I don’t like kitchen clutter, food or otherwise.
For me an organised kitchen is a happy kitchen
🙂
As part of my life simplification journey I try not to make unneccessary purchases and to keep items to a minimum where possible, with things having multi-use. However I do possess a handful of items that for me, make my kitchen work more efficiently.
(n.b There are no affiliate links within this post)
My love of slow-cooking is no secret (Go for it Surburban Minimalist let your Mom get you one!!) – so for me a slow cooker is a must (I have 3 – it’s my guilty pleasure).
I’ve also blogged about no peel garlic presses and potato ricers. All of these things are used daily and make my life simpler!
My Simple Top Tip this Tuesday is to take notes throughout the week of food/household items required as you identify the need.
So I felt this Tuesday the time was right introduce my Ceramic Notepad!
I choose to use a ceramic pad as it is in a designated area in which both the Hubby and I know will get picked up when I do my house/food planning and purchasing – which I do once a week. No bits of paper floating around and getting mislaid.
Once the shopping is ordered the notepad gets wiped clean and off we go again!
Please note that there are more organised people than I who can manage paper a lot better than I, so if ceramic doesn’t do it for you just use a traditional notepad and keep it in a designated place that everyone knows about.
Make the rule that ‘what gets noted on the pad gets purchased’ then your amazing but over-used mind-reading skills can take a well-deserved holiday!
I’d love to hear your tips on how to organise the kitchen so please feel free to comment below…
I love the ceramic notepad! What an ingenious idea! do you take it with you to the grocery store?
Hi Marianne – Thanks for stopping by! No I don’t take it with me 🙂 as I do my main grocery shop online. I meal plan once a week, write my grocery list, add on the items from the ceramic notepad, do my shop online, and then take delivery (normally in my dressing gown) a couple of days later. I’m changing my routine slightly to add in an order at the local butchers and a pick-up when I do my batch of errands, but pretty much that’s my shopping done! Jo
I love the ceramic notepad! What an ingenious idea! do you take it with you to the grocery store?
Hi Marianne – Thanks for stopping by! No I don’t take it with me 🙂 as I do my main grocery shop online. I meal plan once a week, write my grocery list, add on the items from the ceramic notepad, do my shop online, and then take delivery (normally in my dressing gown) a couple of days later. I’m changing my routine slightly to add in an order at the local butchers and a pick-up when I do my batch of errands, but pretty much that’s my shopping done! Jo
I love the ceramic notepad! What an ingenious idea! do you take it with you to the grocery store?
Hi Marianne – Thanks for stopping by! No I don’t take it with me 🙂 as I do my main grocery shop online. I meal plan once a week, write my grocery list, add on the items from the ceramic notepad, do my shop online, and then take delivery (normally in my dressing gown) a couple of days later. I’m changing my routine slightly to add in an order at the local butchers and a pick-up when I do my batch of errands, but pretty much that’s my shopping done! Jo
oh now that is simplicity at it’s best! i should look into deliveries. that sure would save me some time.
oh now that is simplicity at it’s best! i should look into deliveries. that sure would save me some time.
oh now that is simplicity at it’s best! i should look into deliveries. that sure would save me some time.
Dear Jo,
I need to get one of those ceramic notepads! Really wonderful! Thank you so much for the mention. You know, I laughed so much at your turn of phrase with regard to the Crockpot. Your comments really made me laugh. Maybe I’ll get one after all.
Love,
R
Dear Jo,
I need to get one of those ceramic notepads! Really wonderful! Thank you so much for the mention. You know, I laughed so much at your turn of phrase with regard to the Crockpot. Your comments really made me laugh. Maybe I’ll get one after all.
Love,
R
Dear Jo,
I need to get one of those ceramic notepads! Really wonderful! Thank you so much for the mention. You know, I laughed so much at your turn of phrase with regard to the Crockpot. Your comments really made me laugh. Maybe I’ll get one after all.
