When I was younger, I was constantly told that things had to be put away. That meant that nothing was on the kitchen bench.

This never worked for me for a variety of reasons, mostly to do with executive dysfunction.

These days, I have a different philosophy.

I put things where they will be used. If this means they are on the bench, then so be it.

I have a knife block on the kitchen bench instead of keeping sharp knives in the drawer.

I have a jar next to my stove that has the wooden spoons and similar utensils so they are ready to be used.

I have containers next to my kettle that have the most used tea bags in them.

This is a small example of what lives on my kitchen bench.

These things are there so they are ready to be used. It saves me time and energy looking for whatever it is that I need. I am also less likely to get distracted while cooking!

It also helps with my slow method of putting things away as I can, for example, put away just the knives, and I feel like I’ve done a thing.

These things all have their spaces on the bench and are placed neatly. The containers (mostly) look nice (I’m in the process of upgrading them so they look pretty), and have their purpose.

As well as the containers, there are hooks near the stove for the oven mits so they are also on hand ready to use.

Having the items I use most easy to reach saves a lot of searching, which helps my executive functioning, and generally makes my life easier.

I just need to remember to show support workers where things go!

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