Have you ever opened a cabinet door in your kitchen only to have an avalanche of plastic lids and containers cascade towards you? Or maybe you’ve tried to locate something in a hurry and instead ended up taking everything out just so you could find that one elusive item? If you’ve experienced a scenario eerily similar to one of these, it’s time to organize. Here are some useful tips to help you get your kitchen cabinets in order once and for all.

Toss Items You Don’t Use

Before you can actually get organized, take inventory. Consider what you have and ask yourself if you even use all of the items you’ve found. If you haven’t used a certain utensil, dish, pot, or pan in more than a few months, you probably don’t need it. Get rid of the items you don’t use and you’ll find that the extra space you’ve opened up will make organizing that much easier.

Group Similar Items Together

Once you’ve cleaned out the cabinets and are down to the items you need and use, sort them into groupings according to what you use them for. Groupings might include cooking, baking, storage containers, dinnerware, utensils, over-sized utensils, and prep items, such as cutting boards and colanders. If you don’t have a pantry, chances are that you also store food in your kitchen cabinets. Group food items together as well. Examples of food groupings would be canned goods, pre-packaged dinners, snack foods, breakfast bars and cereals, and baking supplies. Once you’ve completed sorting, you’ll be ready to put things in their proper places.

Organize for Convenience

Designating areas for your sorted groupings of kitchen items is the key to staying organized. The best place for your dinnerware might be near the sink or dishwasher. When it’s time to unload the clean dishes, you won’t have to walk across the kitchen to put them away. You may want to put pots and pans on one side of the stovetop and oven, and the baking ware on the other. A good place for storage containers is near the refrigerator. When you go to put leftover food away, everything will be right in one place. Save the shelves that aren’t as accessible for appliances or other kitchen items that you don’t use very often. Always keep kitchen ware, regardless of what it is, separate from your food items. Allocate specific cabinets that are for food items only.

Use Shelf and Drawer Organizers

Shelf and drawer organizers are available in a variety of styles and sizes and will help you keep everything in its place. Racks placed in cupboards make it easier to see things that would otherwise be placed behind something else, while trays and dividers will keep utensils sorted and create separate compartments if needed.

Buy Stackable Items

Storage containers can be so difficult to keep neat–especially if what you have is a hodge-podge of containers that are different shapes and sizes with half of the lids missing. Instead of collecting random storage containers from here and there, stick with a set that conveniently stacks. Choose stackable items when it comes to cups and dinnerware, too. Doing so will create more space in your cabinets and prevent clutter from taking over.

Kitchen cabinets that are clean and organized will make your time spent in the kitchen much more efficient and productive. Follow these simple steps and you’ll have your kitchen cabinets organized in no time.

This is a guest post from Bailey Harris. Bailey writes for AreaRugs.com, a site that sells brand name area rugs and related supplies.