How to Find More Space in the Kitchen

From Apartment Therapy's Kitchen Cure

Today organizing expert Stacey Platt shares a few tips on finding more space in the kitchen. Stacey is the most organized person I know, but understands with great compassion how unorganized many people can be. Here are some ideas from her new book, What's a Disorganized Person to Do?. Welcome, Stacey!  Read more . . . 

Images: Clockwise from top left: 

Getty Images, Corbis, Getty Images, Getty Images

Organization as Art

Opening night at the Armory Art Show in NYC. Hangers, paper clips, and requests to be removed from mailing lists. I've seen organization work its way into the related realms of architecture and interior design but after tonight at the Armory, I suspect that the desire for order has permeated our collective consciousness.

This hanger sculpture puts the Container Store to shame!

I'm seeing paperclips.

I wish I had this much space to store my handbags.

Down with junk mail!

I'm not suggesting anyone needs more than one stove-top espresso 

maker, but who doesn't dream of this kind of storage??

TIP DU JOUR: What to do with spare buttons?

What do you do with the spare buttons that come with new clothing?  Try this:

Designate a box for them and keep a fine-point indelible ink pen inside. When you buy a new item of clothing with a spare button, which usually comes in a small plastic or paper bag, write a brief description on the bag (to identify it when you need it) and put it in the box. When the box fills up, sort through it and throw out buttons for clothing you no longer own. 

What's a Disorganized Person to Do?

I'm proud to announce that my first book, "What's a Disorganized Person to Do?" is in stores now.  Within its 272 pages, you'll find out how to get a human being on the phone when calling customer service, what papers you need to save for taxes (and for how long), what to do you with your kids' (plentiful) artwork and all kinds of other juicy tidbits to help you declutter and streamline your life.

Where are my keys?

I've been reading this book called "The Brain that Changes Itself" by Norman Doidge, PhD.  Neuroscientists previously believed that our mental abilities were fixed at a very young age, but now there is an understanding that the brain is instead plastic and has the ability to change and improve its functioning at any age.  There is a story of a woman who had no spatial reasoning.  She couldn't make a mental map of things in space.  Out of sight literally meant out of mind for her.  It made me think of certain organizing clients who are always looking for their keys and who don't like to put things away for fear of never finding them.  The woman in the story reversed her spatial reasoning deficiency and a host of other learning disabilities by a series of exercises that worked by carving new neural pathways in the brain.  I did a little research and found a website called Lumosity which offers a series of brain fitness programs designed by some of the leading experts in neuroscience and cognitive psychology.  There is one for improving spatial reasoning called Memory Matrix.  A pattern flashes on the screen which you have to repeat by clicking the correct tiles.  It starts with three and, assuming you get it right, goes up from there.  

Its pretty easy at first and then at about level 8 or 9 is when I started really feeling my brain stretching.  Its like yoga for the brain and I'm totally hooked.  Turns out I can feed my addiction all day long since there's a Memory Matrix application for the iPhone.  

Recycling Chic

Finally, a modern take on the recycling bin.                                                       photo courtesy of bouf.com


This 3-compartment bin was designed for Ovetto by Italian architect and product designer, Gianluca Soldi. Not only is it chic and modern and resembling something you might board to visit Venus, but it boasts a bottle and can compactor on the top that let's you fit more in less space. It also rotates so you can put it in a corner and still have access to all three bins.

                                                        photo courtesy of inhabitat.com

And it is also eco-friendly itself, made with a high content of recycled materials.