While sometimes I consider cooking and baking in the kitchen fun, there are definitely times that I consider it a chore. Those are the times my hands, feet or back are hurting or the times I’m just flat out of energy. In this post I will share some of my tips for working in the kitchen and in Tips & Tools for Working in the Kitchen – Part II I will discuss some of my favorite kitchen tools.

As I’ve mentioned before, I always wear my Orthaheel Orthotic Slippers when I’m at home. These help the pain from standing while working in the kitchen. I’m not a huge fan of cooking completely mis en place (prepping everything before starting to cook) because it creates so many more dishes for me to deal with afterward. I do start prepping before I start cooking, but I also continue cutting, measuring, etc… while I’m in the process of cooking. If my feet are killing me, sometimes I will sit at my counter-height stools and do as much from there as possible. I like to use Dishwasher Safe Cutting Boards so if my dishwasher is ready to be run after the meal I can just stick my cutting board in with it. This removes one unwieldy thing from me having to hand wash.

I had a hard time finding dry goods jars that were easy for me to open when my hands are feeling achy. After searching awhile I ended up getting Bodum Glass Storage Jars. These have a good seal on them and I can open them by gripping the lid’s side with 2 fingers (instead of 5) and tilting/pulling to the side. They allow me to easily see what the jar contains before accessing it and I can wash them in the dishwasher between fillings.

For years I’ve been using Evriholder Silicone Hotpad/Trivet The reason I like them so much is because the silicone provides an excellent grip. This comes in hand not only when taking things out of the oven, but also when trying to open jars. I’ve also heard people recommend using the cushy kind of shelf liner and strap wrenches to open jars. The Evriholder Silicone Hotpad/Trivet is easy to clean by hand, but best of all can be thrown in the dishwasher with each load.

For washing dishes, my all-time favorite gloves are True Blues Ultimate Household or Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Gloves. I have purple Williams-Sonoma ones and they fit on my hands very well, are thick enough that the hot dishwater doesn’t make my hands feel too hot and have a great grip on them! After cooking there are times I am just too exhausted or in too much pain to deal with dishes. When that happens I let the dishes soak overnight and clean them the next morning.

What are your favorite kitchen tips and tricks?

My cutting board, storage jar, hotpad and kitchen gloves