how many cooks in your kitchen?

since thanksgiving is such a kitchen holiday, i thought it best we kick it off with some inspiring and calm kitchen pictures, courtesy of martha herself. here, we can see how everything is in order and everything has a place. though most real life kitchens aren't this organized, clean or color-coordinated, i like to think we can all take cues from martha and the other experts and implement them where they work for us in our own very real, very not TV ready lives.





i know in my family, a few key things help (though by no means eliminate rushing)...we try to always start with an empty dishwasher, ready to be filled as we go. we pre-decide and label all the serving pieces we'll use so they're clean and available, and we don't have to run around improvising. i find it also helps having that list to work from - it's methodical, it's orderly and it gives you a sense of control and purpose as you work. of course, trying to do as much as you can in advance helps to, which would explain why my mom has been chopping vegetables since last thanksgiving.



and speaking of vegetable chopping, i've personally found rachael ray's garbage bowl idea life-changing, as it eliminates counter mess and walking back and forth to the garbage leaving onion peels and wrappers in your wake.





if anyone has wisdom on cutting onions, i'd love to hear it...we tried the candle the other day. NOPE.

what time-savers or nerve-calmers are you using in the kitchen this year?

read the comments on this post for honey living readers' best kitchen tips!

and for other great martha tips for living, read on.

all images courtesy of martha stewart