Living while at work: Organizing kitchen utensils in your desk drawer
I’ve always kept plastic forks and spoons in my desk, along with napkins and ground pepper, for those frequent times I need them. Whether it be yogurt from home or a bland soup from a restaurant, I always wind up having a need for some kitchen basics while I’m at work. I’m not someone who lives at work, but I do live while at work.
My problem was that I didn’t think it was very sanitary to toss some random kitchen utensils in a junk drawer of my desk. It also wasn’t very efficient because I always had to dig through the drawer to find what I needed. So I took a trip to The Container Store to find a solution.
I found these modular interlocking kitchen drawer organizers and put them to use the next day. I bought four of the same size – for knives, forks, soup spoons, and regular spoons – and snapped them together. They fit perfectly in my drawer. I even had room for napkins and a roll of paper towels.
I prefer the modular interlocking organizers because desk drawers all vary in size, and moving desks is common in office spaces. Being at work doesn’t mean that you stop living, and a drawer set aside for kitchen items isn’t a poor use of space — especially if its organized.
Posted by Teri on Mar 18, 2008 |
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25 comments posted
Posted by ha3rvey - 03/18/2008
I used to keep my utensils in the box I purchased them in. I stopped when I noticed the exterminator come by twice in one week. Apparently, we have problems with mice *and* roaches. Now, I keep them in a zip top baggie.
I’m actually considering buying some camping sporks the next time I’m near REI. I figure I’ll keep them at home and just bring one with my lunch each day.
Posted by Springpeeper - 03/18/2008
Several of my kitchen drawers are lined with these organizers and they’re a great way to “divide and conquer” what would otherwise be a mess of jumbled utensils.
I question the need, though, for having so much cutlery at the office. Wouldn’t it make more sense to cut down the amount to just one or two knives, forks and spoons?
Posted by jane - 03/18/2008
I keep a fork, spoon, knife (not plastic, silverware), plate, and bowl in my office. I have a small bottle of dish soap and a sponge so that I can wash my dishes each day in the office pantry. Sounds like overkill maybe, but it works for me.
Posted by amy - 03/18/2008
Our lovely lovely new office has a proper kitchen, I’ve just finished my bowl of noodles out of a china bowl, eaten with a proper fork siting on a sofa looking over the Thames… just though I would share that with those of you eating a sandwich with one hand whilst typing an email with the other
Taking time to eat lunch properly does help the day’s stress levels, but not always possible.
Do you re-use your plastic impliments or do you throw away each time?
Posted by tully monster - 03/18/2008
Like Jane, I keep a place setting each of silverware and china (inexpensive, plain white, bought at Costco) in my office and wash my dishes after lunch. Takes maybe two, three minutes. I don’t like the idea of throwing out plastic silverware every day, and the metal stuff works better anyways. And somehow it’s all much more civilized than eating out of Tupperware containers.
Oh, yeah, and THIS is probably overkill: I keep a cheap set of white cotton napkins at work, too. They have a lot of uses, and I just take them home and launder them once a month.
Posted by sara - 03/18/2008
just as a tip to anyone looking to simulate this idea, walmart has these drawer organizers for dirt cheap. i bought four for a dollar and use them at home because our kitchen drawers are too small to hold a regular silveware organizer.
have a good day
Posted by Mikey - 03/18/2008
As a cubicle dweller, I have exactly one desk drawer, and cannot waste that much space on lunch items. I bought a mini chopstick/dish set at REI that is light and compact. It lives in my backpack, and I wash it at home every night.
Posted by KarenD - 03/18/2008
I bought a set of beautiful old Rogers Bros. real silverplate at a charity shop for about $3. A handful of each of forks, knives and spoons. It’s easy to wash and stash in a ziplock. I reuse my mug for coffee and have a big plastic cup for water. I have yet to bring in a proper dish. (I usually eat Lean Cuisine or leftovers in tupperware so plates are not needed.)
