The Zoning Decluttering Rule That Makes A Kitchen More Efficient

If your kitchen feels like constant mayhem, it might be time to declutter and reorganize. This can seem pretty intimidating if you don't have a plan, but HGTV's Cassandra Aarssen from "Hot Mess House" can help. Cassandra Aarssen's top tip for getting organized is that you'll want to start by pruning the items you don't really use first. This will make your cabinets and pantry feel less packed. Then, you need to decide where the remaining items go, which is where her next tip comes in. According to the professional organizer, you should put all like items into zones in your kitchen. This will create a perfect kitchen layout because it not only makes it easier to find things, but this arrangement will also be more straightforward to declutter in the future as you'll see what you have an excess of. 

In a video on her YouTube channel Clutterbug, Aarssen outlines the importance of zones in a kitchen. "Zoning is basically looking at your room as a whole and then creating sections within your room for like items to go," she explains. "What I mean by this is, like, beside the stove where you're cooking, you probably want to zone for spices and oils and stuff like that, right? So all of those type of items go into one place. I also have a zone for breakfast, so cereals and breads. Which means we also keep the spreads in the zone, peanut butter and that kind of stuff." This method can improve the function of your space and help ensure you don't wind up with unneeded doubles.

To create a zone in your kitchen, begin by removing everything from your cupboards and shelves and group them into piles based on activity. For instance, in her video (per YouTube), Cassandra Aarssen recommends keeping your coffees, teas, and brewing tools all together in one cabinet section (or you could consider these beverage station ideas). Once you have these piles, take a look at them. Do you have a few mounds exceedingly larger than others? For instance, do you have 15 different cutting boards but a modest amount of other cooking staples? Then, see if you have a repeating item in those piles. Perhaps you have four citrus juicers but only gravitate towards one when it's time to cook. If that's the case, you can declutter those that you don't like.

Once you have your pruned piles, it's time to put them into their sections. According to Aarssen, you want to choose zones that help the kitchen's functionality. For instance, spices and other cooking ingredients should go in a cabinet right next to the stove, and breakfast items should go near the toaster. Placing them this way will ensure you're not running around the space, creating a mess as you're rummaging for the one item you can't find. This technique can also help you choose what to put in your least accessible cabinets, such as the upper cabinets that you need a step stool to reach. This zone can be for items you rarely use but aren't ready to give away, such as the ice cream maker or sushi mold. Similarly, these are the kinds of items pro organizers store in their high cabinets for a clutter-free kitchen.