If you are like me then you can’t afford a huge house that has a huge kitchen.  Here in the UK property prices have rocketed over the last decade so living space is at a massive premium.  In this day and age we need to make the most of trying to get the best use of every last drop of space we have in our homes.

Here are some quick tips for those who need to make the most of their kitchen space.

Open, sort and throw out mail as soon as you get it

I have two problems here.  I either don’t open my letters for days and let a big pile of important letters build up, or I open them and leave them to fester on our kitchen work tops!  And then of course just when you really need that critical letter you have no idea where it is or even if you still have it.

When you open your mail, file the important stuff, bin the rest.  At the least put away the documents you know you need into a draw and you know they are safe!

Give the Kitchen a Clean every day

OK, so this is going to be hard to stick to.  But a quick 5 mins at the end of every single day can help massively when it comes to keeping on top of the kitchen mess.

The worst possible scenario is where you end up having to spend a whole day later just to get things back to normal.  Such a waste of time.  A little bit of effort can help keep your surfaces clean and the work tops clear of clutter.

Follow the “one touch” rule

I find I end up moving lots of my junk from one side of the kitchen to the other.  You know what I mean!  Normally there is a big pile of bills on the work surfaces, a load of glasses that haven’t been put away, and all kinds of random rubbish that needs to be put away.

Well this rule works as follows: each time you pick something up – make sure you put it away there and then!

Keep a Drawer for Important Miscellaneous Items

So we all know that the reality of life is that we are too busy to do all this stuff.  We don’t have the time and space to keep all of our belongings neatly filed and put cleanly away.  Well that’s fine.

What can really help is having a dedicated space for the really important stuff that you know you can’t afford to lose:

• That spare set of keys
• The gas bill you just opened
• Your prescription tablets
• etc

This means that you always know were the critical stuff is, even when you are in a blind panic as you rush out of your house!

What else can you think of that will help keep our kitchens clutter free?

Photo Credit

If you arrived on this website it is probably because you are looking for some funky Retro Kitchen Scales to go on your work top.  If not then the search engines have got it very wrong as you won’t find much else here!  Read on to find out why we love to love the retro look!

Classic Designs

As your granddad might have been fond of saying – they don’t make them like they used to!  And I think if we are honest we are probably glad that this is the case in many instances.  Many modern gadgets are greatly improved on the old style.  However even if functionality has improved often the designs aren’t quite so cool as they used to be.

I have fond memories of being at my grandparents houses as a child and have distinct images of how the kitchen, living room etc used to look.  Many of their house hold items had been with them for decades – I guess they were from an age where we liked to keep hold of things and repair them when they went wrong.

Unlike today where we tend to throw things out and buy a new one!

But modern items can still take on a retro feel even if they are running on modern technology.  There have been a number of notable example of classic design coming back into fashion.  For example in the car industry the 1960s mini has become a big success once again thanks to a refit!

Traditional Kitchens

For me however the real excitement comes from reliving those old memories.  I guess I am a nostalgic person, I love to immerse myself by remembering happy childhood times and if old fashioned items around the house can help this then Im all for it.  And this is why I am a fan of the retro kitchen scales.

The classic weighing scales are a perfect item to complement your kitchen designs.

Hey, we aren’t just into discussing art and design here on the Retro Kitchen Scales website!  We like to show the lighter side of kitchenware at the same time!  Yes – there is a lighter side, stop sniggering there at the back!

1. Use the measuring bowl as a bird bath, just fill it up with water and leave it outside.  Preferably out of reach from the next door cat!
2. Use it as a door stop.  This actually comes from personal experience!  An elderly next door neighbour once used one in her living room.  It was a big old rusty iron thing and it certainly did a great job of keeping doors open!
3. Take it into the Chemistry lab with you, scientists are always measuring out various compounds ready to mix up in the lab.  That said, a traditonal pair of weighing scales are unlikely to provide the accuracy required in a state of the art tech lab!
4. Keep the soap in it.  I swear the bowl we used to keep soap in when I was a child looked very much like it came from an old pair of kitchen scales!  I guess I’ll never know for sure but it might explain why my Mother’s cakes never quite worked !
5. Use it to measure out ingredients!  Does this qualify as an unusual use?  Given the amount of cooking that my friends do these days then yes – it probably does.  My friends are more likely to buy in a take away than to get cooking in the kitchen.

So on that note, why not give some traditional home cooking a go, get kitted out with the right apparatus – go buy some funky retro kitchen scales to get you started.  You never know you might turn out to be a great cook.

