A woman's work.

Food is expensive! Going out to eat is fun, though. Mainly because you don't have to deal with messes or think too much about it. Good news! If you don't have a job, you have plenty of time to think about it and to make your kitchen into an Eden-like haven for food mastery. I am a firm believer that you want to spend time in rooms that are organized and well assembled. A well armed and labeled kitchen will save you money in the long run and once you're well educated and armed for culinary battle your time spent watching Top Chef (darn it, Carla) can be spent admiring their mise-en-place rather than simply talking crap on Leah's baby talk and Hosea's goatee. Here are some thoughts on how to both economize and organize your food space:

• Recipe box: I recently organized my recipes which had been printed onto various scraps of paper, reproduced from the internet and made up from my brain. They went on index cards and into a plastic box that cost me a whopping $2.25. My cards came with 5 dividers (they were $4 something) so I made sections for sweets, bevs, dinners, sides/salads and soups. I also color coded the name of the recipe so I would have easy access to my vegetarian recipes. Handy and cute!
• Pot rack: I have meagerly kitchen storage space. It's pathetic. Therefore, I have 2 racks for pot and pan storage. It looks "restaurant kitchen-chic" and I don't have to stack them awkwardly at ankle height only to fold myself in half each time I need to use one. I also recommend those stacky bowls from Crate and Barrel. I have never used anything more, except for that little tiny one. 
• Pantry power: I am obsessed with storage containers that hold food that people actually eat. Not just weird spaghetti canisters whose contents are older than...well, me. I mean functional containers for things like lentils, quinoa, cous cous and other assorted items. These things are usually very inexpensive and can turn themselves (with your help) into magic dinner. Stock up and force yourself to be a slave to your pantry. 
• Potlucks!: Now that your kitchen is organized, well stocked and you are smart in the ways of a host of recipes, you can have a potluck. I was told recently that the potluck is BACK, so look into it, people! They're cheap, you can insist that everyone bring copies of the recipe for their dish and if people get too drunk they can sleep on your couch. 
• Dishwasher: Remember the person you got to rub your feet? Ask them to do the dishes!

Neat, huh?