If the kitchen is the heart of your home, then making it an inviting, comfortable space that functions well should be a priority. But how? What can you do to make it more peaceful? How do you make it function more efficiently? Here are a few tips that can help:

1) Get rid of the clutter. Clutter creates visual confusion. Go through everything in your kitchen and decide whether you use it and love it. If it doesn’t meet these criteria, it’s clutter! You may find a dish set you don’t use anymore, glasses that don’t match, duplicate cooking utensils, or small appliances that were a good idea at the time.

2) Assign homes to items. The biggest secret to an organized kitchen (or any space) is to assign homes to every item. Choose a zone for everyday dishes, preferably near the dishwasher for easy unloading. You may want glasses near the refrigerator to make them convenient for drinks. If you bake a lot, set up a baking zone with flour, measuring cups and mixing bowls, etc. If you have children, set up a lunch-packing zone.

3) Designate a “landing strip.” When you or your family members arrive home, you need a place to put your keys, coats, shoes, backpacks or briefcases. Create a landing strip by setting up shelves, baskets, a small table and/or hooks for each family member to unload their goods upon arrival. It will make finding things in the morning easier, too.

4) Group like items in your pantry. Use clear shoe boxes or baskets to divide and conquer pantry clutter. Put canned vegetables together in one box; place your jarred sauces in another box. Group your pastas. Snacks can have their own shelf. Then, label every container and shelf so your system will be set up for success.

5) Contain your mail and papers. Create a desk area or countertop file box to aggregate all the papers that come into your home. Eliminate 90 percent by discarding envelopes, unwanted catalogs and junk mail. Then, group like papers into action files or trays, such as To pay, To file, To call, and To read. Set a regular time to review these files.

Keep things organized by taking 15 minutes a day to return items to their homes. Remember to involve family members in this new habit that will benefit everyone. Once you get rid of the clutter and assign homes to items, you are on the way to a more peaceful and functional kitchen that you can enjoy.

© 2013 Laura Ray Organizing, LLC