Forum menu
Nope, not which tyres for....
Not Brexit related
Not which why toilet roll goes on (dangly sheets to the front)
Not which order for jam and cream on scone (clearly jam on top)
Not whether it is ever acceptable to have ketchup on beans (no it is not)
But, what order (left to right) should cutlery go into the slots in a cutlery tray drawer insert
I think it is very obvious, left to right, Forks, then Knives and Spoons. This means forks and knives reflect the order they are laid on the table (except for weirdy left handers)
Mrs S insists on them going knives then forks and you always say knives and forks in that order. Freak.
What do the assembled cutlery experts of STW think?
you have a cutlery drawer?
ok, boomer. 😉
Knives - Forks - Spoons.
This is the order you say them and therefore this is the order you store them.
Mrs franksinartra is correct.
Chopsticks.
Spoons - Forks - Knives in our house.
Then in the big trays you ram a load of utensils that really should be in a pot on the kitchen worktop. These then jam all the time causing you to rattle the draw like mad hoping they will drop 2mm to allow it to open.
Forks-knives-spoons. You are correct OP
Mrs franksinartra is correct
Mrs Franksinatra doesn't empty to dishwasher every morning though.
Whilst I appreciate that you are correct in much of your list (the cream/jam application, for example), I'm afraid Mrs Sinatra is correct wrt cutlery.
I have no idea where the scullery maid stores the flatware.
Brown sauce for beans.
Jam first.
The Daily Mail covered this. Is that where the idea came from? Interestingly its in the "Femail" section so I guess it's up to your wife.
DM link if you really care: https://www.****/femail/article-8233271/Debate-erupts-right-way-arrange-cutlery-drawer-stack-yours.html
Mrs S insists on them going knives then forks and you always say knives and forks in that order. Freak
But (as you correctly say) we lay a table fork > knife.
I believe the reason it is spoken 'knife - fork' is something to do with the pitch of the words (ie, ping pong, spic span, pitter patter, riff raff, ding dong etc) – it's easier/more natural to say the word combinations that way around in our language.
Back to the OP though... My wife puts cutlery away as you would expect, all facing the same way for knives, forks, large spoons etc. But then she just bungs in teaspoons in any which way!! Drives me mad!!!
Who cares about toilet paper, Jam first, ketchup on beans is fine....Knife fork spoon...
I believe the reason it is spoken ‘knife – fork’ is something to do with the pitch of the words
It's probably more that fork 'n knife sounds a wee bit sweary.
Knife fork spoon, of course.
Because we eat with a knife and fork, not with a fork and knife. And the spoon is optional if you have a dessert or soup.
Because we eat with a knife and fork
But then you grab the forks in your right hand and the knives in your left and have to swap them over when you are laying the table.
It's just wrong.
Who cares about toilet paper
I do.
Before Covid / WFH I was in an ongoing war with an unknown pervert at work who kept turning the loo roll the wrong way round so that the loose paper hangs against the wall.
I, obviously, as any right thinking person would, kept turning it back to the proper way.
Hangings too good for 'em
Not which order for jam and cream on scone (clearly jam on top)
Freak. And you're wrong about the cutlery, too. And @johndoh's wife is clearly a Pro and knows what she's doing.
Because we eat with a knife and fork
But when you eat with a knife and fork you hold them fork and knife (assuming you are right handed)
But then you grab the forks in your right hand and the knives in your left and have to swap them over when you are laying the table.
Only if you walk all the way around the table to lay it, perhaps if Sir lives in a castle and has a huge dinner table He might like to do this (or get the maid to do it), but my table's not that large and I just lean over...
My wife puts cutlery away as you would expect, all facing the same way for knives, forks, large spoons etc. But then she just bungs in teaspoons in any which way!!
Wow. That is disgusting. I genuinely feel for you.
Teaspoons > dessert spoons > knives > forks in our current layout. But that's just because of where the cutlery drawer is in the kitchen and what's needed most and is quickest to get from that side of the drawer. There should be no hard and fast rules, go with the flow.
However, in the cutlery drawer of the dishwasher all of the same type should be placed together. They really should teach dishwasher stacking in schools.
Who cares about toilet paper, Jam first, ketchup on beans is fine….Knife fork spoon…
You and me are not going to get on well are we?
wash cutlery -> put cutlery in that little Ikea cutlery drainer that everyone has
at dinner time: fish cutlery back out of that little Ikea drainer
cutlery drawer? I think I know where that is...
