Organize Your Kitchen, Now

Where do we spend most of our time at home? The kitchen. And what, inevitably, is the most unorganized, messy room in our homes? The kitchen. If you're anything like us, you'll appreciate this interview with organizing expert Brette Sember, author of The Organized Kitchen. Read on for her tips.

"Your kitchen is probably the most used room in your home, even if you don’t cook there daily," Sember says. "It gets the most traffic, and we ask it to do the most. Kitchens are used as multi-purpose rooms, and homework, laundry, crafts, bill-paying and more all take place there. Shift some of these activities to other areas of the home to free up storage space and make the kitchen feel less cluttered and overused."

"The thought of completely reorganizing your kitchen is just too daunting. Instead, tackle one drawer, cupboard or shelf a day to make progress. Completely reorganizing your entire kitchen is an overwhelming task, but if you can find five minutes a day (while your pasta is cooking, your coffee is dripping, or your broccoli is steaming), you can get a lot done over a week’s time."

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"The biggest complaint people have about their kitchens is that there just isn’t enough storage space. In truth, most people don’t maximize the space they have. You likely have wasted or underused space in your kitchen and if you can turn that into workable space, your kitchen will feel much bigger."

"Transfer pantry items like flour, pasta, cereal, rice, beans, etc. into square glass or plastic storage containers. Square containers stack and fit together on shelves much easier and actually save space (eliminating those gaps between round containers). Your food will also stay fresh longer, and you’ll be able to see how much you have left."

"Look up for more storage. Install shelves over the doorways of the room. Hang a three-tier basket from the ceiling for additional space. If you have a separate pantry with a door, install storage above the door on the inside. Purchase metal standing shelves to double your storage area in cupboards. Instead of one level of cans or glasses, you can now fit two."

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"Bring in an unfinished book case and paint it to match your cabinets and give it the same drawer pulls—it will look like additional built-in cabinetry. Use the insides of cabinet doors for storage (using wire racks) for spices, pot lids (a metal towel rack works well for these), a message board, plastic bags and more."

"Install roll-out drawers inside your lower cabinets. These cabinets often end up messy and underused because no one wants to crawl on their hands and knees and reach back into the dark corners. You’ll double your usable space with this trick."

"Banish the junk drawer. This is additional storage space you could be using. Dump everything out and sort it. Put everything away in a newly identified home (pencil cup on the counter for pens, small container in the plastic wrap drawer for twist tiers, flashlight Velcroed to the inside of a cabinet drawer, notepad magnetized to the fridge, etc.) and gain an entire drawer."

"Too often when we organize we forget about comfort. The kitchen needs to be a room that is welcoming and warm, so although you are clearing your counters and shelves of clutter, don't forget to keep some touches that express your personality and make the room comfortable."

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"Stencil quotes on the wall, frame children’s art or family photos, rotate seasonal decorations, and choose one really gorgeous expensive item that makes you happy (like a big throw rug, pricey vase, or framed print) and expresses your personality."