# 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:** 4
**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, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/61 "2022-07-23T12:29:25Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > 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 You have just earned major brownie points in my book, and thank you! 🙂 > [@Chefguy](#): > > And while we’re talking about napkins, mine stays on the table, not in my lap. OK. now you’re my hero, despite your odd habit of storing silverware with the natural order of spoon and fork perversely backwards. > [@Chefguy](#): > > 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) Now here we come to the real crux of what civilization is all about. It’s one thing to argue about how to store flatware, but how to set it out on the table becomes a deeply held religious matter. And it leads directly to the existential question of whether knife and fork must be held in the left and right hand, respectively, or vice versa, and switched around. The answer to that last question has been very obvious for hundreds of years to all thinking persons. In the interest of peace on this board, which I know is inhabited by some strange oddballs, I decline to elucidate the obvious answer. But we all know what it is. ---
**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, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/62 "2022-07-23T12:39:02Z")
Ah, the switching of the silverware. A screwy and misguided practice instigated by the founding fathers to show their disdain for British rule. A foolish and useless practice in my opinion, that influences our children in subtle but meaningful ways, including majoring in English Lit in college and voting for people like Ross Perot. It makes about as much sense as starting to drive in a nail by first tapping it with the hammer in the left hand, and then switching the hammer to the right hand to pound it in. ---
**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, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/63 "2022-07-23T12:48:18Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Ah, the switching of the silverware. A screwy and misguided practice instigated by the founding fathers to show their disdain for British rule … It makes about as much sense as starting to drive in a nail by first tapping it with the hammer in the left hand, and then switching the hammer to the right hand to pound it in. You are a gentleman and a scholar, and I salute you for your wisdom! Meanwhile everyone else can go ahead switching their knives and forks and occasionally dropping them, though hopefully the falling silverware will be caught by the napkins in their laps. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/64 "2022-07-23T13:16:33Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > This is the correct order of things in the silverware drawer, not fork, knife and then spoon. I mean, what are we, savages? Why would you put the flatware in your drawer in a different order than it is presented on the table? I’m with your wife on this one. From left to right should be forks, knives, spoons. Preferably, you have at least five or six slots so that you can do salad fork, dinner fork, meat knife, dinner spoon, soup spoon. Up top you can put your butter knives, cake forks and desert spoons. ---
**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, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/65 "2022-07-23T13:30:19Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Since we’re not woke elitist flatware snobs, I just pile it all on the napkin. Napkins, normally paper, stay in the basket or napkin holder until the moment of need. For just the two of us, flatware is brought out to the table along with the plate (or bowl) of food. Table always has napkins, placemats (cloth), plus salt and pepper. At the moment the table salt and pepper is on the patio table, as we normally eat outside. The salt and pepper will go back on the table in the dining room as soon as we start eating meals inside again. We don’t use tablecloths, especially as our tables were chosen for their looks, so we want to see the table tops. ---
**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 23, 2022, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/66 "2022-07-23T13:53:25Z")
Paper napkins? Bah. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/67 "2022-07-23T14:00:47Z")
Ours are ordered 1) large spoons, 2) large forks, 3) small spoons, 4) small forks, with the knives placed orthogonally in a section at the bottom. It works for us. ---
**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, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/68 "2022-07-23T14:02:13Z")
Left to right, right to left: it matters not, as long as the order of KFS is rigorously maintained. Otherwise, chaos reigns; and possibly divorce proceedings ensue. I get the feeling from some of these posts that many of you have some organized setup for your cooking utensils also. Mine are generally sorted into categories, but not really. Spatulas cavort with serving spoons, whisks have liaisons with graters, the can opener and ice cream scoop do a sultry tango. But I generally know where they all reside. > [@susan](#): > > Paper napkins? Bah. My wife introduced me to the odd notion of cloth napkins, which to me are as unsanitary as a snot rag that’s been in the back pocket of some rube’s coveralls for several months. She is death on putting things in the landfill and wants to help save the planet, so paper napkins are forbidden in our domicile (this from the same woman who has printed out the entire Internet. . .twice). In the interest of cutting down on the laundry load, they usually get used more than once, and I’ve often found myself searching said cloth for a relatively clean spot. Seems counter-intuitive to me. ---
**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 23, 2022, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/69 "2022-07-23T14:13:27Z")
Clearly you need to buy the woman more napkins to have more in the rotation. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/70 "2022-07-23T14:28:57Z")
