Your kitchen might be considered the engine of your apartment in New Jersey. It’s used multiple times a day and pushes out food to feed an army. But sometimes, as a result of its utilitarian nature, it gets neglected when it comes to tidying. Of you course you clean your kitchen frequently, but when’s the last time you decluttered it? With summer winding down and school starting, your kitchen needs to be at peak performance. Here are some tips for getting organized for the impending heavy-cooking season.

Look at Layout

Chances are, you moved into your apartment in New Jersey a while ago and just started shoving things into cabinets in a flurry of move-in necessity. But have you ever revisited where everything lives? Re-evaluating where your items live in the kitchen and doing a little bit of reorganization can make the flow and functionality a little bit better.

Don’t Get Overwhelmed

Not everyone has an entire day or weekend to dedicated to reorganization. But it only takes 15 minutes to make a difference! Start small and focus on one thing at a time. Neglected pantry? Go through it and toss anything that’s past date. Organize all the dishes in your cabinet by how much you use them. Tupperware taking over your cabinets? Cull the collection!

Set a Time Limit

If you are going to spend a day reorganizing the kitchen at your apartment in New Jersey, set a time limit for yourself. Most attention spans these days are shortened and you’ll lose steam. Make a plan for what you want to get accomplished and set a time limit for each section. Don’t get lost in reading the ingredients of an exotic tea blend that you picked up in SoHo three years ago. Set time limits and let things go!

Starting the busy fall season with a fresh and organized kitchen is key. So, take a few hours and evaluate the functionality of your apartment in New Jersey – your family and your sanity will thank you!