INSIGHT

The Best Kitchen Cabinet Designs

We all know just how useful a kitchen cabinet can be. Personally, I have never seen a kitchen that did not feature this kind of furniture. I’m sure we all know understand the importance of this simple kitchen appliance, but what do we do when we want a new, or a better one and we have so many to choose from? How do we know which one to choose? Let me tell you a thing, choosing a fitting kitchen cabinet really makes a difference. It is very important that you consider your kitchen space, the style that you are going for and consult the top designs before purchasing this important kitchen appliance. I will describe some of these kitchen cabinet designs bellow, so that you can make up your mind a little bit easier.

The Antique Style Kitchen Cabinet

The antique style cabinet is a great looking appliance, fitting for the person that strives for that antiquated feel and look in their kitchen. Although it is not really antique, this appliance gives the impression of “old” thanks to the amazingly skillful brushing techniques that were used in its making. These brushing techniques simply create the impression of a glazed or distressed look, but they can also vary depending on the brushing method that was used. Not all the antique style cabinets have the same feel to them; some offer a more refined or polished feel than others.

The Cottage Style Kitchen Cabinet

The cottage style cabinet is well known for the warm and cozy ambience that it creates around it. This interesting appliance style is inspired by the country of England. It features amazing wood work that creates an amazingly warm, relaxed or calm feel all around. It suits different kitchen designs and it goes amazingly well with vivid and cheerful colors or textures. The cottage style cabinets usually come in white. They feature a minimalistic design with square doors, islands, wooden cupboards and baker’s racks. Sometimes they also come with glass doors, but these are mainly used for the top cabinets. Another characteristic of this design is the simple shelve design.

The Shaker Style Kitchen Cabinet

The shaker kitchen cabinet is the perfect choice for the organized, neat, and minimal person. This is a design that is preferred by many, thanks to its clean and wonderful design. Obviously, it goes very well with minimalistic and modern kitchen designs. Although it is very simple, it does not mean that it is lacking the necessary functionality. On the contrary!…

Replacement Windows and Energy Efficiency is Sexy – Per President Obama

While strolling through a Home Depot for a media spot a few weeks ago, President Obama was quoted as as saying, “Energy Efficiency is sexy.” This, as one can imagine, caught the ears of reports who quickly spread the tag line across all media outlets.

Obama was referencing the tax credits the government gives for replacement windows and other such energy saving home improvement projects. And if the public’s mindset is one that perceives energy efficiency as “sexy”, people will buy.

Why Use the Word “Sexy”?

The tobacco companies have used this tactic since the dawn of time. By highlighting their product as cool, they attract the likes of young adults trying to find any way to fit in. If the public thinks smoking is cool, then why not go buy a pack cigarettes and look cool with the rest of them.

President Obama is well aware of this effect, as are his public relations team, and the lobbyists for home improvement companies. So with cameras rolling and reporters eating up every word, President Obama’s reference to energy efficiency and sexy, was an attempt at reaching the subconscious of the public.

Next time homeowners are considering a home improvement project, how about replacing those old leaky windows instead of redoing the floor. Cause hey, an energy efficient home is sexy.

Replacement Windows are Sexy

At least this attempt at taking advantage of the consumers mindset is for a good cause. The truth is, an energy efficient home is good for the economy. It supports countless numbers of new jobs made available by investments into new green technology. It supports the home improvement companies that have based their entire marketing plans on energy efficiency.

Replacement windows are one such project that can reduce heating and cooling bills by up to 40%. Just imagine if every home was able to afford new windows. Think about the reduction of home energy consumption.…

Kitchen Composters, Buckets, Or Tumblers, What’s the Difference?

What’s the difference between a kitchen composter, compost crock and a compost tumbler? Do I need all of these? Are they all the same thing? I’m going to describe what each of these things are and how to find what works best for you.

A compost crock is basically a container that you have in your kitchen to hold your food scraps until you get a chance to go out to the yard and empty it in your compost pile. I’ve seen these made out of plastic, ceramic and stainless steel. Since plastic tends to be somewhat flimsy and hold smells (especially compost), I recommend avoiding them. Ceramic is nice looking, heavy and easy to clean, but it’s also easy to break. Therefore, I tend to like stainless steel compost crocks. I’ve had mine for quite some time, and many of them come with a charcoal filter to combat the smell although I’ve never had a problem with this.

Could you use a Tupperware container to do the job? Absolutely. However, if you can shell out a few bucks, the stainless steel crock will show its worth to you quickly. Of the three items, having a compost crock is probably the most necessary.

Next up, the kitchen composter. This is usually referring to a plastic bucket that sits in your kitchen and collects food scraps. You add a rice bran blend to the bucket as it fills, and it breaks down the material surprisingly quickly. I feel that this is the expensive way to go, as you need to buy refills of the rice bran and it isn’t all that cheap.

Most kitchen composters have a spout on them to collect “compost tea”, which is awesome. Compost tea is like steroids for your plant, so it’s nice to have that bonus for using a kitchen composter. They’re also good if you live in a cramped space and you don’t have the yard space for composting.

Finally, we have the compost tumbler. There’s a lot of variations on composting in your yard, such as having a hole in the ground, a chicken wire fence with the material layered high, or a secure barrel of varying levels of quality. When I first started composting, I had a trench in the ground and used a shovel to turn the got old pretty quickly. Stray animals would mess around with the contents, so I needed to get a contained pile going. Using a tumbler keeps the moisture straight, the animals out, and some even provide compost tea.

As you can see, all three items have different purposes, but using all three is not necessary. I love composting, so I own a compost tumbler as well as a nice kitchen compost crock. Whether you live in the city or the country, hot or cool climate, you can benefit from implementing any of these in your home.…

Want to Cut Your Teeth on Six Sigma Efficiency – Do It In The Kitchen

When it comes to efficiency in manufacturing, warehousing, or even in a small business, the best way to achieve superior workflows is to study the operational methods that are being used, and to refine the process. If this doesn’t really make sense to you, or if you are wondering what Six Sigma is all about when it comes to business processes, there is a little experiment I’d like you to try. And this is something you can do in your own kitchen.

Let’s say you’re going to cook yourself a meal which requires many different ingredients from your pantry, cupboards, and refrigerator. It also will require pots, pans, dishes, and utensils to prepare the meal. What if I told you that it was possible for you to prepare that meal only taking six steps during the entire process? Could you do it? Indeed, I bet you could, but you’d have to do a little bit of planning before you started. You would have to think in your mind what was needed, and where everything was located, and plot a course taking the fewest number of steps.

You might think this exercise is ridiculous, uneventful, and having no bearing whatsoever on efficient business processes. But I guarantee you it does, and if you will start thinking more efficiently when preparing meals in the kitchen, you will find inherent shortcuts, and improve the efficiency in your company or small business. I know this for a fact because I’ve tried it, and it is a method I created to help train my mind to become more efficient.

You see, before retirement I ran a franchising company, and we franchised portable car wash trucks which went to offices to wash cars. When I created my operations manual, and training program, I always took into consideration the time it took to walk from the car to the work truck or van, and back again. Generally this was about 15 seconds, and each time I could cut out 15 seconds from the washing process, I sped up the time it took to clean each car, thus, more cars could be cleaned per hour, and more revenue could be generated by the end of the day.

Six Sigma and efficient business processes matter no matter what type of business you are running, large or very small such as our franchised operations of mobile car washes. It behooves you to be thinking here, and one way to cut your teeth on a Six Sigma strategy of efficiency is to practice in your own kitchen. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.…