides which is not a requirement for your typical cupboard which can be unfinished in the back because it is not viewable and does not matter unlike the island which is viewable on all sides.

The functionality for the homeowner is what is important. It is also what most people look at when they are shopping for a home. If they do not see any place for storage or they see they need to make several changes this will make the offer placed on the home lower than normal. If your home has a pantry and a decent kitchen island the home owner will definitely increase the ability to sell a home for the sake of added functionally and available storage for the kitchen.

By Naomi West

The pantry is one of the most messy places in the entire kitchen. Without the right items we will discover that it will continue to be this way. It is crucial to know how to organize the pantry and design it so that it is easy for us to store everything and keep track of everything. When things are scrambled together you will have a difficult time trying to acquire the spices you need or learn that your potatoes went bad last week.

Before you are going to do anything you want to remove everything out of the pantry and throw anything away that has gone bad or has been invaded with ants. Bugs are a problem with most pantries because individuals are not sealing off their flour, sugar, or cereals in the right way.

Anything that has the ability to become loose like this must be packed away in an air tight container. These may be as big or small as they need to be - but they must be able to sit on top of one another. This will make it easier for you to use the space granted to you.

The next thing that you need to do is to set down a liner on the shelves. This is low-priced and can be found at any supermarket. This will serve to keep the shelves clean and to keep all the items from falling over. All you need to do is measure the shelves, cut the lining, and place it down.

If you want extra space than purchase a hanging shelf. These are long and wide, cost around $30, and hang off the door. It is built with a number of shelves that run down the door and aids to keep your larger items from taking up space.