In an era where “life hacks” and “top 10 habits of successful people” lists proliferate, it seems as if there are almost endless ways to improve our lifestyles, skillsets and possessions. Don’t have a paper towel holder? Just pry an old clothes hanger apart with your desperate hands, slide the paper towel roll on there and hang it on the fancy ceiling-mounted pots and pans rack you somehow have even though you don’t own a paper towel holder. There. Instant fix.
Of course, life hacks and lists are popular by their very nature — they offer an easy, seemingly painless version of reality in which the rest of your lifestyle doesn’t have to change to accommodate whatever self-improvement you’ve just vowed to commit to. Unfortunately, what they don’t show is the aftermath. Just buy a normal paper towel holder, okay?
Depressing DIYs aside, in my kitchen advice to you, I want to dismiss the life-hack focus in favour of a more honest approach. Instead of pretending like these ideas are going to change your culinary life immediately and without the context of your own habits and spaces, I want to share some things that I’ve found helpful in making the most out of my ingredients, time and limited counter space. Here’s how you can be more resourceful in the kitchen:
Don’t be afraid to Google. Have some ingredients or meal portions left over and aren’t sure what to do with them? Type something along the lines of “what to do with leftover [x]” into Google and I guarantee there’s a genius food blogger or forum commenter who has thought of a solution. Similarly, if you have an ingredient and aren’t sure how long it will last in the fridge, direct your queries to the World Wide Web. If you’re proactive, you can plan your future meals this way and you won’t have to let things go to waste!
Mise en place. The fancy French way to say “get your shit together before you start cooking.” You don’t have to get too intense with this. Some people — myself included — like to have all constituent ingredients chopped, measured or otherwise prepared before anything goes on the stove, but you can also just make sure that everything you need for cooking is sitting on the counter in front of you. This is a great way to make sure you don’t forget to put anything in and avoid minor disasters. Not that I’m speaking from experience. Ahem.
Have a “waste” bowl on the counter. If your kitchen is like mine, your compost bin is sitting on the floor beside the garbage in relative squalor with mysterious juices collecting at the bottom. The last thing you probably want is to have it beside you on the counter when you’re cooking. If your compost is a lovely little countertop number that doesn’t knock you out when you open it, kudos. Put it beside your cutting board and throw out scraps as you prepare your ingredients. If your compost is a disgusting, rotting ecosystem, use a big bowl instead. This will save both your back from the repetitive strain of stooping over and some valuable prep time as you’ll be more efficient if you don’t have to keep stopping to throw things out. It should also save your countertop from a little more mess.
Reflect on each cooking experience. I know, corny, but you’re supposed to end these lists with some vague inspirational motivation. So… you WILL gradually improve if you make a mental note of what worked well and not so well each time you cook. It’ll be different depending on your strengths and depending on the day. This isn’t a one-fix solution — sorry, lifehackers — but identifying successes and areas for improvement is a pretty good way to actively resolve your knowledge gaps and build your skillsets.