Organize Your Grill

" Hallelujah. The weather is nice and we can finally cook outside, if only to remember where you put the charcoal from last summer. Our organizing expert Ellen Damaschino shows Brooke how to keep your grill nice and neat season after season."

" It's summer barbecue season and you probably know where your grill is but do you know where the rest of your stuff is to grill? "

" Well, no, unless you wanna think about organizing your barbecue area, so today, we're gonna talk about how to have the perfect barbecue area especially when you're entertaining guests."

" So you're not running in and out of the house."

" I hate that."

" Grab the other plate! Grab me another burger, please."

" So, let's start with the actual barbecue. So, sometimes you have this kind of barbecue which is gas, you may even have a small, little, old hibachi-type barbecue or just a traditional charcoal barbecue. Sometimes, you have storage, sometimes you don't. So, what you wanna do is make sure you have area for your tools, and we've got lots of area here for our tools, but you can also hang your tools on the sides here, so these are really good and you can add even magnetic racks onto existing barbecue. So, if you don't have that, you can add one."

" And this way, if it's on the side, you can still use this to put the meat on when you're done grilling."

" Correct. So, here's another great idea. Get a cart, and I love stainless steel. Why? Because I can leave it out all season."

" I was gonna ask."

" Yes. You can leave it out all season, and I like something that has a drawer so you can put those things that are gonna get wet in the drawer like extra plates, extra napkins, and don't forget, a flashlight."

" Now, what's the flashlight for?"

" Well, sometimes you're grilling in the dark, so you wanna make sure that you know what you're grilling."

" Okay."

" Here's a couple other things to remember to have out by the barbecue. You wanna have your own salt and pepper shaker. You don't have to be running in and out. You wanna have something to, you know, for things don't stick some kind of oil. Aluminum foil, great for cleaning the grill but also for wrapping things in. Matches, bottle openers. I also like to have "What's Grilling?""

" So everyone doesn't keep asking you, what are you making, what are you making?"

" It's kinda like when you're in the kitchen, when's dinner ready, when's dinner ready and they don't have to ask. Another great thing to have is storage below because it's always out in the elements and these are fantastic because you can use, again, it's aluminum, it can stay out in the elements, but this is great for not only keeping things warm on the grill but toting back and forth."

" So, you leave these out. Clean them when you're done and then put them back here and they belong here all season long."

" Exactly. And I also like to have a tray out as well. And finally, place the charcoal, if you do have a charcoal grill, these are really inexpensive. You can buy them at any hardware store and I love keeping my charcoal in them."

" And they look nice outside, too."

" Exactly. You can take the charcoal out of the bag, or you can use it as a receptacle for the charcoal when it is done burning so it's really safe."

" Okay. Should we check on those burgers?"

" Yeah, I'm ready to eat. Put it in my check."

" Thanks, Ellen. Back to you guys."

" And one more tip. Ellen says don't forget to include a meat thermometer by your grill, too. If you have questions for Ellen, write on her blog. Log on to our website, BetterTV.com and click on the links tab."