A special shelf or a special place on some shelf is needed for receipt books.
Hooks.—Each utensil which is to be hung up should have its own hook. If two or three are hung on the same hook, it is difficult to take down the undermost article. Rows of hooks should be so arranged that the hooks alternate instead of coming directly under each other. Pots and kettles which are hung up should be turned bottom outward as this protects the insides from dust. The lids of pots and kettles may be easily hung up on a string stretched tightly across the inside of a closet door, or against the wall between two hooks. The handles rest on the string and hold the lids up.
Either a roller for a hand towel or a hook on which one can be hung is a necessary fixture in the kitchen, for a cook needs to wash her hands many times a day.
Curtains.—Shades are necessary to modify the light and to draw at night, but the case seems to be against curtains in the kitchen, even against sash curtains. There should be nothing at the windows to intercept light and free currents of air, and nothing in the room anywhere which catches dust and smoke as curtains do.
Light Fixtures.—Light fixtures are better overhead. An additional side light by the sink, or near both sink and range when possible is a valuable convenience.
Clock.—A good clock should be part of the kitchen furniture for the sake of punctuality. An alarm attachment which can be turned off before it has run completely down is a help to a cook's over-burdened memory. If it is set for the time when the eggs will be boiled, or the bread or a cake must be looked at, or the meat will be roasted, there will then be one less thing to remember and absence from the kitchen will not so invariably cause disaster.
An Ornament.—If you or the cook would like an ornament in the kitchen, the delightful thing to have is a copy of a Delia Robbia terra-cotta. Bright coloured and washable, like the rest of the kitchen! You will laugh perhaps at the idea of carrying the matter of brightness and cleanliness so far, but do you not know how dingy and depressing the kitchens of otherwise clean and lovely houses often are? It is because things which might be cheerful coloured are dull coloured, and because many things are half soiled for the reason that they cannot be easily washed. Sometimes too, it is because nobody cares whether the kitchen is pleasant or not.
(b.) UTENSILS
The number and size of kitchen utensils depend upon the space in which they must be kept and the number of persons in the household. Their quality and, to some extent, their number depend on what we are able to pay for them.