Examine what you have pulled out of the cabinet and analysis the contents. Ask yourself, ¡°What was I predominantly using this cabinet for: food, storage, plates, or cleaning supplies?¡±

Think about the layout of your kitchen and the placement of this cabinet in relation to everything else. Ideally, what would you want this space best be used for?

Using these two pieces of information, decide on a use for the cabinet and commit to it. Of the three categories, if you have designated the space as food, try to specify the cabinet down further. Instead of just having a mesh of food there, try to specify it to ¡°cans¡± or ¡°spices¡± or ¡°dry goods.¡± When you have made the decision, place a little sticky note on the front of the cabinet that has the correct label so you can remember as you go through your kitchen.

Wipe down the inside of the cabinet and the shelves before your replace items. Start with a clean slate!

Replace the items that you pulled out of the cabinet with items that match your decided cabinet criteria.

Organizing your cabinets is also a great time to clean out your cabinets. As you consider putting items back into your cabinet, ask yourself, ¡°Do I need this item? Have I used it in the past six months?¡± If the answer is no, then ask yourself if the item can be donated to charity or to a food pantry. Don¡¯t just throw away items that can be used/reused. You can make a great contribution to your local charity organizations through you r donation!

Leave the items you didn¡¯t replace and didn¡¯t put into your charity/throw-away piles on your counter and move to another cabinet using the same process. It may be helpful to cluster the items into the main groups (cleaning products, food, storage, plates) so that you can add them to the appropriate cabinet once it is decided.