Let’s see, our order is knives, forks, teaspoons, soupspoons, serving spoons and forks. No reason other than having the spoon-ish things grouped together, I think. Not something either of us care about. Our new house’s upper cabinets are not so easily reachable to **Mrs. FtG**. So the usual system of plate-like things on one side and bowl-like things on the other side is no longer feasible. To have to open a 2nd door to grab another type of plate seems … wrong. But, one must make sacrifices in such situations. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/71 "2022-07-23T14:36:22Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Left to right, right to left: it matters not, as long as the order of KFS is rigorously maintained. Otherwise, chaos reigns; and possibly divorce proceedings ensue. I think you might have missed my point. I’m not talking about the left to right versus right to left order. I’m saying that knives are between the forks and spoons when placed on the table. It’s fork, then knife, then spoon. It makes perfect sense, then, to have forks between the knife and the spoons in your drawer. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/72 "2022-07-23T14:45:02Z")
Jeez, I never realized how weird my family was! We have TWO of those organizer things, that rest one atop the other. The top one, from the left: table knives (it’s a long compartment), then three shorter compartments (standard forks, teaspoons, soup spoons) then another longer slot which gets mixing/serving/slotted/etc spoons. In the lower one, a mate to the first, it’s steak knifes, salad forks, two slots of miscellaneous stuff like thermometers and the punch for cans of condensed milk, and finally ice tea spoons. Cooking utensils live jumbled together in a separate 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, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/73 "2022-07-23T14:56:05Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Spatulas cavort with serving spoons, whisks have liaisons with graters, the can opener and ice cream scoop do a sultry tango. Heathen! Ice cream scoop is with the ice cream spoons, which do double duty as ice tea spoons. Graters are in the same drawer as the sieves and strainers, except for the zesters, which are with the vegetable peelers. Wooden spatulas and wooden spoons are are in a wooden utensil holder by the stove. Plastic and silicon spatulas are in a stoneware utensil holder between the oven and the mixer. I suppose you leave your toaster out on the counter as well. (Given all this, breakfast was lattes made at home, with pastries from the bakery and lunch was leftovers. Not much cooking going on - but then it’s too hot!) ---
**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, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/74 "2022-07-23T16:16:20Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > I think you might have missed my point. You, sir, have no point! I said “good day”, sir! > [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > Heathen! Well, that’s a given. Most things are loosely gathered together (strength in numbers in the event of a surprise attack), but there is just not enough drawer space in this tiny kitchen for analistic sorting. Most utensils are in metal containers and stacked on a set of shelves that I bought. All wooden utensils stand on end in earthenware jars on the counter. And yes, my toaster is on the counter. Where else would you put something like this? [https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001L5TVGW/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001L5TVGW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_image?ie=UTF8&psc=1) ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/75 "2022-07-23T16:47:17Z")
Having a toddler upended our silverware drawer order. His little hands could reach the edges but not the middle – so the sharp knives went into the middle. Soon he’ll be tall enough to reach the middle, but hopefully not before he’s smart enough to know how to handle sharp knives. ---
**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, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/76 "2022-07-23T17:27:20Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > And yes, my toaster is on the counter. My toaster is in an appliance drawer, as we use it very rarely - maybe once every two months. My parents moved their toaster to an appliance drawer when they renovated their kitchen. Counter space is at a premium, especially if you want to be able to roll out pie crust. I’ve never owned a toaster oven and currently do not own a microwave oven. ---
**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 23, 2022, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/77 "2022-07-23T17:29:10Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Where else would you put something like this? Yum. But the missus likes a 2-slot pop-up, and I am an accommodating spouse. ETA: My dehydrator is in the living room, though, due to the counter space issue. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/78 "2022-07-23T17:40:26Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > occasionally dropping them, Those of us with at least adequate manual dexterity don’t do this. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/79 "2022-07-23T18:17:00Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Do you have a swooning couch in your living room? Don’t be absurd. The swooning couch is in the parlor. Knives, forks, dessert forks, demitasse spoons, iced tea spoons, consommé spoons, tea spoons, table spoons. As the good lord intended. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2022, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380/80 "2022-07-23T19:06:25Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > 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. This pretty much my set-up. My silverware tray has a small compartment above the forks and spoons which holds my measuring spoons and cups. On the far right are my spatulas. Cooking utensils are in a separate drawer next to the stove. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-proper-order-of-things/968380.md?page=5)