Simple answer is to only have sporks, one for each member of the household, each responsible for cleaning their own spork. Do away with the cutlery drawer, use it to stash spare batteries and bulbs instead.
Obviously you need a second house rule: No serving food that cannot be eaten with a spork and/or fingers...
You are welcome...
What about the mustard spoons, fish knives, grapefruit spoons and those little stabby things for eating corn on the cob?
Where do they go?
Our drawer insert forces the knife first approach as they are too long for the other sections, so it's knife, fork, dessert spoon, tea spoons in our drawer.
Who cares about toilet paper,
Literally anyone who is of sound mind. Roll must feed over towards the front obviously.
Knives, forks and spoons is the correct order. You must thank your wife for enlightenment but don't feel bad about yourself. All of us get things wrong occasionally.
What about the mustard spoons, fish knives, grapefruit spoons and those little stabby things for eating corn on the cob?
Where do they go?
In the 'still eating utensils but slightly more random of nature' drawer to the side.
What about the mustard spoons, fish knives, grapefruit spoons and those little stabby things for eating corn on the cob?
Where do they go?
In the spikey drawer of doom underneath the cutlery drawer
In the ‘still eating utensils but slightly more random of nature’ drawer to the side.
In the spikey drawer of doom underneath the cutlery drawer
Both wrong. They are in the sideboard cutlery drawer in one of the dining rooms. The stabby corn eaters are in a ziplok bag to avoid separation / puncture wounds
The stabby corn eaters are in a ziplck bag
Get you with your ziplock bags.
Our cutlery drawer goes front-to-back rather than side-to-side.
#Anarchy
But, what order (left to right) should cutlery go into the slots in a cutlery tray drawer insert
How absolutely bizarre. I was pondering this very critical and life-affirming question not two days ago. I was going to start a thread asking about whether there was a 'right' way to do it and then promptly forgot.
This means forks and knives reflect the order they are laid on the table (except for weirdy left handers)
Speaking as a weirdy left-hander, I use a knife and fork the conventional way round as I think the righties have got it wrong to start with.
If you were to use a spoon or fork on its own you would, one would assume, use your dominant hand. Yet introduce a knife into the equation and you swap hands to eat with your off-hand? That's the behaviour of a stone bonker.
Our cutlery drawer goes front-to-back rather than side-to-side.
It doesn't sound promising for your toilet paper.
That's right handers for you, I'm afraid. Bunch of weirdos.
I think the righties have got it wrong to start with.
It's a hangover from medieval times when steel was super expensive and everyone ate with their own, general purpose, knife only, if they had one at all.
The fork was added much later and everyone was already deep in the right hand - knife groove. Expect lefties obvs. Weirdos.
It's also much easier to cut something if the knife is in your dominant hand. the fork only needs to hold it in place which requires less strength and dexterity . If you're eating fork only, no cutting is required.
Ours goes front to back (compartments horizontal) so is utter rubbish
Also we had slugs in there one day, and a (wood) mouse on another. So now Mrs R insists (no discussion allowed) that the cutlery drawer always has a tea-tree-oil-infused teacloth wrapped around it. Even though I’ve since sealed the pest’s access-hole/s, also live-trapped and since relocated the mouse far away.
Drives me mad. I’d rather keep a spork in a pouch than venture near our cutlery drawer.
It’s a hangover from medieval times when steel was super expensive and everyone ate with their own, general purpose, knife only, if they had one at all.
The fork was added much, later and everyone was already deep in the right hand – knife groove. Expect lefties obvs. Weirdos.
Is that so? I always wondered.
Mine goes ( l-R) fork, spoon , spoon, knife the knife slot is longer due to a teaspoon slot along 3/4 of the front and my knives will not fit in any other slot
Is that so? I always wondered.
Yes, Lefties ARE weirdos.
What about the mustard spoons, fish knives, grapefruit spoons and those little stabby things for eating corn on the cob?
In the second cutlery drawer of course.


Literally anyone who is of sound mind. Roll must feed over towards the front obviously.
I have a vertical loo roll holder
I have a vertical loo roll holder
Is it a knitted flamenco dancer?
Lefties are sinister.