It’s been said that the kitchen is the heart of the home. You probably spend a good portion of your day meal prepping, cooking, and cleaning up after each meal. However, that time can increase dramatically if you’re struggling to find what you need. Kitchen organization can make cooking meals much more enjoyable. As the busy fall season arrives, you’ll be glad you used the tips below to get this beloved space of your home in order.

Have a place for everything

If there were a golden rule for organizing a kitchen, it would be this: have a place for everything, even for the items you don’t use every day. When everything has a place, it’s easy to reach what you need and keep track of what you need to replace. Here are a few strategies for storing commonly forgotten kitchen items:

Dispense plastic bags
Opening your cabinet door to an avalanche of plastic bags can be frustrating. However, you can dedicate a place for them inside your cabinet door or on the wall by installing a mounted stainless-steel bag dispenser.

Contain your containers
In a typical kitchen, food containers tend to be thrown into or stacked haphazardly in cabinets, which makes searching for a matching lid feel impossible. To combat this, use an organizing system like this expandable food container and lid organizer. You can finally feel good about finding the perfectly size container for your leftovers.

Keep the essentials visible

Saving time in the kitchen means less time cooking and cleaning and more time enjoying your meals. Instead of storing frequently used items away, keep them visible and ready to use; doing so will also make it easier for guests to find kitchen essentials.

Separate your cooking tools
Do you use the same countertop utensil holder for all your spatulas, whisks, and serving spoons? It’s better to use a divided cooking-tool organizer that allows you to separate your tools based on material or type of tool. You can grab the right tool in a pinch or see all the options and decide what would be best to use for a particular recipe.

Make your olive oil and spices accessible
Most people use a generous amount of olive oil and spices while cooking, so it makes sense to keep them within arm’s reach of the stovetop. To make things easier on yourself, invest in an olive oil dispenser for easy pouring while cooking and a countertop lazy Susan so you can spin it to find the spice you need.

Divide drawers and cabinets

If you find yourself putting items in the wrong place and searching for them later, it’s time to rethink your kitchen’s storage.

Fit all your utensils
Most people have an organizer in their utensil drawer, but these organizers don’t always fit everything and can get dirty quickly. This bamboo organizer is durable and easy to clean, and it expands to fit your entire drawer, maximizing how many utensils you can store.

Clean up your cleaning supplies
Spills and other messes are bound to happen in the kitchen. That’s why it’s important to store your cleaning supplies in a convenient place. Most people keep their sprays and wipes under the sink, but it can be difficult to reach the back of an under-sink cabinet. You can make items more reachable with a two-tier under-sink organizer. If you use one that has wheels and hooks, you can double your storage space while reducing the strain on your back caused by bending down.

Maximize counter space

Counter space is precious kitchen real estate for preparing meals. That’s why you should keep it as clear as possible by using these tips.

Utilize your walls
When you don’t have a lot of surface area to work with, think vertically instead. Make simple additions and swaps like a magnetic knife strip instead of a knife block and a wall-mounted paper towel holder instead of a free-standing holder.

Bring in baskets
Mail and other miscellaneous items will inevitably end up on your counters. Set out a basket to consolidate these objects instead of having them take over your kitchen. Go through the basket once or twice a week, and get rid of anything you don’t need. Move everything else to an appropriate place in your home.

Keep your fridge clean

Let’s face it, fridges are hard to keep clean. When life gets busy, keeping your food organized isn’t always top of mind. The solutions below can help you take the thinking out of keeping your fridge tidy.

Use food storage bins
Utilize food bins that can compartmentalize your refrigerated foods—from eggs and soda cans to condiments and veggies. This set of organizers can help you get started.

Routinely toss expired items
Set a weekly reminder on your phone to go through your fridge and throw away anything that has expired. This will help you keep track of what you need to purchase at the store and create more space for additional items.

Organizing your kitchen with the right products can help you take control of this essential part of your home.