# The proper order of things **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 22, 2022, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380 "2022-07-22T17:01:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2022, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/41 "2022-07-22T19:42:51Z")
My answer is: Wouldn’t you be happier person if you didn’t let stuff like this get to you? And: Wouldn’t your wife be happier person if you didn’t let stuff like this get to you? I started a project during covid where I’m paring down the number of things I care about… I’m afraid that “where things go in the kitchen” got jettisoned (except for _my_ box of Strawberry Mini-Wheats… it’ll get lonely if it’s not next to _my_ Grape-Nuts). (ps: teaspoons, small forks, large forks, large spoons, knives) . (pps: I often order my eggs “sunny side up”, especially on top of good corned beef hash… just for the aesthetics. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/42 "2022-07-22T19:47:25Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > The advantage of separating knives and forks is that emptying the dishwasher is much more efficient. There are few things as satisfying as reaching into the dishwasher, grabbing a large handful of knives, and transferring them _en masse_ to the proper slot in the drawer. > [@digs](#): > > My answer is: > Wouldn’t you be happier person if you didn’t let stuff like this get to you? > > And: > Wouldn’t your wife be happier person if you didn’t let stuff like this get to you? Ah, but that would not be in the spirit of tongue-in-cheek, which is the sole purpose of this thread; a bit of levity in a disaster-plagued world and in a country being torn apart by power-hungry ogres. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2022, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/43 "2022-07-22T19:48:29Z")
> [@digs](#): > > My answer is: > Wouldn’t you be happier person if you didn’t let stuff like this get to you? > > And: > Wouldn’t your wife be happier person if you didn’t let stuff like this get to you? In general I agree w the idea “Don’t sweat the small stuff. And 95% of everything is small stuff.” OTOH … The drawer organizer has cutouts in the shape of the utensils. “Dump the spoons in the spoon-shaped compartment and know where to reach for them later” seems to me easier than “Dump all the flatware in an undifferentiated pile, and need to dig through the pile each time I want anything.” I don’t especially _care_ whether the forks are in front of or behind the knives. But if I’m wanting an e.g. knife, knowing where to look is net less work than digging aimlessly for the 10% of the stuff in there that’s the type I need. Doubly so if some of the stuff in there is sharp and I can’t just be rummaging blindly unless I’m OK with bleeding into the drawer. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/44 "2022-07-22T20:09:10Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > The drawer organizer has cutouts in the shape of the utensils. We had one of those when I was young. IIRC (and it was 50+ years ago, so probably not), from left to right it was knives, big spoons, small/tea spoons, big/dinner forks, small/salad forks. The knives were certainly to left, but if it was spoons then forks or vice versa I would not testify to nor bet the life of your last-born child on. Big before little I’m pretty confident about that. The current household has four contains for tableware, and it is higgledy-piggledy - knives with forks, spoons of various sizes with knives and forks, lizards mating with ladles, etc. Drives me nuts, but SWMBO generally puts things away and she doesn’t care. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/45 "2022-07-22T20:15:43Z")
Top to bottom, spoon, fork, knife. I don’t mean “farthest from seat, nearest to seat.” I mean literal vertical stack. Fight me ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2022, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/46 "2022-07-22T20:42:48Z")
Man, that’s just cuckoo talk. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2022, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/47 "2022-07-22T22:35:57Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > It’s knife, fork and spoon, am I right? This is the correct order of things in the silverware drawer Forks, teaspoons, tablespoons, table knives. (Left to right.) General miscellaneous far right if long, in the back compartment if short, or in a different drawer entrely. Most serving utensils in the different drawer. Sharp knives in a knife block, or on a wall magnet. So there. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Table knives (commonly but erroneously called “butter knives” by the uncultured) There are such things as butter knives; but they’re not the same thing as table knives. Although I do use table knives for the butter, unless I’m being fancy (which is rare.) Being fancy is also the only time I use salad forks. I suppose if I ate snails I’d have snail forks. I think I have eaten them at least once, but it was in a restaurant, which supplied the utensils. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2022, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/48 "2022-07-22T23:27:40Z")
