Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Kitchen Tip Tuesdays

Have little children? Ever absent-minded in the kitchen? Ever been using a sharp knife and set it on the counter close to the edge and bumped it off and it lands just centimeters from jabbing you in the foot? What about setting the knife close to edge of the counter and having a little one reach up and try to grab it while you are stirring something hot on the stove,which happens to be across the kitchen?

I can answer YES to all of these questions!! I have a 16 month old right now that loves to be around my legs when I am working in the kitchen. He loves to be able to watch me work.

I have been absent minded in the kitchen...you know get so busy in concentrating on that beautiful creation of meal and forget that you have kids in and out of the kitchen or the 16 month old looking to see what scrapes of food he can reach off the counters only to find that he can reach the knife that you were just using to cut up veggies.

I have had too many close calls with knives and my feet that I have lost count!!

So one day I got smart!! I had just finished emptying a big yogurt container(32 oz) with one of my baking creations(or if you have an empty big 24 oz cottage cheese container would work too!). It was sitting there empty by my sink at the back of the counter. I thought what a brilliant place for putting all the dirty knives into when I wasn't using them! The container is deep enough even to hold my longer knives, like the chef's knive or butcher knife. I keep the container at the back of the sink(central location in the kitchen)!!

So now that is where I put all the dirty knives while they are waiting to be washed. I don't have knives scattered all over the counter or close to the edge for my little ones to grab! It even makes it easy to wash them because I will squirt a little dishsoap right in the container and fill it with hot water while I am washing the other dishes. I have even got hubby and my older kids "trained" to use the container!! I will admit that I still have my absent-minded times that I have left a knive out on the counter only to have hubby or one of my older kids come and remind me to put the knive in the container.

For more kitchen tips, resources, or ideas, head over to Tammy's Recipes!!



4 comments:

Mom2fur said...

I don't have little kids around, but I do have 2 cats, 2 ferrets and a dog who like to 'hang around' in the hopes I might drop something while doing prep work in the kitchen. I'm always afraid I'll knock a knife onto one of their furry little noggins. I love this idea of yours! I'm going to use it not only for safety, but for soaking my knives. I like to soak my dishes before they go into the dishwasher, but I never put knives in the tub for fear someone will reach in and cut himself. (Or herself, because the someone is likely to be me.)
Now I just have to finish the big tub of yogurt I bought recently.

Miranda said...

This is a really good tip and a great idea to get hubby and older kids into the habit too! My 2 year old loves to help in the kitchen, but being the youngest of 4 she thinks she is older than she is! I have to keep a close eye on her. Now I'll have to see what kind of containers I have saved that will work! Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

That is a neat tip! Thanks for sharing. :)

Nicole said...

That is a good idea. Now I just need something for the mama who trys to talk to her kids while chopping things and cuts herself all the time. lol