We have been lucky enough to have quite a bit of interest from guest bloggers lately, whose contributions offer fresh new ideas on our platform.  Lana  Hawkins joins us for the second time with some great tips on organizing a small kitchen. I would argue that the tips shared in this post are also great for larger kitchen spaces too. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I did.  I’m ready to reorganize my pantry with new see-through containers and turn the doors into extra storage.

Kitchens often get quite unorganized, but only people with small kitchens know how hard it is to make everything practical and functional. So, if you also wage war with your tiny space every time you need to cook, here are seven practical ways to organize your kitchen.

Have you been dreading this? Well, it’s just something you have to do in order to get your kitchen in line. No matter how big the space is, if you clutter it, it will automatically feel smaller.So, go through your utensils, appliances, plates, glasses and pans, and just donate or throw out everything that doesn’t work for you anymore and everything you don’t use. If you do this often, the rest of organizing will be a piece of cake.

If you want to cook like a real chef, you must create work zones (or at least approximate designated stations for different kitchen tasks). For starters, divide your kitchen into zones: food storage, dishes station, cleaning station, food prep and cooking zone. No matter how small your kitchen is, you can always employ this strategy, and store and arrange cooking tools according to their zone of use. This way, you’ll always know where something is, even in a space as small as your kitchen.

Is it hard for you to manage all of those mismatched food containers and spices in your tiny cabinets? If you want to stop your storage from overflowing, you might consider investing in see-through, uniform containers (preferably those that are microwavable). These containers stack together perfectly, and you’ll always be able to find what you’re looking for.

Not many people think of utilizing the inside of their cabinet doors, even though it’s obviously unused space. So, you can be smarter than the others by employing that space and storing pot covers, cutting boards, measuring cups and spoons. You can also keep your knives there if you don’t have enough counter space for a knife block. A few inexpensive hooks will turn your cabinet doors into a very handy (and hidden!) storage space.