The ultimate kitchen spring-clean

Is your fridge full to bursting? Do avalanches of tins fall out of your cupboards when you open them? Now is the perfect time of year for spring cleaning, so here's our five step guide to organising your kitchen like a pro.

1. Make the kitchen shine

First, don a pair of rubber gloves and get your kitchen sparkling! Empty all your cupboards, hoover up the crumbs and give the cupboards a good wipe inside. Whilst you’re cleaning, have a go at your fridge and freezer, so you can reorganise your chilled food too. Once you have a clean slate, you’re ready to start sorting.

2. Organise cupboards and drawers

Your cupboards are empty and clean, but before you start putting everything back, think about how you're going to do it!

∙  Categorise your cupboards and drawers carefully: have one drawer for baking equipment, one for storage tubs and another for dry food.
∙  Use drawer tidies to keep your cutlery organised.
∙  Chuck out-of-date food and donate any in-date food you’ll realistically never use.
∙  Transfer the contents of big bulky packets into smaller stackable containers.
∙  Banish rarely used items to the backs of cupboards and awkward to reach spots.

3. Tidy the sides

If you’re short on cupboard space you’ll have to use the sides for storage too, without sacrificing any of that precious chopping and preparation space. Getting your hands on these useful things will make your life a whole lot easier.

∙  Spice rack: Nobody likes pesky spice jars falling out of cupboards, so keep them all together neatly in a spice rack.
∙  Fruit bowl: Perfect for fruit that continues to ripen after it has been picked, such as avocados, apricots and bananas.
∙  Mug tree: Get your hands on one of these to keep your mugs accessible for your daily cups of tea.
∙  Pot rack: Either wall-mounted or ceiling fixed, pot racks can free up a lot of kitchen space, plus you can easily get at any pan.
∙  Knife rack: These are not only great space savers but also help to keep your knives sharp.

4. Sort the fridge

Are you storing your fridge food in the best way? With just a little reorganisation, you can make your it last longer and reduce the risk of food poisoning!

∙  Meat: Raw meat needs to be stored in clean, sealed containers on the bottom shelf of the fridge, so it can’t touch or drip onto other food.
∙  Fruit and veg: Keep these separately from each other, as they can spoil more quickly if they’re crammed in together.
∙  Dairy: Put your milk at the back of the fridge where it’s coolest, and keep cheeses (particularly smelly ones) in a separate drawer or sealed box. Eggs should stay in their carton to prevent them absorbing the odors of other foods.
∙  Pre-cooked: If you’re saving some of your evening meal, cool it down as quickly as possible (preferably within 2 hours) and put it in an airtight plastic container in the fridge.
∙  Non-fridge foods: Potatoes, onions, tomatoes, bananas and bread often end up in the fridge, but this can make them go off quicker so move these foods to your cupboards and fruit bowl instead!

5. Organise the freezer

Freezers are fantastic for storing everything from ready meals to leftover portions, but if you’ve ever found yourself rooting through the drawers for last week’s curry it’s time to make some changes.

∙  Sort the drawers according to food groups (meat, vegetables, desserts, carbohydrates) so you always know roughly where everything is.
∙  Use food labels on your homemade meals - spag bol and chili look exactly the same once they’re boxed up and frozen!
∙  Freeze food before the use-by date.
∙  Defrost your own food fully before cooking and never refreeze raw meat, poultry and fish.

And there you have it, your guide to creating a kitchen fit for a king, where everything stays fresh and easy to find!