Photo Credit

It doesn’t take a genius to recognise that if there was no history behind the humble weighing scale then we’d have not retro kitchen scales, and worse still, we’d have nothing to discuss on this website!  Perhaps some people might argue that’s a good thing, but fans of kitch kitchenware (!) won’t agree!

Imperial Days are Over

Fortunately the modern remakeshave been brought up to date with the latest high quality stainless steel and of course the fantastic invention that is metric measurements.  As a relative youngster I’m afriad I know very little about pounds and ounces – grams and kilograms are the tools of my trade!

Except when it comes to weighing myself of course – where would we be without the trusted “Stone” in that instance!

US versus UK measuring

A curious point of interest that I only discovered when I began investigating this topic is that our friends over the other side of the Atlantic have traditionally measured cooking ingredients by volume.  For those that don’t know the metric system is such that you can relate volume measurements to weight measurements.

For example, 1 litre of water weighs exactly 1kg.

Here in the UK we have always carried out measurements using weights and scales.

Historic Kitchen Scales

My mother actually always used a balance to measure out her flour and butter.  On one side you places your container and on the other you placed a series of weights that corresponded to the desired recipe instructions.  Once the two sides were in equilibrium you knew you could press on with your cake making!

Historically use of weighing scales goes back centuries.  They were used to measure all kinds of commodities being traded by merchants across the globe.  For example gold, silver and bronze amongst other things.  It was also common to weigh out cultivated crops to ensure fair and accurate bartering.

These days many of us have digital scales in the kitchen, but this site is all about something else – the modern take on retro kitchen scales.

I guess given that we run a site all about retro kitchen scales, we are likely to be biased when it comes to selecting a present for a friend, or colleague.  But we are going to put forward our suggestion anyway!

The Perfect Gift

Unfortunately, when I got married, I didn’t get a great range of gifts.  Perhaps this was because we didn’t put together a great present lift to hand round to our guests.  Although actually I think it was fairly reasonable with a range of bits and bobs at a variety of prices.  Mostly our present selection consisted of:

• Bowls.  Yes we got seven of them, made from glass, wood, and who know what else!
• Statues.  Yes, statues.  Perhaps the worst of our gifts was a three foot high statue of embraced lovers.  I was gutted when I dropped it when we moved house.
• Bed linen.  And in a range of colours too – non of which match our bedroom
• Toasters. Yes the classic toaster.  We got 3 of them.  And we now use none of them!

So this post is here to urge you to think carefully about what you should buy your friends and relatives – whether it’s their birthday or wedding day.

A Set of Retro Kitchen Scales

So this is the part we suggest you get hold of a reasonably priced pair of classic weighing scales.  However, we should point out that you might want to get a look at their kitchen first.  There are two things to check out:

• First of all pay attention to the kitchen’s colour scheme.  There is no point in buying something that will clash horrendously as it will get parked in a cupboard and never used.
• Secondly, make sure they don’t have an ultra modern kitchen!  Some people go for the cold clinical look and probably won’t appreciate the classic retro scales.

Personally of course we believe the kitchen scales will be a warm and treasured item that could go on to last a lifetime of cooking!

Welcome to our little corner of the web all about Retro Kitchen Scales.

If you’ve surfed on in to this site looking for some funky looking scales then I hope we can help you find a store where you can buy just the weighing scales you want.

On this site you’ll find information on:

• Classically designed retro kitchen scales
• Modern kitchen equipment
• Accessory tips for your kitchen
• Other retro goodies for those who love a classic touch

I’ve always loved having retro look items around the house, from old style furniture to traditional telephones.  In fact, as I live in a Victorian house, I have many original features throughout the house.

Modern Classics

But don’t worry, just because a pair of kitchen scales have an old fashioned style, it doesn’t mean that they are any less practical than a modern set of scales – you’ll still be able to measure everything you need perfectly.

You should find that an up to date retro set of scales have:

• Easy to read dials featuring both metric and imperial measurements
• A measuring pan that can be safely placed in the dish washer
• Stainless steel features
• Heavy duty framework
• Accurate measuring mechanics

So no need to worry that you won’t be able to put together ingredients in the right quantities.

Remember – we are adding new features all the time so check back to get he latest Kitchen equipment up dates!

Please take a look around the site to pick up some hints tips and advice, and if you do buy some retro kitchen scales then please let us know, you can reach us on twitter, or leave a comment.!