Posted by rashid - 03/18/2008
Hrm, you must eat a lot at work to allot all that drawer space for utensils. and a huge roll of paper towels! Although organized, I would personally call it clutter. Although it depends on how many drawers you have.
You could use one or two containers for all the utensils, and a toilet paper roll instead of paper towels. It doesn’t take much effort to look through the container for the appropriate utensil.This will leave a lot of room to unclutter your actual desk by keeping pens, pencils, notes, etc., inside your drawer. Also saving money since toilet paper is much cheaper the paper towels!
Or you can do the even more uncluttered thing… buy one set of cutlery and wash them out in the bathroom. 1 fork, 1 spoon, 1 knife. Now that is what I call uncluttered, leaving space for everything else in your desk.
Posted by stephanie - 03/18/2008
I disagree with you very much, I think that a drawer for kitchen items, no matter how organized, would be a huge waste of space in most desks/offices. One knife, one fork, and one spoon, each made of silverware that can be washed after use, would take up significantly less space and provide everything needed. The paper towels are a good idea simply because they have so many possible uses – I don’t believe I would use a fork, knife, or spoon for much besides eating while at work, and therefore would not want to devote so much precious desk space to them!
Posted by Jim - 03/18/2008
Why do you need napkins AND paper towels? You must make a lotta messes!
Posted by Louise - 03/18/2008
Does anyone else have a problem with those white plastic dividers collecting dust? They seem to be electrostaticly charged and after a while have grey smudges on them.
It is difficult to wash off, even after taking the time to pull all the utensils out of the drawer. I am going to replace all the white plastic in my utensil drawer with either black plastic or bamboo ones. I think I saw the bamboo dividers at Target.
Posted by Jess - 03/18/2008
Luckily I’ve had a proper kitchen at every office I’ve worked in with real cutlery and the best bit is that someone else comes and washes it all at the end of the day!
If I had any drawers in my office I don’t think there’d be cutlery in them
Posted by jeremy - 03/18/2008
Yeah, after reading about the new science explaining how plastic is leaching into our bodies and giving us cancer, I switched to metal. Thrift store, 25 cents a utensil. Better for the environment and better for me. And takes up less space than the above picture.
Posted by Jeff - 03/18/2008
For those of you who’re suggesting that plastic is pointless and metal is king, don’t forget that not everyone’s work situation is like yours. I work in a cubicle, and my area doesn’t have a kitchen. There is a fridge and microwave near me, so I can easily microwave a meal and grab a cold drink, but there is no sink, nowhere to wash dishes.
The men’s restroom is a good 200 feet away. Realistically, I’m not gonna go down there every day to wash my dishes. I grab a plastic spoon, a microwavable bowl of soup, and a drink, eat my lunch, toss the bowl and spoon in the trash, and go back to work. Total: 10 minutes, max.
Posted by Georgia - 03/18/2008
I’m going to jump on the dislike bandwagon too. Why plastic disposable utensils? Seems like SUCH a waste (of space and resources). Plus who really likes using them anyway? I’d keep a regular metal knife, fork, and spoon and wash them as needed.
Posted by Simple Zack - 03/18/2008
“I’m not someone who lives at work, but I do live while at work.”
Beautifully said! I like to keep my drawers as condensed and organized as possible. I don’t currently have utensils, but then again I don’t usually eat at my desk either. But still, you never know. Great tip!
Posted by jeremy - 03/18/2008
@ Jeff: So you never go to the bathroom? My work doesnt have a kitchen either. I just go to the bathroom. 200 ft away? Is this a joke? Are you overweight?
Go to this article by Scientific American and you might be motivated to make the trek all the way down the long hallway: http://tinyurl.com/2sg3ax
Taken from the article:
“For now, U.S. scientists with concerns about BPA recommend that anyone sharing those worries avoid using products made from it: Polycarbonate plastic is clear or colored and typically marked with a number 7 on the bottom, and canned foods such as soups can be purchased in cardboard cartons instead.
