Organize Your Kitchen Like Julia

Both my parents enjoyed cooking, and loved Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” I watched her cooking show on PBS, and made a point of seeing her kitchen in the Smithsonian. Julia was not only a master chef, but a master at organizing her kitchen.

One of my clients was very good friends with Julia and Paul Child, and I noticed that my client’s kitchen was set up and organized similarly to Julia’s (see photos).

Here’s how to set up your kitchen a la Julia:

• Keep what you use the most easily accessible. Julia used pegboard in her kitchen, so did my parents, and this client. If you have the wall space to do this, it’s an excellent strategy, especially for people who lose track of items in cabinets or drawers.

• Use the vertical space in your kitchen. The peg board accomplishes this, as do hooks (see photo), or a pot rack that hangs from the ceiling. Open shelving is very popular now, and can also help make the most of vertical space.

• Consider labels. In photos I’ve seen of Julia’s kitchen, she has labels on her utensil crocks, and on her wall near her knives. I’ve used labels in my pantry and on small bins in cabinets. They can be helpful reminders of what goes where.

• Function over form. Julia set up her kitchen to be functional, and customized it to fit her needs. Make sure your kitchen works for how you use it.

• Create zones for key activities or similar items. Here’s a past post about how I set up a corner for my tea supplies.