What Is Mise en Place? And How to Apply It Throughout Your Home
As a francophone, cook, and professional organizer, “mise en place” (meez-on-plahs) has a special place in my heart. Its literal translation from the French is “put in place,” and is a term used in professional kitchens across the globe to refer to setting up your station with all the ingredients and tools you’ll need for service so that you can efficiently execute your dishes with less stress and hassle. But while “mise en place” may have started in professional kitchens, its application goes far beyond that. Because what is the purpose of organizing if not to execute your daily tasks more efficiently so you can live with less stress?
Mise Your Workspace
Sometimes our jobs feel so demanding that it seems difficult to find the time to get a drink of water or use the bathroom. If that’s the case for you, I bet you’d agree that it’s not a great use of your time to spend 20 minutes wandering around looking for a pair of scissors every other day. This is what a workspace mise en place is meant to help you avoid--and it should also help you feel calmer and more efficient in executing your daily tasks. To set up your own workspace mise en place, spend the next few days taking note of what you seem to always be searching for throughout your workday. Are you always hunting for a stapler or never seem to have a pen handy? Jot it down (once you find that pen). After a week, you’ll notice a pattern. Gather up the items you seem to need most often, and organize them on or in your desk. You can use a combination of tabletop and drawer organizers. If your set-up is lacking in both desk space and drawer space, I’m a big fan of a tiered rolling cart!
Mise Your Bathroom
Bathrooms can get messy quickly, with all sorts of creams and soaps and serums, some that you use every day, and some that you use only occasionally, not to mention all the backups you tend to have on hand for when any of these items run out. But digging through a mess of products when you’re trying to get yourself ready and your family out the door is a non-starter. Mise your mornings by setting up a mise en place of your daily product routine--either in a tray on the counter, in your medicine cabinet, or in bins in a vanity drawer. Try not to store all of your backups with the products currently in rotation. Those should have a place of their own, and don’t need to be in arm’s reach until they are replacing an item that’s rotating out.
And of Course, Mise Your Own Kitchen
If the pros promise that mise en place will make you more efficient in the kitchen, they’re probably onto something! But don’t just mise your ingredients for each individual meal prep--mise your whole workstation so that it works for you every time. This includes being thoughtful about how and where you store the tools and ingredients that you use most often so that they are in arm’s reach right when you need them. I’m a big fan of a knife strip above the counter and a kitchen rail to house your workhorse tools. I also love a vanity tray to hold my oils and vinegars (pull it out to grab what you need, then slide it right back into the cabinet!) and I use a small, hand-painted ceramic tray from my late grandmother to hold my salt, pepper, and fresh garlic--my desert island trio--right next to the stove. Set up your kitchen so that it works for YOU and how you cook--and for what will bring you joy every time you’re in the kitchen. And if you need more efficient kitchen inspo, check out some past thoughts here and here.
Happy mise-ing!