Kitchen Organization Advice

I love great kitchen organization advice!

One great idea from my mother-in-law:
- get your cookbooks spiral bound at Staples/Office Max (they cut off the spine and put a spiral in so you can turn your pages)
- use a cookbook stand (I got a great one with a plastic shield to prevent spills from Crate & Barrel, less than $25)

Here's a few ideas I've come up with:
- pantry organization: use clear glass wide mouth quart/pint Ball/Mason Canning Jars with plastic screw top lids. Label everything. It's cheap and helps when you are cooking with several different grains and buy in bulk from the health-food store.
-I also got some nice clear glass jars from Ikea for larger items like rye and oat flakes
- use tension curtain rods and hooks wherever they will fit to create bars to hang light little utensils or measuring cups on.
-keep a spray bottle of mild dishwashing liquid (I use Ivory) mixed with water by the sink. It's useful for spraying and rinsing out big pots and pans while you're cooking, spraying and wiping counters and tables, and cleaning little spills before they become huge messes.
-I love this breadkeeper for homemade bread, well worth the $10: Progressive International Clearly Fresh Bread Keeper. I also add a little wheat gluten to my homemade bread to keep it fresher longer (not exactly allergy-free though).