Knife, spoon, fork, octopus, TV. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2022, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/49 "2022-07-22T23:47:31Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > > [@Chefguy](#): > > > > It’s knife, fork and spoon, am I right? This is the correct order of things in the silverware drawer > > Forks, teaspoons, tablespoons, table knives. (Left to right.) You’re both wrong, but you have the added distinction of getting it all almost exactly backwards. 😉 The correct order, as demonstrated in my household since practically forever, is (left to right): Knives (steak and table), tablespoons, forks. Teaspoons are in a separate compartment at the front. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Most serving utensils in the different drawer. Correct this time – that’s more or less the general idea. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > General miscellaneous far right if long, in the back compartment if short Amazing! You’ve got that backwards, too! My long miscellaneous compartment is at the far left. The short miscellaneous compartments are at the front. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > Sharp knives in a knife block, or on a wall magnet. Kitchen knives, yes, but that goes without saying. > [@thorny\_locust](#): > > So there. I have spoken. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2022, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/50 "2022-07-22T23:59:56Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > My long miscellaneous compartment is at the far left. The short miscellaneous compartments are at the front. Hmmm. I wonder whether we’ve actually got the same sort of organizing doohicky, just turned around the other way in the drawer. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/51 "2022-07-23T00:09:49Z")
Both of my cutlery tray thingies are so old that I have no recollection where they came from. I did just notice, though, that the main one in the top drawer has the IKEA logo on it, so it must have been purchased from there sometime when dinosaurs still roamed the earth. It has two short compartments at the front, one of which I use for teaspoons, and one little square compartment for whatever. I don’t think it would work turned around as the rearmost crosswise compartment would be hard to reach. The one in the other drawer is the type that someone mentioned, where some compartments like for spoons are shaped like the things they’re supposed to hold. ---
**Author:** ![cincinnatus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cincinnatus/32/7990_2.png) [@cincinnatus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cincinnatus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/52 "2022-07-23T01:05:55Z")
For crying out loud, folks. I can’t take more of this. Here’s how it goes. Compartment: the front Left to right: teaspoons in two neat stacks. Handles to front. Forks, same two neat stacks. Same handle order. Serrated steak knives laid in lovingly. Pointy ends away. Butter knives. (Or whatever they’re called.) Next compartments in the rear. Left: table spoons, handle toward me, and long-handled teaspoon, spoon end toward me Next: salad forks pointy end pointing the other way. Little-tiny-three-pronged forks, pointy end to me. Sharp steak knives in next compartment. (I think the other day those may have been swapped with serrated steak knives in the front. I’m awaiting word.) Next, serving spoons and big, round stuff organized by size top to bottom in a stack and whether they have holes in them, like for ladling peaches. **Bonus points:** Dishwasher Bottom rack: Dishes in back, big to left, smaller to right. Bowls in front, big to left. Top rack: glasses, cups, big tall glasses, big clear bowls. This arrangement is subject to complicated rearrangement without proper notice. _This is all I know for certain for I have failed several times to pass my check ride on the dishwasher._ ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/53 "2022-07-23T01:46:46Z")
> [@cincinnatus](#): > > For crying out loud, folks. I can’t take more of this. Here’s how it goes. That may be how they do it in Cincinnati, but that’s not how the civilized world does it! Best regards, Wolfpup Representative, Civilized World ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/54 "2022-07-23T06:01:38Z")
Sounds like I will have to get one of these compartment things. I thought that you just threw stuff in ALL the drawers. Just different kinds of stuff in different drawers. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/55 "2022-07-23T07:30:03Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > I suppose if I ate snails I’d have snail forks. I think I have eaten them at least once, but it was in a restaurant, which supplied the utensils. How did those forks taste? > [@susan](#): > > Knife, spoon, fork, octopus, TV. I keep the octopi in the mollusk drawer. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/56 "2022-07-23T08:34:31Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Except it’s knife, fork and spoon like a civilized person. Hubby and I both vote for fork, knife and spoon. When setting the table, the fork goes on the left, then the knife on the right, and then the spoon is set outside the knife. How do you set the table? Kitchen knives are in a different drawer, as are most cooking utensils, measuring spoons, etc. ---
**Author:** ![cincinnatus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cincinnatus/32/7990_2.png) [@cincinnatus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cincinnatus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/57 "2022-07-23T10:04:44Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > That may be how they do it in Cincinnati, but that’s not how the civilized world does it! I don’t know what is this Cincinnati of which you speak. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/58 "2022-07-23T11:29:14Z")
Knife, fork, bottle, cork ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/59 "2022-07-23T12:11:52Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > How do you set the table? Since we’re not woke elitist flatware snobs, I just pile it all on the napkin. The wife insists on putting all three utensils out for every meal (and arranging them), even if we’re just having soup, which makes about as much sense as having a hair brush for one of those nasty shivering little hairless dogs. Who was the idiot that thought those nasty little yappers were the ideal pet for anyone? Go big and hairy or stay home, says I, and no, I’m not a shill for the hairbrush industry. And while we’re talking about napkins, mine stays on the table, not in my lap. It’s unsettling to see people rummaging around in their genital area while eating a meal. And the damn things keep sliding off onto the floor, where people promptly snatch them back up and continue wiping their faces with them. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/60 "2022-07-23T12:14:01Z")
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