Love,
R
I’m sure Santa would have room on his sleigh for a ceramic notepad – don’t forget to put it on your wish list and get the Hubby to deliver it to the postbox for you! (make sure the crock pot gets a mention on that list also – just a small one will suffice – I promise you won’t look back!) – have a lovely day over there! We have loads of snow – and it’s 1st Dec, so it’s time to start Christmas lunch planning in my house! Jo 🙂
I’m sure Santa would have room on his sleigh for a ceramic notepad – don’t forget to put it on your wish list and get the Hubby to deliver it to the postbox for you! (make sure the crock pot gets a mention on that list also – just a small one will suffice – I promise you won’t look back!) – have a lovely day over there! We have loads of snow – and it’s 1st Dec, so it’s time to start Christmas lunch planning in my house! Jo 🙂
I’m sure Santa would have room on his sleigh for a ceramic notepad – don’t forget to put it on your wish list and get the Hubby to deliver it to the postbox for you! (make sure the crock pot gets a mention on that list also – just a small one will suffice – I promise you won’t look back!) – have a lovely day over there! We have loads of snow – and it’s 1st Dec, so it’s time to start Christmas lunch planning in my house! Jo 🙂
Not nearly as cool (or as durable) as a ceramic notepad, but you could also use a small dry-erase board for the same function. Or if you need to do some larger-scale planning (and don’t need it to be portable 🙂 ), you could put up a 4′ x 8′ dry-erase board at a central point in the house if you have lots of stuff to track. The melamine-covered sheets they use to line showers function perfectly well as a dry-erase board, and a 4′ x 8′ sheet (at least here in the states) is only about $15. Just some thoughts. 🙂
Thanks Robert – dry wipe boards certainly have a place in my home – I’m with you on that! My daughter uses one to practise her spellings, her’s is portable so she can use it in the car (don’t know how she does it – it would make me car sick). Great tips – I have been looking for one to secure to the back of the kitchen door as a weekly routine/activity planner, I hadn’t thought about melamine. Thanks again – Have a great day – Jo 🙂
Not nearly as cool (or as durable) as a ceramic notepad, but you could also use a small dry-erase board for the same function. Or if you need to do some larger-scale planning (and don’t need it to be portable 🙂 ), you could put up a 4′ x 8′ dry-erase board at a central point in the house if you have lots of stuff to track. The melamine-covered sheets they use to line showers function perfectly well as a dry-erase board, and a 4′ x 8′ sheet (at least here in the states) is only about $15. Just some thoughts. 🙂
Thanks Robert – dry wipe boards certainly have a place in my home – I’m with you on that! My daughter uses one to practise her spellings, her’s is portable so she can use it in the car (don’t know how she does it – it would make me car sick). Great tips – I have been looking for one to secure to the back of the kitchen door as a weekly routine/activity planner, I hadn’t thought about melamine. Thanks again – Have a great day – Jo 🙂
Not nearly as cool (or as durable) as a ceramic notepad, but you could also use a small dry-erase board for the same function. Or if you need to do some larger-scale planning (and don’t need it to be portable 🙂 ), you could put up a 4′ x 8′ dry-erase board at a central point in the house if you have lots of stuff to track. The melamine-covered sheets they use to line showers function perfectly well as a dry-erase board, and a 4′ x 8′ sheet (at least here in the states) is only about $15. Just some thoughts. 🙂
Thanks Robert – dry wipe boards certainly have a place in my home – I’m with you on that! My daughter uses one to practise her spellings, her’s is portable so she can use it in the car (don’t know how she does it – it would make me car sick). Great tips – I have been looking for one to secure to the back of the kitchen door as a weekly routine/activity planner, I hadn’t thought about melamine. Thanks again – Have a great day – Jo 🙂
That ceramic notepad is so pretty! My organised-but-mundane list is so dull by comparison.
On our fridge door, there is a list of all the food and household stuffs that we tend to buy. It’s split by food type and even arranged in the order I walk around the supermarket. Whenever we run out of store cupboard items, the person who uses the last of it has to tick the “need” column. When I sit and do a rough menu plan before shopping, I then tick the fresh foods I’ll need that week.
Occasionally, I’ll plan a big online shop and start a “heavy or bulky” list. And I sometimes have a Lidl list building up too…
I can’t do online for everything like you do (as I just haven’t had that much luck with the fresh produce good old Tesco/Asda have delivered – it’s a bit hit and miss with sell-by dates) so I need a list I can take with me.
