"Mise en place..."

Pronounced [miz on plas]. A French term coined by the Culinary Institute of America meaning "everything in its place." I worked at a fine dining restaurant throughout college and saw first hand the necessity of this in a professional kitchen.

I think about it every time I purge and organize our toys and books. Of course I'm not naive to think that it will stay that way for more than a few hours, but boy is it cleansing!

Mise en place in the kitchen yields efficiency so chefs can focus on the real priority: making delicious food. Mise en place in the home with young children yields more time and space to actually use the books and toys.

This rainy day is lending itself to a perfect "mise en place" kind of day. Rain cleaning the outside, Mommy and James cleaning the inside!

Can you find my helper? :)