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To date “Rosemary Brown’s Big Kitchen Instruction Book”
has provided the most useful information I have found about having a positive kitchen experience! For that reason,
Potware.com would like to share excerpts from the book. Favorite tips and discussions are included in these pages.
This book is great to own! So if you want your own copy, look for ISBN 0-83626755-9.
Selected Excerpts from:
Rosemary Brown’s Big Kitchen Instruction Book
(Andrews McMeel Publishing, 1998)
From Distress to Success with S.O.S. (pages 6-7)
If this were the first day of class in a college course in Kitchen Management, and if I were your professor, I’d probably say, “Welcome to Kitchenology 101. Let me review my credentials with you.
“I’ve been involved in this field for over a quarter of a century, and I’ve had plenty of hands-on experience. Not only have I prepared thousands of meals and cleaned up after same, but I’ve packed my share of lunches, served my share of snacks, and hosted my share of dinner parties. I’ve cruised supermarket aisles morning, noon and night, as well as the day before Thanksgiving, and all those afternoons the weatherman erroneously predicted six inches of snow.
“Furthermore, I’ve put in considerable time doing research. I’ve read books, newspapers and magazines, I’ve surfed the Internet, and I’ve conducted countless interviews.
“As a professional organizer, I’ve been hired to go into people’s homes as a consultant, to offer suggestions to help them organize their space and use their time more efficiently. I’ve given seminars, conducted workshops, and rolled up my sleeves to get down to the nitty gritty. In short, I’ve paid my dues. I know what it’s like to try to work around homework papers on the kitchen table at dinnertime, and I’ve cultivated the art of holding a telephone on one shoulder and using both hands to wash dishes.
“During the countless official and unofficial hours I’ve spent examining the factors that make a kitchen run smoothly, I’ve isolated three key ingredients that spell the difference between distress and success in the kitchen. These three elements will make up the core of your kitchenology curriculum, and from here on, we’ll refer to them collectively as the S.O.S. Plan. This plan is easy to remember, simple to implement, and has far reaching applications. Not only can you apply this wonder-working formula to your kitchen, but you can use it to untangle other areas of your life that might be in disarray, from a messy desk, to a fund-raising project for the YMCA. Although it’s not a cure for the common cold, this plan will be a veritable gold mine for you, if you’ll simply put it to work. Now Hear This: If you want to pass the course, memorize the Plan!”
Drum Roll and Fanfare! (pages 6-7)
S = Streamline
O = Organize
S = Systemize
Hopefully, the plan will stick with you like glue! Since a picture is worth a thousand words, here’s a visual image for you. Just close your eyes and conjure up that familiar little yellow and red box of soap filled scouring pads. Now focus on those three big letters jumping off the side of the box. You can’t miss them. Don’t forget them! Set a box of them on your kitchen windowsill to remind you of their intrinsic value. Before we get into the details, here are some definitions and an S.O.S. Catechism to go along with those letters:
“S” stands for Streamline:
To unclutter by removing dead wood.
Q: Why is streamlining your kitchen important?
A: Streamlining is the key to getting rid of anything that isn’t productive, attractive, or enjoyable, to enable you to make room for things that are.
To streamline your kitchen, just move out the stuff that gets in your way. Clearing the decks is like a shot in the arm. You’ll have more energy, and you’ll feel more in control.
“O” stands for Organize:
To arrange in a meaningful pattern.
Q: Why is organizing your kitchen important?
A: Organizing is a stress-reducer. It saves you time and energy when you need to find things quickly. Organizing has two goals:
(1) to bring a sense of harmony to your surroundings, and
(2) to simplify whatever jobs you need to accomplish.
To organize your kitchen, just put things where they belong. It’s that simple. And since you’re in charge of your kitchen, you’re the one who gets to decide where things should go. Once you’ve arranged things the way you like them, put them away when you are finished using them.
“S” stands for Systemize:
To create a logical process for dealing with recurring chores.
Q: Why should you systemize your kitchen?
A: Systemizing prevents important jobs from (1) piling up, (2) being overlooked, or (3) getting squeezed out of your schedule. Systemizing isn’t really complicated at all. First, decide the best and most effective way to do a job. Then do it the same way every time, without spending any more mental energy reinventing the wheel. Because you’ll develop a rhythm, you’ll be able to work faster. Then, as you learn simpler or better ways of doing something, you can fine-tune your system.
Systemizing your kitchen boils down to developing routines for handling repetitive chores, such as planning menus, shopping for groceries, and doing the dishes. Dressmakers use patterns and financial analysts use spreadsheet templates. With a plan, you won’t have to face kitchen chores every day wondering, “Now what should I do next?” Instead, you’ll be sailing through work that used to bog you down. Most important, you’ll feel like you are in control. And that feeling is invigorating!
Watch That First Step (page 7)
Each component of the S.O.S. Plan – streamlining, organizing and systemizing – is interdependent. You mustn’t skip any steps – especially the first one. If you do, I guarantee you will work harder, not smarter. Streamlining your kitchen will make organizing it and systemizing it so much simpler. Don’t organize clutter. Get rid of it! It’s an albatross around your neck.
NEXT, The Streamlined Kitchen: In Your Dreams
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