Kitchens are one of the trickiest rooms to unpack because there’s just. SO. MUCH. STUFF that lives in the kitchen. Add in all the “pre-determined storage space” (aka drawers, cabinets and shelves that you didn’t get to pick out yourself), and it adds up to a complicated project to unpack. Fortunately, the professional organizers at reSPACEd have unpacked, organized and set up hundreds of kitchens since 2008, so we know all the tricks for making it go faster.
For example, we always place the drinking glasses and plates/bowls in the cupboards closest to the sink. This is so you can easily fill a glass with a drink of water and grab a plate for your sandwich while you’re at it.
We LOVE to group like-with-like and line everything up in perfect little rows (pictured above). If you have a family with a lot of kids, it probably won’t stay this way for long. But most homeowners like to experience that “I just stepped into a magazine feeling!” right after they move in, so that’s why we make the extra effort to create that vision for them.
Oils and vinegars always live right by the stove so they can easily be added to sauces while cooking (pictured above). Also, we ask the homeowners which appliances they use the most, so we know what which ones to leave out on the counter. We even take the time to turn all the labels on the food the same direction. It’s all about creating that “wow” factor for homeowners when they move in!
Drawers can be tricky to set up because it feels like there’s always more utensils than drawer space! But we do our best, making sure to group baking utensils together, cocktail utensils together, etc. We typically use the drawer nearest the sink for the silverware drawer, and the drawer right beside or below that for kitchen towels.
And finally, we place pots and pans in the biggest (read: deepest) cabinet to accommodate all of their handles and various heights. This homeowner didn’t have too many pots and pans, so we were also able to fit in her collection of leftover containers, stacked by height on the right (pictured below).
Kitchens take anywhere from 5-10 hours to set up, depending on the size and whether there is separate pantry we have to set up as well. Regardless of the size of your home, reSPACEd organizers are happy to pitch in and get you all unpacked and squared away in your new home!
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