Everyone in the Kitchen!

Your kitchen is likely the most frequented area of your home. Whether you're a gourmet chef or a master microwaver, the kitchen is the center of most homes-and often the most disorderly. If your cabinets, shelves, pantry, and drawers need a little touching up, here are some tips to get you started.

Purge

Like many organizing exercises, getting your kitchen in order starts with getting rid of the clutter. Pull everything out of drawers, cabinets, and pantries. If you can't remember the last time you used that beat-up strainer, get rid of it. If you hate leftovers, you can probably do without those extra 20 storage containers. However, if seeing your pasta maker reminds you of how much you love fresh lasagna, keep it.

Take a look at everything and determine what should be tossed or donated, what can be stored for occasional or seasonal use, and what you need around you on a regular basis.

Establish Groups

Once you've determined what stays and what goes, get ready to organize the items you do want to keep. What makes sense to store together? If you bake a lot, keep baking items together. Put everyday plates, flatware, and glasses together. Mixing bowls and measuring cups should be near each other.

When you have your keepers categorized, it's time to decide where they will go. Keep things you use daily on lower shelves and those used less frequently up higher. Pots, pans, and bake ware should be close to the stove.

Little Helpers

Don't underestimate how items like lazy Susans, drawer dividers, mug hangers, ceiling racks, empty shoeboxes or containers, and magnetic refrigerator storage racks can contribute to an orderly kitchen. You can find many of these organizers at any kitchen or home improvement store, and they are all relatively inexpensive.