Also, I have the worst hand-writing ever so the pre-printed list means my husband can read it too…
Karen (Scotland)
Karen this is sooo organised and fantastic tips! I use Sainsburys, pretty much for the reasons you have outlined above. They have fantastic dates on and I have never had to complain about the food delivered, which I had to do with both Tesco and Asda when I used them. This means potentially that my food bill may be higher – Jury out on that one. The perception is that Sainsbury’s is more expensive, but I’m not sure. What I do know is the quality is (IMO) superior. I’m doing it a little different this week – trying out an experiment the next two weeks and comparing to my online shop! Jo
Oh meant to add – Sainsburys once missed an apple pie off my order – I was having friends over for lunch, and was desperate. I called them and they sent a member of staff out with one pie straight away delivered to the door! That’s what I call service!
Sainsbury’s are opening here this summer – yeay!
That ceramic notepad is so pretty! My organised-but-mundane list is so dull by comparison.
On our fridge door, there is a list of all the food and household stuffs that we tend to buy. It’s split by food type and even arranged in the order I walk around the supermarket. Whenever we run out of store cupboard items, the person who uses the last of it has to tick the “need” column. When I sit and do a rough menu plan before shopping, I then tick the fresh foods I’ll need that week.
Occasionally, I’ll plan a big online shop and start a “heavy or bulky” list. And I sometimes have a Lidl list building up too…
I can’t do online for everything like you do (as I just haven’t had that much luck with the fresh produce good old Tesco/Asda have delivered – it’s a bit hit and miss with sell-by dates) so I need a list I can take with me.
Also, I have the worst hand-writing ever so the pre-printed list means my husband can read it too…
Karen (Scotland)
Karen this is sooo organised and fantastic tips! I use Sainsburys, pretty much for the reasons you have outlined above. They have fantastic dates on and I have never had to complain about the food delivered, which I had to do with both Tesco and Asda when I used them. This means potentially that my food bill may be higher – Jury out on that one. The perception is that Sainsbury’s is more expensive, but I’m not sure. What I do know is the quality is (IMO) superior. I’m doing it a little different this week – trying out an experiment the next two weeks and comparing to my online shop! Jo
Oh meant to add – Sainsburys once missed an apple pie off my order – I was having friends over for lunch, and was desperate. I called them and they sent a member of staff out with one pie straight away delivered to the door! That’s what I call service!
Sainsbury’s are opening here this summer – yeay!
That ceramic notepad is so pretty! My organised-but-mundane list is so dull by comparison.
On our fridge door, there is a list of all the food and household stuffs that we tend to buy. It’s split by food type and even arranged in the order I walk around the supermarket. Whenever we run out of store cupboard items, the person who uses the last of it has to tick the “need” column. When I sit and do a rough menu plan before shopping, I then tick the fresh foods I’ll need that week.
Occasionally, I’ll plan a big online shop and start a “heavy or bulky” list. And I sometimes have a Lidl list building up too…
I can’t do online for everything like you do (as I just haven’t had that much luck with the fresh produce good old Tesco/Asda have delivered – it’s a bit hit and miss with sell-by dates) so I need a list I can take with me.
Also, I have the worst hand-writing ever so the pre-printed list means my husband can read it too…
Karen (Scotland)
Karen this is sooo organised and fantastic tips! I use Sainsburys, pretty much for the reasons you have outlined above. They have fantastic dates on and I have never had to complain about the food delivered, which I had to do with both Tesco and Asda when I used them. This means potentially that my food bill may be higher – Jury out on that one. The perception is that Sainsbury’s is more expensive, but I’m not sure. What I do know is the quality is (IMO) superior. I’m doing it a little different this week – trying out an experiment the next two weeks and comparing to my online shop! Jo
Oh meant to add – Sainsburys once missed an apple pie off my order – I was having friends over for lunch, and was desperate. I called them and they sent a member of staff out with one pie straight away delivered to the door! That’s what I call service!
Sainsbury’s are opening here this summer – yeay!