OK, so if you find it easy to run a family kitchen, let's have that too!

[NoviceKnitter]

Following the brilliant thread on running a ship shape house, I wondered if we could share some tips on running the kitchen. This follows DP again getting cross again yesterday at my TERRIBLE habit of being over ambitious in my food-buying and having to throw stuff away that's gone off. I'm in the process of overhauling kitchen systems and would love to hear your tried and tested tips. Here are mine:-

At least one meal in three must be a bulk creation filling not only tummies on the day but a number of locking tupperware containers for the freezer (including tiny ones for DD's lunches)

A rough weekly meal plan at the beginning of each week ensuring a balance (fish and meat, different starches etc) but also ensuring a proper use of leftovers and a realistic shopping list (still working on this one...)

A drawer for bibs and flannels and washable dishcloths - and a kitchen based dirty washing basket. A new bib, flannel and dishcloth at the start of each day.

Millions of ikea plastic clips - scrap attractive storage jars and keep clipped packets (pasta etc) in a nice basket. Much easier and actually looks really nice.

Fresh boiled water for DD in water jug each morning, discarded at end of each day.

A strict clean as you cook rule (DP doesn't quite get this one yet but I'm working on it)

A weekly shopping list that you can use as reference when doing new delivery order (so you don't end up with 12 tins of tuna and no dishwasher tablets, for example, as we did last week)

Put reusable bags by the door as soon as youv'e emptied your shopping so you don't arrive at supermarket having forgotten them

Wash salads when bought so they can be taken straight from fridge and used.

Always have sardines, tuna, tinned toms, tinned sweetcorn, rice cakes, stuff like that in the larder.

A note book where you write down page references for favourite recipes so you don't have to go through that "was it nigella or nigel" thing each time you're looking for it.

Do things straight away - so if you're making chicken stock do it the day of the roast (or freeze the bones) otherwise they'll go mouldy in the fridge (or do in mine anyway)

Always empty the dishwasher first thing in the morning (nice waking up ritual while kettle boils and radio purrs)

oil skin cloths, everywhere. Quick spray with ecover at the end of the day.

OK, that's just some of my burgeoning apprentice domestic goddessery. Still early days and would love your help with other top tips!

Erm, good luck with that. Can you come to my house and sort my kitchen out.
I will try and aspire to some of your tips.
I don't think I have any to add.
I am still struggling with the mealplanning thing and making sure I buy enough of the right ingredients.
I am currently trying to make life difficult for myself by doing fortnightly shop too!

thing is Taffy think it would be so much easier to sort someone else's kitchen out. my other idea to to create "swap and sort" agency where people can become each others household mentors - it's always easier and more fun to sort out other people's houses ime!
good luck...

Have a decent store cupboard with lots of essentials and shop for fresh food two or three times a week.

(NB if dd is >6m ditch the jug - she can have tap water)

Use a hand held vacuum cleaner for the edges daily, always looks "done" then

Load dishwasher as things get dirty, don't stack them on the sink (follows therefore that you need to empty dw as soon as it's finished the cycle)

Wipe out fridge/throw away old stuff (if like me you haven't got the hang of meal planning really well yet) as soon as new shopping has been done/online delivery has just arrived

Freeze stuff that is about to go off- eg half pack of ham expiring tomorrow, meat that expires today etc etc (apparently you can even freeze bananas and mushrooms but I've not tried this one)

Wipe microwave spills as soon as they occur otherwise they just get dried on (suppose the same goes for the cooker too but not managed to get into doing that either just yet!)

These are the couple of things I can think of, I don't actually do them religiously but know that when I do things look so much better!

Jug duly scrapped. Any systems that can be dumped as gratefully received as ones to be implemented.

Noviceknitter you sound mega organised already!! The only thing I can add for people with older children is a huge tuppaware box that goes in the frig and contains all the things they take for packed lunch. The children then just pull that out and choose what they would like (my youngest is 10 however). It saves things getting knocked over or spilt inside the frig which used to happen.

