8 Tips for Better Time Management in the Kitchen
We as parents spend a great deal of time in the kitchen when there are a billion other things to do. My biggest problem that I have in the kitchen is getting off track from what I am supposed to be doing. I will be cooking dinner and I reach into the fridge to grab something and I realize that it needs to be cleaned out. Then after a quick once over I head to the trash to throw something away and the trash needs to be taken out... then the phone rings. Does this sound familiar? The next thing you know it's an hour later and dinner hasn't even been started. So I decided that I needed to have better time management in the kitchen!
Focusing on the task at hand is the first step in time management in the kitchen. Before you begin your meal preparation take the time to make sure your work area is clean and tidy and that you have all the items needed to make your meal out on the counter and ready to go. This would include any pans, mixing bowls knives and ingredients. Cutting down on walking back and forth across your kitchen while you are prepping will not only save you time but much needed energy.
Having an organized kitchen is a must when managing your time. It does you absolutely no good at all to search for twenty minutes trying to find a specific pan for a dish. Find a home for everything in the kitchen and make sure your family knows where each item is to be placed. That way when you are gathering your supplies to make dinner you know exactly where everything is located and can quickly grab it and begin your meal.
Having your most used items within arms reach of your prep area is another must. Keeping your pots, pans, cutting board and mixers easily accessible and within an arms reach will keep you from back tracking around the kitchen. Keep the things that you use less often in those high hard to reach places.
Do your most difficult tasks early when your mind and body are well rested. We all work better in the morning before our bodies have time to tire out. So schedule all your organizing and big cleaning jobs either early morning when everyone is off to work or school or if you have to work yourself try getting it done early on the weekend.
Clean spills as they happen. If you wait until food dries on the counter you will have to spend wasted time scrubbing it off instead of just quickly wiping it away. See: 10 Ways To Use Lemon Essential Oils for Cleaning
Meal planning can actually be a great time saver in the kitchen. It may take extra time initially to plan your meals and shopping trips but it will save you a great deal of time and money in the long run. Making a weekly list of what you are going to serve and a shopping list will save you extra trips to the store which helps greatly with time management in the kitchen.
Prepping your food immediately when returning from you shopping trip will greatly cut down on meal prep time. Brown any ground beef that you are going to need for the week and freeze it in a large plastic container. Chop any onions or peppers that you may need for the week and puree any tomatoes. It is much easier to do this all at once then chopping, dicing and slicing before every meal.
Take a few hours on the weekend and stock your freezer with meals to last throughout the week. This may take a little time but with some preparation you should be able to prepare the weeks dinners and have them ready to pop in the oven by blocking out a three or four hour chunk of time. Search the internet for freezer meals and plan your shopping trip accordingly.
Last but not least enlist a little help from your family. There are tons of ways the kids can help out in the kitchen no matter what age group they are in. Creating a chore list can help them no how to help out and can actually create a great bonding experience. If they are old enough they can even learn to chop and slice veggies and learn valuable skills that will help later on in life.
Do you have any time management in the kitchen tips that you can share with us today?
We are turning into a bunch of automatons that don’t care about what we put in out stomach. The current trends about pre boiling meats for stir frying removes all the flavor from the ingredient and substitutes a quicker to table serving time but with a product that is now tough and hard to chew with no flavor that is imparted into the dish. Yes it’s quicker but funny that the chefs still use fresh ingredients for their own use or when trying to impress.
I make my kids take a day each week where they pick what we are making and help me cook it. Saves me time meal planning and I get an extra set of hands in the kitchen! More importantly I get some one on one when it's their turn!
Your paragraph where you talk about not staying focused is my biggest problem. I constantly repeat to myself "Focus on one thing. Focus on one thing".
I am horrible at meal planning lately. I am guessing because it's summer, but I need to follow this list!
Great tips! I always get out all my ingredients and supplies before hand, and I make sure everything is at arms reach at all times!
I want to try the freezer meals. It's been on my to-do list for ages!
I really have been wanting to start meal planning for awhile now. It's on my list but then *procrastination* always kicks in and time management is out the window everywhere LOL
Yeah I am not very organized, my kitchen is so small and somehow my counters become the catch all.
Great ideas..organizing is my everything... the bad part my kitchen gets smaller and smaller by the day ..lol.. thanks for sharing these tips Dawn, as always very helpful
I think I need to get all my ingredients out before I start. I tend to get them as I need them which is a total time waster!
Great tips!!! Staying organized in the kitchen makes everything run soo much more smoothly.
Great tips! Thanks so much for sharing. These are very helpful.
Great tips! Forme, always starting with a clean kitchen is SO important. Our space is really tight, so having every inch available is key!
Awesome tips... I always have to start with a clean kitchen, then I clean as I go... I also love when the girls help 🙂 though sometimes they cause even more of a mess, HA!
Great tips! I just reorganized my kitchen and it's working so much better for me. I love a clean kitchen and I really feel like I know what I have and can better plan meals when it's cleaned and organized.
What awesome tips! I too have found that meal planning once a week saves me time and money.
Getting my kitchen more organized is something I need to do. It's frustrating when I have to spend 5 minutes searching for the right tool.
I keep my kitchen on track by washing dishes throughout the day. I am so all over the place that it is normal for me to start doing something random during a task.
Those are great tips. I'm glad I found this post. My time management in the kitchen an definitely be improved.
I love these tips. I do also prep when coming home from the grocery store. That saves me so much time all week long. I love prepping. I also make my own spices so mixing in advance and being ready with them in individual packets saves me time too. I don't like my pans scratched so in every pan I put a pot holder not only does it protect them but I am ready to cook at the same time 🙂 Thank you so much for your tips I stumbled you 🙂
I try to meal plan and cook lots so I can freeze some, but it's harder in the summer. I love fresh!!
Great tips. I really need to follow the stay organized recommendation. My kitchen generally looks like a disaster area when I cook.
Great tips. Having things in arm reach is hard for me as my husband is tall so likes to put things where I can't reach them. I spend lets of time with the step stool when cooking or baking.
Those are excellent tips to cutting down time in the kitchen! it is so true! Especially having the work area is clean and tidy before you begin meal prep!
I really need to try freezer cooking. I keep meaning to but haven't done it yet.
I really do need to get better about meal planning. I end up making all sorts of extra trips back to the store because I decided what to make last minute.