Our kitchens are the heart of the home!  We want to nurture and communicate with our families, have dinner together, and make this hub of activity more efficient and less cluttered.   Take a simple, step by step approach to making this space more effective. Kitchen organizing makes family life more cohesive, less stressful and more fun!

• Pare down to what you need by assessing what is in each drawer and in each cabinet.  Keep the multi-function tools and donate the single use tools.  Do this in baby steps, just drawer by drawer.
•  Arrange your kitchen tools by use.  Keep food preparation items near the sink, food storage items near the refrigerator, cooking items near the stove, and plates and glasses near the dishwasher for easy retrieval and storage.
• Be brutal about your food storage containers. Keep all the rectangular containers nested together with the lids nested in a separate container and then the circular containers nested together with the lids nested in their own container.
• Group small appliances together for easy access and improved storage.  Assess when was the last time you used your bread maker or waffle iron  and donate these if it is a while ago.
• Establish work zones for frequent tasks.  A lunch zone is great for getting your kids’ lunches together, including sacks, Ziplocs, and snacks that go into the bag.  A coffee zone for the morning java might include coffee pot, coffee filters, mugs, and sweetener.
• Your “command center” for paper keeps piles from forming.  Use a desk top sorter with hanging files for categories such as Action, Pay, File, and then one slot for each of your kids and husband or wife. Drop paper in when it arrives and then take an hour once a week for administrative tasks.
•  Add a calendar space for your family calendar.  Be sure to hang this where everyone sees it regularly and add information during your family meeting to keep it up to date.
• Review the expiration date of food in your pantry.  Set up the “grocery store” on the shelves and put a label where food goes.    Remember to keep a section for healthy snacks for your kids to easily grab and go.