I also love my slo cooker for producing large amounts of food that can be frozen for later such as casseroles, mince to be made into bolognaise, shep etc., and you can also cook a big chicken in it too which does for a meal and then pie and sandwich fillings

I'm going to join in as I suffer in the same way. Need fab slow cooker recipes. I have a few recipes to swap but not the time right now. Post later. (smile)

Ah bless you dizzydo. on paper only alas. slow cooking is great - especially in the winter just bung in oven on low for the day and warms the house as well. my fave is irish stew: lamb with pearl barley with lots of root veg. anything that can go into a single pot and look after itself is so much easier.
Oh, another tip for things like minestrone soup is to undercook it then freeze it so the veg and pasta doesn't go soggy when you re-heat.

Minkus, agree about the microwave - you could use that porridge to grout tiles

Final tip of the day, as long as you start with a base of carrot, onion and celery (and maybe a bit of bacon) most leftovers will make a fantastic soup (not that I very often get it together...)

Make a big bowl of fruit salad on a Sunday afternoon. It can then be Sunday pudding with icecream and then go in lunchboxes on Monday.

Try to cook, or at least prepare, one day in advance of yourself. Eg: make a big pan of soup on a Sunday evening, to be Monday's tea; then whilst that's heating up on Monday chop up a load of vege for Tuesday's curry (or whatever). I find it much easier to come home from work and start cooking, if I know part of it's done already - it feels much less onerous.

Make good use of your favourites list when grocery shopping on t'internet.

Grate cheese in big batches then freeze in small bags, for sauces, sprinkling on shepherd's pie etc.

I like the tupperware for lunchbox stuff idea Dizzydo.

Joined-up cooking - if the oven is on for something, check the fridge to see if anything else needs cooking at the same time, for packed lunches or whatever.
Whe making kids tea with veg, wrap the veg in foil with a bit of water and cook in the oven instead of on the hob.
Slow cooker bolognaise which turns into lasagne and chilli with a few additions.

Order extra of each store cuboard in rotation i.e. 6 bake beans one week 6 tuna the next

Put reusable bags in the boot of the car - when you go back to lock the boot as soon as youv'e emptied your shopping so you don't arrive at supermarket having forgotten them

Wash salads when bought so they can be taken straight from fridge and used. Will get ride of all the nutrients - dont wash them leave them dirty to get healthy

Photocopy your fav recipe and keep all together

Always empty the dishwasher last thing at night, fill kettle with water, and put bread machine on timer thing in the morning - come downstairs in the morning to the smell of fresh bread, flick switch on kettle and get breakfast ready - whilst kettle is boiling.

Last week of month use more store cuboard foods to eat up stock and start ahgain next month on restocking - keeps out of date products down and the bank account happy.

my only tip would be to ease up on yourself.
and do menu plans at the beginning of the week or once a fortnight. they save lots of money.

hello
i wipe down kithcen srufaces etc each day but then each week i spend about 1/2 hour cleaning a different cupboard out so that eveything gets down regularly.

Have a shopping list up in the kitchen AND a rule - "if you are the one who opens it, you are the one who adds it to the list" that way it gets added to the list when first opened rather than when it runs out.

i have a notebook which has a shopping list (to which dh adds stuff) and a following page with things we might like to eat that week. too much planning is drudgery.

i don't bother freezing batch cooked foods, get put off seeing them too often and never want to eat them. i usually make a large meal on sunday, either a roast which is used for sandwiches in the week or a stew type thing which dh is always happy to eat several days in a row. i freeze ingredients like fish fillets, chicken thighs, sausages etc. it is pretty quick to defrost them so easier to be spontaneous.

Always have pens and one of those colourful blocks of small bits of paper in the kitchen. Write stuff on you need as soon as you realise you're running low and stick the list on the fridge with a magnet (mine currently says tartare sauce, garlic press, cat food, non-bio powder, washing up liquid, squeezy soap for bathroom, dried banana chips, weetabix, peanut butter) - doesn't matter if its all random. Add it to your mega list when you next go shopping. Saves you running out of essentials.

Clear out fridge/freezer on the week night before your dustbin collection.