If canned goods or clear plastic bottles are a must, such containers should never be microwaved, used to store heated liquids or foods, or washed in hot water (either by hand or in much hotter dishwashers). “These are fantastic products and they work well … [but] based on my knowledge of the scientific data, there is reason for caution,” Belcher says. “I have made a decision for myself not to use them.”
Posted by Kat - 03/18/2008
I agree with the dislike. I use real silverware with my lunches. I usually take them home with my lunch container. When I worked in an office with china and silverware provided, I used that. It is much easier to wash everything, then to hunt for a plastic one each day.
@ Jeff, I can’t believe you won’t walk 200 ft. to the mens bathroom to rinse your silverware. That is just plain lazy and adding to our growing problem of trash.
Posted by LEC - 03/18/2008
I like the idea alot for a small kitchen, but for an office desk? You must have lots of spare room in your desk. Mine? Yikes. Though I’m in your basic cubicle with six lower drawers and a center desk drawer, there’s just enough room for the organized basics: letterhead, second sheet, envelopes, index tabs, assorted pens, files, etc.
And what’s with all the multitude of utensils? Who are you feeding? Or is it that you’re throwing the stuff away?
Another solution is to bring the real thing: stainless steel or some other long-life fork, spoons, and knife. Store them in a zip lock bag to prevent the various and sundry unfriendly elements that come out in the office night. Best of all, they’re cleaned after each use, and the planet is a few less plastic pieces closer to a global trash heap.
Posted by jesse - 03/18/2008
I also have one of the camping sporks that I bring along with me. When we move offices I plan to bring in a dish/bowl set as well that I can use in the microwave.
Posted by Dream Mom - 03/19/2008
I have one small container that I bring to work that has a real fork, knife and spoon in it and some napkins. Every day after work, part of my after work routine is unpacking that container, putting the silverware in the dishwasher and taking a new set out of my kitchen drawer. I keep two sets of utensils in my kitchen drawer just for this purpose.
This way, everything is clean and sanitized. I don’t lose any space at work, I don’t have to wash stuff in the middle of the day and everything is always prepped for the next day. If it’s a weekend, I still pack the container and set it in a special drawer until the next workday. I also help the environment by not using the plastic. If I get extra napkins someplace when I eat out, I use those for my lunch kit and nothing goes to waste.
Posted by Christine - 03/24/2008
My work kitchen has real plates and flatware, but I have stopped using them because they just never seem to get clean btw the lazy people who won’t load or unload the dishwasher, the gross dishwasher that gets backed up, and the sponge that looks like it could be a science experiment. So, recently, I’ve switched to paper and plastic…not a permanent solution, but I’m thinking of bringing in my own sponge and own silverware, just haven’t gotten there.
Posted by karie - 03/26/2008
Already suggested but I am going to say it again….
Go for the real thing baby! And by the real thing I mean I have real a real silver place setting I found at a thrift store.
Have a few random bowls in your cupboard? Bring them to work! Eating out of a real bowl instead of a plastic tub makes me feel like I am eating a real meal and not some lousy leftovers. Elevates the lunch time experience.
I even have a cutting board and a chefs knife at my desk to cut up the bowl of fruit I bring in every monday.
Posted by WilliamB - 08/15/2009
My work set is one metal table knife, one metal fork, one metal teaspoon, one salad plate, one 2c. glass bowl with lid, one 4c. glass bowl with lid, one ceramic mug. All, except the bowls, were random ones left at my house. I wash them in the bathroom with handsoap and paper towel. Economic, environmentally friendly, space-saving. I clean the desk drawer every now and then.
Seriously, why so much in your desk drawer? It seems very cluttered to me.
(I do have about ten tons of those drawer organizers in my kitchen. I’m a big fan of the Container Store. You can buy 5 of every drawer organizer, see what works in your drawers, and CS doesn’t bat an eye when you return the rest.)
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