Back in the day, the kitchen was the headquarters (or prison) for the woman of the house. She’d shop for groceries, make all of the family meals, and clean up thereafter. Children – usually the daughters – would assist in the kitchen chores as soon as they could stand on a stool to reach the sink. Luckily, things have (mostly) changed. Many men not only set foot in the kitchen, but out-cook their female partners. When two people claim the kitchen as their own, chaos can erupt.
Julian and I consolidated kitchens many years ago. For most of our moves, I organized the kitchen and cookbooks first and he configured the electronics. (We’d both say that we had our priorities straight.) This division of labor would result in exchanges similar to this:
J: CJ, I can’t find anything in this kitchen! Where’s the [insert essential ingredient or utensil here]?
C (going straight to the shelf where said item is located, usually hiding in plain sight): If this were a rattlesnake, you’d be dead meat by now.
J: I’ll never understand your organization system.
When we purchased new cookware for the induction range (see The Homeowner Begets post), I decided to let him reorganize the kitchen. I admit that he did a good job overall. He got pull-out shelves for the colanders and cat food, and wire shelves to expand the amount of usable space in the cupboards. However, we now have variations on the following exchange:
J: CJ, where’s the wok?
C: You organized the kitchen. It’s right where you put it.
Beyond organization, we’ve adopted several strategies to maintain domestic tranquility:
- Never argue with or sneak up on the person wielding the knife. This does not mean we get into saber fights on a regular basis. This is more self-preservation for the knife-wielder. If s/he gets distracted or startled, a nasty cut could ensue.
- Respect the other’s turf. Both of us are in the kitchen at the same time when we’re having our friends over to dinner. We have our own section of counter with a cutting board and knife for our separate mises en place. This avoids misappropriation of ingredients: “You stole my chopped onion!”
- Make sure items stored in the refrigerator (even temporarily) are covered and well-sealed. This reduces the risk of spills or odor permeation. Think sauerkraut-scented orange juice: Not very palatable.
- S/He who does not cook does the dishes. This dates back to his days running the kitchen of his co-op and my days rooming and cooking with friends.
Reducing the number of arguments about the kitchen leaves us plenty of bandwidth to bicker about other things; which movie to watch after dinner, for example.
Recent Comments