Yes, almost every kitchen has drawers. Drawers for flatware, utensils, dish cloths, and so on. Many of us have the proverbial ‘junk’ drawer too. The one where everything goes that you don’t know where to put anywhere else. Kitchen drawers are work horses; open and shut lots of times each day, reaching for a spoon or fork, or vegetable peeler, a dish towel or some foil wrap. And they get messy. It’s time to clean that up.
Joseph Joseph, a UK company, has a mandate to maximize the use of space, particularly in kitchens. UK kitchens can be very small. Every square inch counts and that’s why Joseph Joseph designed compact flatware containers for drawers. It started with one style, and then they did a double version, and now there is an insert to hold flatware, utensils and kitchen tools. In one drawer! That’s efficient. And there is kitchen knife storage as well. Not everyone wants their kitchen knives on the counter. Maybe for safety reasons or because the counter space is precious real estate, drawer storage makes sense. Up to 9 large and small knives fit into the drawer insert. Now there’s room for the drawer spice storage insert. One wide, shallow drawer can hold a lot of kitchen necessities thanks to the design team of Joseph Joseph.
Good Grips OXO is another company that wants to make it easier to be organized. The drawer inserts from Good Grips are designed to separate your flatware, contain those little things like bag clips or twist ties, and keep all the utensils neatly together. The first insert they designed was for flatware, followed quickly by gadget and utensil trays, and there is one that expands to hold lots of items, sized for your drawer. Good Grips also has a kitchen knife organizer. Storing knives properly protects the sharp edges from chipping. One of my favourite items is the expanding drawer dividers. Sold as a set of 2, these dividers expand from 11” to 17” and are perfect for kitchen, bathroom or bedroom drawers. And Good Grips also has spice bottle storage inserts for drawers.
Most of the inserts from Joseph Joseph and Good Grips OXO are made from sturdy, durable plastics, meant to give years of reliable organization to your kitchen. Silicon feet on some of the inserts keep them from sliding in the drawers (important for the knife inserts). You can easily lift out an insert to clean it or dump out crumbs. It’s easy to organize everything, see it all, and I always find it so satisfying to open that drawer after it’s all done.
If an early spring clean of the kitchen is on your agenda, measure your drawers first, width, length and depth. Depth is important as some of the inserts sit higher than others. Then shop for the inserts and start the purge. Your kitchen will feel so much better! Except maybe the junk drawer…
Did you know? Drawers started as ‘coffers’ or boxes with lids. A chest of drawers came to mean 2-3 drawers in one box, or chest.
Cathy