Habañero User Experience Group

In my kitchen, I have my cookware, dinnerware, and cutlery organized in cupboards and drawers. I’ve organized the items by type and determined their location by accessibility, frequency of use, and proximity to utilities or tools they’re most likely to be used with (e.g. mugs above the coffee machine, saucepan by the stove top, etc.).

A couple of days ago, as I was emptying my dishwasher and putting clean dishes in their place, I realized I took the mini frying pan (the one I use for preparing eggs for my kids at dinner time) and put it in a unique space; it was not with the other frying pans but still close to the stovetop. As I continued, I placed the mini orange spatula (the one that flips the eggs just right) with the mini frying pan. To that special combination I added a tiny saucepan cover (from a different set) that fits the mini frying pan exactly. I also added a tiny kitchen towel, which I use to hold the hot handle of the mini frying pan.

The IA within me was amazed. I made a task-based placement decision, unique to the specific task and based on a daily requirement that is different from the day-by-day organization of my kitchen items. It got me thinking, “Should I rethink the organization of my kitchen? Does task-based organization make more sense?

Let’s see… everyday I set the table with a tablecloth, placemats, plates, cutlery, glasses, napkins, salt and pepper, a water jug (and maybe some other items I might have forgotten – but you get the drift…) Well, should all these items live in the same place, instead of being separated by type? I guess it would save time setting the table everyday. But how would I account for all the different types of dinners we have? What about the occasional dinner party? In this case, a bottle of wine might be involved. Would I add 4-6 wine glasses, the wine bottle (white wine? red wine?), and the corkscrew? Do I have to have a special cupboard for each type of meal?

Should I really have my whole kitchen task-based? Or shall task-based organization be reserved for only specific, closed-ended, and frequent tasks?

Sounds like an interesting IA challenge :)