After all, everyone needs to eat, so families and roommates tend to gather in the kitchen for meals. If you like to cook, you’re going to spend a lot of time in this space.

The downside of this is that the kitchen can also become one of the messiest rooms in the home.

After cooking, it’d be ideal if you could clean up quickly and efficiently. But we all know that’s easier said than done!

If you want to make cleaning your kitchen an easier task, you’re going to have to get organized.

Think about it: the more organized your kitchen is, the easier it will be for you to prepare meals, find items, and put them away.

So let’s get to work on creating an organized and efficient kitchen. These five kitchen redesign tips will make your life way more convenient!

1. Invest In Drawer Storage

Dealing with crowded kitchen drawers isn’t fun. No one likes having to empty their entire drawer to find the one utensil they’re looking for.

Luckily, there’s a solution:

It’s time to get organizers with multiple compartments.

You can find drawer organizers in different materials and sizes. It’s easy to choose ones that match your kitchen’s theme.

Take stock of all the kitchen accessories you have. Their size will help you choose organizers that work best for you.

For utensils, get a cutlery tray so you can see all the silverware instead of it being a giant mess. Interlocking organizers work well if you want to store extra items, such as utensils, underneath.

After the drawer organizers are in place, resist the urge to put too much in each compartment. It should be easy to reach anything you need when you open your drawer.

2. Store Reusable Water Bottles On Their Sides

Reusable water bottles are great to have around the house. But with so many fun colors and patterns, it’s easy to keep buying more. If you don’t keep them under control, they could take over the entire room!

Here’s a solution:

1. Buy some storage cubes
2. Turn them on their side
3. Place them on a shelf
4. Store your water bottles inside

You might have to play around with the bottles to get them to sit comfortably. But once you find a system that works, you’ll always know where to find them.

Now it’ll be easy to grab your water bottle as you head out to the gym. And you won’t have to worry about searching high and low for them when you’re in a hurry!

You can even arrange them by color to turn your water bottle collection into a decorative kitchen element!

3. Organize Your Fridge

If your refrigerator is a mess, it’s time to remedy that!

Cleaning your fridge is easiest when you start by taking everything out. Then, you’ll be able to see exactly what you have. Just make sure to be quick about it so nothing spoils!

If there’s time, scrub your fridge with soap, water, and maybe even some bleach (depending on how dirty it is).

After taking stock of everything you have, check the expiration dates. There are likely expired items in there. Toss them out immediately — they’re taking up valuable space!

If there’s food that’s still good but you don’t think you’ll eat, bring it to a food pantry. There’s no reason to keep items if you aren’t going to consume them.

Lastly, put the things you use most often towards the front of the fridge. You shouldn’t have a problem accessing items that you use every day.

For example, you might put a few cans of soda near the front. The next time you’re craving a drink, you’ll know exactly where to find them!

4. Have A Catch-All Decorative Box

Does clutter accumulate on your kitchen countertop?

Here’s a solution:

Try adding a decorative box that can act as a clutter-catcher. Keeping a catch-all box on your counter is better than having random things everywhere!

Now, if you’re going for a sleek and sophisticated look in your kitchen, don’t just add any box. Get a nice wooden one with handles, or a leather tray. Your clutter-catcher should match the rest of the room.

Then, whenever a stray item appears on your countertop, toss it in the box. Every couple of days, go through it and put the items back where they belong.

It’s best not to procrastinate at putting things away. Otherwise, your box could start to overflow!

5. Gather Up Plastic Bags

If you like to keep plastic shopping bags in your kitchen, be careful. It’s easy to collect too many, and it’s also easy for them to get disorganized.

Having them within arm’s reach is ideal, but you need to come up with a clever way to disguise them.

One way to get a handle on them by storing them in a bag holder. This will allow you to keep dozens of bags in a small space.

Just make sure to buy an eye-pleasing bag holder. There’s no reason to have beautiful granite countertops if you’re going to hang an ugly bag-wrangler above them. Instead, find a sleek, steel one, or one that matches the paint on your walls.

And consider your space, too. If you’re short on counter space, find a bag holder that you can mount underneath your cabinets. That way, it won’t occupy all of the precious space on your countertops.

In Conclusion

Congratulations — you have some ideas on how to organize your kitchen! Since you’re an expert now, it’s up to you to follow through.

And once you redesign your kitchen, make sure you develop new habits to go with it. What use are new drawers if you don’t keep them organized?

You’ll feel good knowing that everything in your kitchen has a home, and you’ll be pleased when you know where to find them. From now on, cooking and cleaning up after dinner is going to be a breeze!

Author Bio

Sherry Haney is the Business Manager for TriVista, where she is responsible for overseeing the operations and efficiencies of the company’s property management, sales, marketing, and renovation activities.

Mrs. Haney has more than 20 years of multifamily expertise and has been with Legacy since November 2005. She has a Colorado Brokers License, CAM certification, and CAPS certification.

You don’t have to have Martha Stewart’s talent to bring the comforting warmth of the kitchen into your home. What brings you happiness may not be the same thing other people need for theirs.

