How to Organize A Kitchen In 7 Simple Steps

We spend so much time in our kitchens shouldn't they be free of clutter and be a place we want to be? How to get rid of clutter in the kitchen in 7 simple steps will lighten you kitchen and put a smile on your face.

I was six the year Santa brought me a child's size white wooden cupboard. I can still remember Christmas morning when I saw this cupboard near the tree. It had shelves on top to hold my little tea sets, two drawers and a shelf on the bottom. There were little silver knobs on the doors. I fell in love with it immediately.

My mother put it in the corner of the kitchen. I remember setting my dolls around the kitchen table and putting little tea cups and saucers in front of them while we talked and had our "tea". Sometimes my mom would join us.

When we were through with our tea parties (it was always a party I had with my dolls), I would pretend washing and drying the cups and putting them back into the cupboard. I would spend hours arranging and rearranging my little tea sets.

Now that I am an adult I don't want to spend time in the kitchen arranging and rearranging the dishes or baking supplies or even worse not being able to find what I know I have in the kitchen. As an organizing expert I have worked with hundreds of women and I know how frustrating it is to them to try to fix meal in a cluttered kitchen.

The secrets of getting rid of clutter in a kitchen is as simple as child's play.

1. First of all evaluate what you have in your kitchen. Go through every cupboard and see what you have. In a notebook right down what works for you and what doesn't work for you. Are there old food items molding or expired dates on canned and packaged goods? Are baking supplies hard to find because they aren't all together or contained? Are the cupboards so jam packed you can't see what is in them? Are there items you have never used but maybe received as a gift so you "can't get rid of it" and yet it is taking up precious space in your cupboards? Do you like everything in your kitchen that you use or are there rusty pans and broken silverware, chipped plates and dishes you can't use because they are either too small or too big for your family's needs?

2. Now you know the secrets your kitchen is hiding could it be you need to get rid of clutter? Write down goals you want for your kitchen.

* In the food cupboards check for expired dates on canned, bottled and packaged food. If can lids have bulged put them in a plastic bag and carefully place them in the trash. These can actually explode. You want to get rid of clutter, not create more work for yourself.

* Put all like items together. If your baking items are spread all over in different cupboards designate a place for them. This will save time and money. You won't be replacing an item when you already have it but just couldn't find it.

* To make more space in your cupboards add removable shelves that can be purchased at variety stores. These will double your shelf space. They come in white or stainless steel.

* The items that aren't ever used but you must keep, take them out of the kitchen and store them in another room.

* Consider not keeping things you never use, this is a great way to get rid of clutter. Donate it and you will be making someone else happy and you'll be happy too.

* Get rid of anything that is rusty or broken. Rust is a health hazard in cooking utensils and it makes food taste bad. Broken items are hard to use and if it is glass and has a chip it too is a health hazard.

*The cookware that does not meet your needs because of type or size does not need to live in your kitchen.

Everything in your kitchen should light you up and make you feel good when you see it or use it. By using these seven tips you are on your way to a happy, clutter free kitchen.

Marilyn Bohn is the owner of Get it Together Organizing, a business dedicated to developing practical organizing solutions that help individuals and business professionals live clutter-free and productive lives. She is the author of "Go Organize! Sign up for her free tips http://www.marilynbohn.com