Today Show- Adapt and improve with ‘Secrets of an Organized Mom’ (Feb 26 2013)

Описание: Barbara Reich helps you make sense of the mess and take back your home in “Secrets of an Organized Mom.”
Here’s an excerpt.
PURGING IN THE KITCHEN
Tools, utensils, pots, and pans
Most of us have more of these than we need. Partly, this is the fault of all those wedding gifts—the pot and pan assortments that include sizes that aren’t useful, and the knife blocks with far more knives that you actually use or can keep sharp. And as we marry older and combine households, I find that couples often just put all their stuff together without weeding out the duplicates. The result is a kitchen with five wooden spoons, four spatulas, and two ladles. You can argue with me about the wooden spoons, but I swear to you: no one needs more than one ladle.
Ironically, we amateurs pile up on the kitchen supplies, but professional chefs are all about economy. Dalia Jurgensen, pastry chef for Brooklyn’s Michelin-starred restaurant Dressler, and author of the memoir Spiced, is a case in point. I asked her what she uses in her kitchen at home—not just once in a while, but constantly—and she also told me what she finds to be a big waste of time:
Rely on these:
• Microplane – for grating hard cheeses, citrus zest, whole nutmeg.
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• Heat-safe rubber spatula—for everything: scrambled eggs, risotto, soup, folding batters.
• Hand blender (also called an immersion blender or stick blender), preferably with a chopping attachment and detachable wand for easy cleaning. For smoothies, soups, baby food, and loose purees; and the chopping attachment is great for small jobs (no need to drag out the big food processor for a handful of nuts).
• Non-stick omelet pan—really the only thing to use for eggs; just make sure you get the very best quality available, and it’s labeled “green” which means that the chemicals stay in the coating, not your food.
• “Y” shaped peeler—the only kind chefs use because it’s easier to handle than straight peelers; shaped like a slingshot and costs about $3.
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• Tongs—any chef will tell you that this is an all-time favorite tool.
• Fine sieve—for straining homemade stock, silky smooth purees, and it can double as a colander
• Knives—all you really need are a quality chef knife (worth investing some money in) and some small serrated paring knives that cost about $6 at a restaurant supply store.
• Pots and pans—the heavier the better, both for conducting heat, and for easier cleaning—definitely worth the investment. A good assortment would include a Dutch oven (for stove-top stews as well as oven braises and roasts); a sauté pan that can double as a frying pan; an 8 quart or larger stock pot (if you actually make soup and broth); and one quart, two quart, and 4 quart pots.
• Food processor—OK, this isn’t an everyday necessity, but when it’s needed, nothing else will do.
• Stand mixer—again, you might not use it every day, but if you bake, this is essential. If you don’t, then skip it.
• Scale—if you’re serious about baking, this is the only way to measure.
And don’t bother with these:
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-Hand mixer—if you have an immersion blender and a stand mixer, then you don’t need this.
-Onion goggles—they are supposed to keep your eyes from watering when cutting onions, but they’re just silly.
-Fancy/complicated wine openers—They’re not actually easier, or faster. And often, they’re huge! A simple wine key is the best, and cheap.
-Avocado knife—or any knife that has a specific purpose. Just use an ordinary knife! This level of specialization is a total waste of money.
Baking items
These can take up a lot of space in cabinets, and they vary in size and shape so they’re hard to consolidate neatly. Pull out everything you have and evaluate what you actually use. Aim to have items within each category match in brand and style so that they stack better—have the same kind of measuring cup, the same kind of cake pans, etc.