Kitchen Organization Tricks

Most of us have a drawer or two in our kitchens that seem to double as a catchall for everything from old coupons to bag clips. Starting with these drawers, go through your kitchen and throw out or donate anything that is no longer necessary. Items such as old oven mitts, mismatched dishes and discolored measuring cups may not be useful to you, but charity groups appreciate the donation and will give you a receipt for an amount that you can write off on your taxes.

Invest in clear plastic, resealable pasta and cereal containers. They cut down on shelf space by eliminating the need for half empty boxes of cereal or spaghetti, and they are usually stackable. These containers are also useful to store items such as salt, sugar, brown sugar, coffee, tea and flour, which eliminates the need for canisters and frees up countertop space.

Since most cleaning products break down over a period of time, products such as bathroom cleaning agents, dishwashing liquid and floor cleaners that are more than a year old should be thrown out. Take care, however, to dispose of these cleaning products properly by following the directions on the back of the bottle or container and any laws for disposal of these products in your community. Many people tend to keep cleaning products under the sink. Throwing away these outdated sources of clutter will give you more room to store other kitchen necessities, such as pots and pans, or emergency equipment, such as flashlights or fire extinguishers.

If you have a lot of half-full spice jars, but do not want to spend the money on an expensive spice rack, old baby food jars serve as an excellent alternative. Peel off the baby food labels and, using a black permanent marker and masking tape, write the name of each spice on the outside of the baby food jar. This way, you can label the jars, as well as see how much is left in each jar and refill it as necessary. Baby food jars stack well, which creates more cabinet space.