Clutter Control and Storage You Can Buy

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You should go through each drawer and shelf in the kitchen once a year, checking for unnecessary duplications and items that you don’t use. Do you really need more than one melon baller? Have you ever tried the gadget for making radish roses? Discard any canned goods and jars that have passes their expiration dates or are more than a year old. Box up the non-food items you don’t need and put them in a neighborhood garage sale or give them to a friend who’s just setting up housekeeping.

There are many attractive and inexpensive storage containers at home stores. Don’t limit yourself because you can also find great looking organizers at basket stores, craft shops and flea markets. Here are some ideas:

• Plastic bins for fruits and vegetables come in many colors and can be stacked on a counter or the floor.
• A plastic-covered wire roll-around cart can hold anything from dish towels to cookbooks and can be moved from one work area to another or out of sight into a closet.
• A wooden or wire rack installed in a deep cupboard or under a counter suspends stemware by its bottom and saves shelf space.
• A freestanding cabinet with a butcher block top and a cupboard underneath gives you more counter space as well as more storage.
• A folding bookcase can fit in the extra foot of space at one end of a kitchen counter or island and hold a good selection of cookbooks.