Kersplat!

         Kersplat! With arms stretched out as much as possible from my five-foot height, I jump to tip the chili powder into my hand from its resting-place in the cupboard above my stove. My momentum mixes with gravity and throws me off balance before I can catch the jar.
         Enchilada sauce is now spattered on the burners, the cupboards, the floor, and me. Now I must take time to clean up the mess and all because I thought it would be too much trouble to pull a chair over to get down the herbs and spices I need.
         I've been in my home for almost a year now, and my kitchen is really not set up for me. When we moved in last year, setting up a makeshift kitchen became my first priority.
         I emptied kitchen boxes without much thought for kitchen processes or my ability to work in it. I simply wanted the boxes off the floor so I could have space to make meals for all our moving helpers. The rest of the rooms came next, then the yard work, then a new baby, and then holidays, and then . . . LIFE?
         Perhaps if LIFE is happening to you too, your kitchen remains in the same disorganized state you left it in when you moved into your place. After years of working in and around the inefficiency, you may be used to it and have no desire for change.
         However, if you are seeking to spend fewer minutes in the kitchen and more minutes playing with your kids, gardening with your spouse, or catching a sunset, then read Getting the Kitchen to Work.
         After rearranging your kitchen, test if it really does the work for you by whipping up Skillet Lasagna, Light Chicken Fettucine, Glazed Ham and Rice, German Fish Skillet, or Vegetable Beef Skillet. Without heating up the house, you'll enjoy dinner and extra minutes for your family with these wonderful recipes.