By its very nature the kitchen is typically the busiest room in the entire home, and the trickiest to keep clean and organized. All it can take is one meal that doesn’t get cleaned up for the room to descend into chaos. The kitchen also tends to be where you will have lots of storage space due to all the cupboards, shelves and drawers, which can complicate matters further. Are you making the most of that space? How do you even use it effectively? Just because it’s in the kitchen it doesn’t mean it has to be reserved for plates and pans and food. In fact, given the amount of storage space the average kitchen has nowadays, if they are all taken up with those sorts of things, you may have a serious clutter problem.

Cutlery and utensils

Get what you need and no more. Don’t buy gimmicky, new age utensils that only have very specific uses. They might look cool and clever but they are very rarely worth the effort or money. If you live on your own and you have twelve wooden spoons, or you have enough dishes to cover your family twofold, it’s safe to assume you have too many. Unless you have exceptional circumstances cutlery should typically fit in one drawer, with an optional utensil jar (or similar) for storing larger items, like those aforementioned wooden spoons and spatulas. You don’t want to waste time digging around for a knife and fork in a busy drawer (especially if you have sharp utensils in there too) so buy a cutlery tray to keep everything organized and compartmentalized.

Fridge/freezer

Fridges and freezers are particularly bad for food clutter. Leftovers and scraps all too commonly get left and forgotten about behind other, fresher food so it’s integral you regularly review what you have in there and bin anything you won’t touch. It gives you a chance to recap what food you actually have, which can save you money, especially if you are doing regular food shopping. To help with keeping track of what food you have, as much as possible group different food products together and use the specialist storage areas that usually come with fridges, such as fruit, vegetable and meat trays and cheese boxes. That way you can quickly judge what you need and what you have enough of. If it becomes a chore to track your food supplies because your fridge is so full you simply won’t do it.

Be sure to defrost your fridge and freezer regularly otherwise the ice builds up inside which will take up a lot of space that could otherwise be used for food. It will also mean that when you finally do defrost it, it will take twice as long to do. As I said before, as soon as it becomes difficult and time-consuming to do something it will become hard to find the motivation to do it.

Kitchen counter

Keep the counter as clear as possible. It is an area that needs regular cleaning and because it is your primary work/cooking space you don’t want additional obstacles in your way. The more clutter you have on the counter the more awkward you will make things for yourself whenever you use the kitchen. If you are lacking in space on the counter consider getting wall attached storage like spice racks and pan hooks to help clear it. It may not be attractive but it is certainly more efficient than using the counter as storage.

Under the sink

This tends to be the home of cleaning products. These are the sorts of items that are almost always on special offer at supermarkets so it can be tempting to stock up or succumb to the need to grab a supposed bargain. But firstly, do you have the space? Do you really need three spare boxes of detergent on hand taking up all that room? Do you have to keep several types of washing up liquid? Don’t worry about turning your back on a good deal, there’s bound to be others when you actually need them.

As for storage, get a small basket and put all your scrubbing brushes and washing gloves in there. If you haven’t organized your cleaning chemicals before, take them all out and group them together. You might find you will have used two or more bottles of the same brand. Pour them into the one bottle to save more room. As with toiletries and clothes you can put cleaning products through the same three stage process. Get rid of those you never use, bring the small number of products you use a regular basis to the front and keep the occasional use specialist products (such as sink unblocker) at thee back.

Create activity areas

The kitchen is ideal for storing tactically. By that I mean putting stuff in places that will make life easier for you. For instance, put cutlery and utensils near to the areas you are most likely to be working. For instance I keep pans and tinned food in cupboards next to the oven and cutlery near to the counter space where I serve up food. Like having cleaning tools under the sink, you could also try and bring together utensils you use for specific tasks. If you bake a lot for example, you might want to keep flour, baking powder and a mixing bowl all in one place.

Get a bin

It might seem obvious but it is worth emphasizing. Most of the waste in your home will come from the kitchen so get as big a bin as you feel comfortable with that doesn’t mess up the aesthetics of the room. Don’t skimp on this, keep it close and easily assessable and make sure it’s easy to work with (when you have you hands full of food scraps you need a bin with a lid that opens easily). You don’t want to have to be taking out rubbish all the time because your small bin can’t hold all your waste, or even end up leaving rubbish on the floor because you haven’t got the time to clear it out. The same principles applies in every other room too. If it creates a lot of waste (the office and children’s bedroom are other hotspots) get a bin for it.