But there are a few typical adjustments that you can make to bring in joy and take out stress in your kitchen.

When you redesign your kitchen to support your daily routine, you become naturally happier.

1. Make Your Kitchen Inviting

If your kitchen is closed off from the rest of the house or dark and drab, it’s no wonder that no one wants to be in the room. To make your kitchen happier, you need to take a few steps to make it appealing and inviting.

Brighten Up Your Kitchen And Your Day, Too

With just a few tweaks to what you already have, you can make your kitchen a place where everyone feels comfortable hanging out together.

• Add Extra Light Sources

A dim kitchen makes it difficult to work in, and people will subconsciously avoid it in favor of brighter rooms.

To brighten your kitchen without making renovations or breaking your bank, try under-the-cabinet lighting (no installation necessary), brighter, natural light bulbs in place of your dimmer ones, and opening up the windows and natural lighting in your home.

• Incorporate Bright Happy Colors

It’s easy to find multi-colored appliances now, so let your Keurig and toaster add splashes of color in your kitchen.

Your kitchen towels, pot holders, and other accessories can also add happiness in the room through vibrant colors and patterns that show off your personality and interests.

It’s easy to add pops of color! Be careful not to go overboard, though. You want the kitchen to be inviting, not overwhelming.

• Arrange Comfortable Seating

Adjust your seating arrangements so that your family members and guests have comfortable places to sit. Situate them facing into the kitchen area so that social interaction is encouraged.

2. Declutter, Declutter, Declutter

It’s a research-backed fact: clutter is dangerous to your happiness.

When clutter takes over your kitchen and other areas of your life, it becomes a time-waster. You sift through junk to find what you’re looking for. You’re distracted by something in the clutter when you’re supposed to be focused.

The costs go beyond wasted time, too.

If you aren’t careful, clutter can cost you financially. Bills may be overlooked, shoved into the clutter, costing you late fees. Coupons you wanted to use could expire.

Overall, clutter causes mental and physical stress. A room with so much visual stimulation overwhelms your brain.

And because it does the same thing to the others in your home, it keeps them from engaging in social interaction in the kitchen area.

3. Keep Your Kitchen Clean

In an average home, the room most laden with germs is your kitchen.

Keeping this room clean and organized not only improves your health, but it also increases your overall happiness.

Three Easy Steps To A Clean Kitchen

An hour of heavy cleaning now, followed by a few minutes a day of maintenance in the future, will get you a clean kitchen that’s easy to keep up.

If you’re moving into your home, this is a great opportunity to set up the room strategically while you unpack. If you’ve lived there a while, this is the perfect time to revamp your system and decide what works and what doesn’t.

• Do A Deep Purge

Climb on a stepladder to empty all of your cupboards and get rid of things you haven’t used in years. Empty your refrigerator shelf by shelf and toss what is expired or looks like a science experiment (unless it really is).

• Reorganize Your Storage Spaces

Decide what needs to be better organized and work those areas. For instance, would you have more room in your cupboards with a few space savers? Do you need a better system for your kitchen drawers to improve efficiency?

• Clean Daily

In-the-moment clean up is not always practical for the busy individual. But taking five minutes every night before bed to clean up after the day is an easy habit to implement.

Wipe down your counters with a germ-killing multi-surface cleaner, wash dishes, and do a general cleanse. This quick clean will prevent the buildup of dangerous germs and clutter.

4. Gift Yourself With Upgrades

You work hard to make your home a happy one, and you deserve to reward yourself occasionally. Your kitchen should be inviting to others, but also a place you enjoy being.

Go ahead and gift yourself with some upgrades when you can. Consider what you use the most and allow yourself to splurge occasionally.

A newer Keurig, that new KitchenAid cake mixer in your favorite color, or a new set of dishes or cutlery can improve your mood immensely.

5. Learn How To Use Your Technology Wisely

Having the latest and greatest kitchen appliances and accessories doesn’t help if you don’t know how to use them correctly.

Learn the proper ways to clean and disinfect your garbage disposal (as well as what should and shouldn’t go down it!) and read up on your dishwasher’s capabilities to ensure you’re using all that it offers.

Music is another great way to increase your kitchen happiness. Pipe in some tunes from your Bluetooth speakers or splurge on surround sound to rock out while you’re cooking.

Whatever you do, curb the urge to watch TV from the kitchen if you’re trying to encourage socialization. Even YouTube on your phone distracts you and your loved ones from engaging in conversation in real-time.

Keep the kitchen a no-electronics zone (besides music) if you are looking for the ultimate happy space.

Happier Kitchen, Happier You

Upgrading your kitchen to the ultimate happy room isn’t expensive, but not doing it could prove to be quite costly to your overall lifestyle.

Decide what you need to do to make your kitchen a place you want to be and then make it happen!

Author Bio

Carynes Gitler maintains daily contact with every property that the company manages and plays a pivotal role in overseeing Onshore Daytona’s office structure and staffing.