I use smell, but I think I use sight more. How can you "smell" when onions are transluscent? I suppose they might have a certain smell at that point, but I think I use sight more. I never really thought about it before I guess!! I usually taste at the end to adjust seasoning as Annie said. Now that I'm thinking about it, I guess I do use smell a bit more than I thought. When I'm making things like Cuban black beans or chili, I do smell to make sure I have enough spice - I can smell whether there's enough cumin for example. But in dishes that have to cook a long time, like gravy (spaghetti sauce), it doesn't make sense to taste until you're getting towards the end because the alcohol in the wine needs to cook out, the different ingredients need time to meld, etc. I guess whatever works for you is the right way to do it! Everyone has their own technique. Lisa

See May that's what I mean. .its sometimes h ard to know because slipperiness is a factor that the water was conditioned enough to hold dirt ect in suspension but it doesn't mean that enough was added for there to be enough enzymes and bleaches to do their job expecially if the person has soft water, so sometimes 1/8'th of a cup in a top loader with soft water may give you slippery water, but it may also not give enough enzymes to break down dirt and stains. I guess it all depends on water chemistry and trial and error, of course along with type of chemicals and water temp..everything would have to be in balance. This isn't something that was a concern to me until I actually thought about it lol. I used to just dump an amount of detergent in, feel the water and determine by the slipperiness until it was brought to my attention that just because the water is slippy does not mean I added enough detergent. .it just means I added enough to condition the water.lol... Yes Poppy my clothes are clean so I must be adding enough detergent lol..I know never to follow the manufactures amounts, yep they want to sell. Thank you both for responding

I don't baby my Quartz, but I try to be more careful (and we were like you with the granite in our previous house). I try to put pots right off the stove and dishes/sheets right out of the oven, on a trivet (in my case they're cork). That's it, and I will say my DH thinks Quartz is indestructible so he doesn't always follow the trivet rule. Cleaning is easy - just nothing abrasive. We use Windex without ammonia and a microfiber cloth or paper towel every night after dinner.

This is an excellent post, Beachem! Some of you know that my 30 yr. old daughter, Joy, who lives with me, and I are in the process of becoming certified organizers. We're also writing a book, "Minimalism and the art of the lovely home." And a lot of you know my house story. In January, I bought a 1979 manufactured home fixer upper. It was previously owned by hoarders and even after truckloads were removed by them, they still left truckloads of the hoard behind. Joy and I spent three months just cleaning out their hoard. They had neglected the home to the point that it is really deplorable. And under the hoard it was FILTHY! Another month just to CLEAN. Then, 2.5 weeks ago, the movers delivered OUR stuff. Now we're in the process of unpacking/organizing all that. And, just in our spare time, haha, painting the interior. Really not the highest priority, but we needed some cheering up! I bring all this up for two reasons. First, the kitchen remodel will be a gut, but won't happen for a few years, and that may change a bit of how it is used. Second, when organizing a home, the first thing Joy and I ask clients is, "What is the purpose of this room?" We talk through it, and ask them to write it down. It seems obvious, but really isn't. Just read the comments above me. The purpose of a kitchen can be: cooking, eating, food storage, kitchen related storage, non-kitchen related storage, command center and/or home office, social gathering space, homework or art project space, electronics charging station, romantic dinner space, landing space for everything that comes through the door, family meeting space, bar, football...OK, probably not football, but you get my drift! YOU need to decide what you want the purpose(s) of your kitchen to be, and then organize your kitchen around that. Once you define what the space IS, you will find organizing it, or remodeling/building it to be a much easier task. OK...so my kitchen is a small eat-in kitchen. It's a 900 sq ft house, so there is no other dining area/room. (Though I don't mind eating in the LR when I have guests.) No island. The kitchen part is an L, and there is a small, round pedestal table that can seat 4 in a pinch. We just have two chairs to save space, since 99% of the time it's just the two of us. Future plans may include banquette seating. There is also a huge, hideous built in china hutch with a pass through. It faces the LR, so the back of it faces the K table. When I'm done painting the kitchen this weekend (I hope!) I'll post pics. The kitchen is often the heart of the home. We spend a lot of time in there, and we almost always cook dinner together. We eat out very, very rarely, so dinner is prepared in the kitchen 7 days a week. I work from home, so we have breakfast and lunch in there too. Breakfast usually separately because I get up a lot earlier than Joy, lunch mostly together. Breakfast for me is usually yogurt and granola. Lunch is generally a salad. So not really "cooking" for those meals, unless I get ambitious and make pancakes or something. The purposes of my kitchen: cooking/meal preparation, eating, coffee station, coffee with neighbors who pop in, coffee or lunch with friends and clients (from my editing business), and general social gathering spot. This may shock some of you here on the KF, haha!, but I DO NOT want the "command center" in the kitchen! It's too small, and I have never liked it there anyway. I now have a library, which is the master bedroom. My books, desk, computer, files, a small bulletin board, etc., are in there and that is also the command center. I ABHOR stuff on the refrigerator!!! I don't care how cute the cat, grandchild, whatever, is, it's not going on the fridge! And that is not the place, in my kitchen, for calendars, announcements, lists, etc. I know it sounds ridiculous, but that's just a "thing" with me. I think it makes the whole kitchen look messy and cluttered. I have a small dry erase board and bulletin board in the library, and that's where that stuff goes. If my kids were still little, it might be different. As far as liking people in there while I'm cooking, I'm really OK with that, and likely to ask them to pitch in! My mom, OTOH, did not want ANYONE in or near her kitchen, and had no trouble telling people to get out and go sit in the LR! She didn't even want them in the adjacent dining room! I think that's just a matter of temperament. I'm a clear counters person, but due to lack of space, have my utensils canister, a fruit bowl, and my beloved coffee station on my counters. My LR and eat-in kitchen are basically an open great room now, except for the built in. The top half (above the pass through) will be knocked down eventually, and the bottom half will be made into a useable peninsula, with the storage opening on the K side. (Those bottom cabs are our pantry.) That will really make it an open concept great room space. I'm very casual and have no need for anything more formal. CEFreeman, if I ever become a hoarder, it will be books and office supplies, haha! I love Staples like some people love BBB or W-S! ;-)