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Clear countertops make our hearts sing, but kitchen organization is so much deeper than that.

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For starters, youre dealing with a truly finite amount of space.
Startfile-foldingthose dishtowels and sorting through that junk drawer, because your transformative kitchen-organization makeover startsnow.
Block your kitchen into zones.

Are your dishes and pots and tools stowed near the area where youll use them?
It helps to think about your kitchen in terms of zones.
Set up a system that works for you and your lifestyle.
Stow away the non-everyday.
For example, holiday-specific items should be binned with decorations and only brought out for that season.
This will free up space in your kitchen cabinets and drawers for items you use all the time.
Likewise for that giant paella pan you usemaybetwice a year.
Find hidden storage.
Unless youre a true minimalistor even never cookyou probably could use some extra kitchen storage space.
Luckily, you have plenty of options.
you’re free to also install pull-out shelving designed specifically to smarten up this clutter-prone zone.
Control clutter.
Speaking of which: Decluttering your kitchen really can feel like the chore that never ends.
Yet decluttering is key to keeping this room sane.
Get your cabinets in shape.
Uncomplicate meal prep.
As daunting as the term can sound, meal planning doesnt have to be a super-complicated process.
It could be fish tacos one week, chicken the next, and a taco pizza the third.
Bonus fridge-decluttering tactic: Brainstorm a few easy lunches that use leftovers from the meals in your rotation.
As for the process of meal planning, focus on what feels easiest to you.
And remember that easy dinners and dining out count within meal planning too.
Upgrade your food storage containers.
This is where the right storage containers are so helpful.
Set up your kitchen for meal-prep success…andavoid the tumbling tower of lids, Rosenthal says.
You want your kitchen to help you reach your goals, not hold you back from them.
Organize your pantry by purpose.
More kitchen organizing (and other-space organizing) ideas: