Hasta La Ideas

I love that I’m back to reviewing books again and I was excited when I finally worked my way to Justin Spring’s The Itty Bitty Kitchen Handbook. Published in 2006, this gem is essential reading for anyone who finds themselves in a cluttered kitchen of any size.

From page six:

Since clutter is particularly toxic to small kitchen spaces, we’ll start with some purging (and even get a little touchy-feely about why it’s so hard to keep a kitchen clutter free), then move on to deep cleaning and organizing.

Clutter busting, cleaning and organizing — an unclutterer’s dream book!

Some of my favorite advice can be found in the first part of the book:

For Those Who Can’t Let Go:
Some Tips and Tricks for Kitchen Pack Rats

LETTING GO OF STUFF comes easier to some than to others. For those of us who have a really hard time getting rid of unused and unneeded kitchen stuff, here are some thoughts to keep in mind:

1. Rmember that much of the stuff you are now going to make a decision about was in fact given to you by someone who, however thrifty, secretly wanted to be rid of it–and finessed the job by giving it to you.
2. Console yourself that much of the stuff you are making decisions about was never meant to be held on to and has no great commercial value.
3. Beware of meaningless sentimental attachments.
4. Focus, whenever possible, on the possibility that by cleaning out your kitchen cabinets you will be giving some really good stuff to others. Your guilt about letting go of stuff (and your fear of unwittingly losing some really valuable stuff) can thus be vanquished through the reassurance that you are giving stuff to charity. Thrift shops that benefit specific charities are your best bet, since your stuff will find a good home, the proceeds from the sale will help a worth cause, and–hey!– you will even be getting a tax deduction.
5. Finally, and most important: remember that you are not so much getting rid of stuff as making room to live.

The second part of the book is full of recipes that are perfect for a small kitchen. Not necessarily that exciting for an unclutterer, but there are some tasty recipes in there regardless.

The book’s author currently lives in a small New York City apartment that has a 45-square-foot kitchen and grew up using a kitchen on a tiny family sailboat. His advice is practical and based on years of experience.

A couple months ago, I was given the opportunity to be a beta-beta tester for Alice.com. (A gamma tester?) It’s a dry goods grocery delivery service where you place an order online and then have the items shipped directly to your home.

The prices are comparable to what you might find in a big box store like Costco or Sam’s Club, but the products are sized like what you would buy in a grocery store or pharmacy. All with the added convenience of not having to go to a store (and there is no charge for shipping). You can set up a shopping list and reminders, so that every few weeks or a couple times a year (you set the schedule) you receive a notification from Alice.com telling you that you might be getting low on toilet paper or deodorant or shampoo.

I’ve gone shopping on Alice, paid for my order, and received a shipment. For as much as I ordered, I was genuinely surprised at how little packaging they used. It all fit in a reasonably sized box and the box broke down easily to go into our recycling bin. Everything about the process was convenient.

And I think that is why I liked it so much. It’s convenient. I’m incredibly busy and the last thing I want to do is have to run to the store to pick up toilet paper when we inevitably run out at 10:00 at night. Now, I get a notice once a month asking me if I need toilet paper, and if my supplies are low, I order more. I make a few clicks with my mouse in less than a minute and toilet paper appears two days later.

Right now, since they’re still in beta, they’re only carrying the major brands. But, they’re in negotiations with smaller manufacturers to increase their inventory. They actually carried my favorite brand of all of the supplies I ordered, so I didn’t notice that anything was missing. During testing, though, I noted one or two types of products that weren’t on their inventory and poof! after I suggested the product it appeared on the list a few days later. So, I know they’re listening to consumer requests. The interface is easy to use, too, and these cute little cartoon people guide you through the site:

I think about my friends who have infants at home and barely have time to shower, and how nice it would be for them if diapers just appeared on their doorsteps. I think about my friends who live in downtown New York who have to take 20 minute train rides to get to the closest big box store, and how much time it would save them if their dry good items could simply be delivered. Since I buy the vast majority of my food through our local farmer’s market, Alice.com saves me from having to make a second shopping trip to the grocery store. It’s extremely convenient for busy people. It removes an errand/chore from my weekly schedule and allows me to spend that time doing something that matters more to me. It’s simple and uncluttered, for my life.

Granted, this service isn’t for everyone. If you like going to the grocery store and smelling products and first touching what you’re going to buy, then you won’t like getting your dry goods delivered. It also takes 15 to 20 minutes to put together your initial order (at least that is what it took me) which isn’t much of a time saver on that first trip. Subsequent trips are just seconds, however, since you have an established shopping list. Also, if you buy a lot of small production goods, it might take a while for those to become available as contracts are negotiated between Alice and those manufacturers.

What do you think about dry goods being delivered to your door? To me, it’s a lot like Netflix or Amazon, just with the specific grocery angle. If you’re interested in trying it for yourself, you can sign up for a free account and be a beta tester, too, at Alice.com. Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

On page 42 of the July issue of Real Simple magazine, there is a picture of a wonderfully ingenious multi-purpose apron (at right). The Zip and Dry apron has a dishtowel at its bottom that can be used during cooking and afterward for cleaning:

Made from heavy-duty fabric, the apron will keep your clothing free from splatters, while the attached towel is the ideal place to wipe your hands during the process. When you’re all done cooking, simply unzip the towel and use it to clean up. Complete with multipurpose pockets.

The zippered dishtowel could easily be added to the bottom of any apron as a simple DIY project. However, at $25, it’s not a bad price for an apron. Either way, I like that this design was made with an actual cook in mind.

Our Nespresso machine gave up the ghost recently and we’re trying to decide if we should have it fixed or switch to a device that doesn’t use special pods or capsules.

In doing a bit of research, I’ve noticed that over the last year all of the elitist coffee forums have been abuzz with talk of the Aerobie AeroPress. At first glance, this $30 device seems like the kind of product that Billy Mays or Ron Popeil might pitch on late-night cable. But oddly, many of the same coffee snobs who will call you a chump if you’re unwilling to pay $250 for a conical-burr coffee grinder are now using these simple, inexpensive and space saving devices to make their coffee.

This video from the Coffee Convo podcast shows how the AeroPress works:

Do you have any advice for making high-quality coffee at home without a lot of equipment? Are you using an AeroPress? Let us know in the comments.

Reader Kate submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

Cookware lids are a pain in the neck! With limited drawer and cabinet space I am forced to store my pots and pans one within the other – which leaves the lids to fend for themselves. They are big in diameter and the handle makes them awkward in shape – so my only solution this far has been to throw them in a drawer like a messy bunch of Frisbees. I’d love to hear if have a solution.

Since you have a drawer that is large enough for your lids, you’re only a few steps away from an organized solution.

Grab your largest and smallest lids, and head to your local office supply store. For less than $10, you should be able to find a file organizer that you can repurpose for lids. Just make sure that the specific organizer you choose works with your lids, which is why you’ll want your smallest and largest lids with you. Put the file organizer in your drawer and then vertically drop in all of your lids.

There are also organizers made specifically for lids, but I think they’re they exact same thing as what you get in office supply stores.

If you didn’t have a drawer, I’d recommend an organizer that attaches to the back of a cabinet door. This way, you don’t have to sacrifice horizontal storage space for items that can easily be stored vertically.

How do others store pan lids in kitchen cupboards and drawers? Give Kate even more ideas to choose from in the comments.

Thank you, Kate, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.