They say that the average person spends three years of their life in the kitchen. But that might not always be a good thing if your kitchen is a disaster area that’s full of dirty dishes and clutter. No matter the size of your kitchen, it’s important to keep in it order so you or your family can cook like a well-oiled machine and maybe even enjoy your time doing it! How? Well, start with these five brilliant hacks that will keep your kitchen running efficiently and looking organized.

The trick to a chef-worthy kitchen is keeping everything where it can be easily accessed, but where it stays out of sight. Everything should have a home and space should be utilized creatively.

These five storage tricks will help you do just that:

1. APPLIANCES

The pain about basic appliances like toasters, toaster ovens, blenders, and microwaves is that they take up so much working counter space in your kitchen. Plus, unless you sprung for the gorgeous design appliances, they probably look kind of clunky.

An elegant way to keep your necessary appliances at the ready but also hidden when they need to be is by storing them in a closet. You will have to have a powerpoint installed somewhere that will power the appliances in the cabinet, but it’s a small price to pay for this great solution!

2. THE PANTRY

The problem with this heavily used kitchen space is that the deep shelves often make it difficult to reach items in the back…especially when you have to juggle the items up front while you’re doing so. A great solution is to turn the shelves into drawers, so that each shelf can be pulled out individually and everything on that shelf can be accessed.

3. THE CORNER CUPBOARD

This cupboard is literally dreaded. Is there any other part of your kitchen more awkwardly shaped than the corner cupboard? It’s impossible to get the items in the back of the cupboard in the small opening and feeling around blindly in that weird space is useless.

The solution? Transform the corner cupboard with a lazy Susan! You can get one for each shelf in the corner for a few dollars at the hardware store and instantly make everything in the corner cupboard accessible.

4. POT STORAGE

Pots and pans can get clutter SO easily. Before you know it, you have a tumbling mountain of pots banging on your floor. To avoid that mess and racket, try installing a few retractable racks that your pots and pans can hang from. Then you can pull out the racks and easily select which pot or pan you want, without the risk of knocking the entire stack over.

5. UNDER THE SINK

Another notoriously awkward space, finding cleaning products under the sink is extremely difficult. Like your pantry, it’s best to install some custom drawers for cheap. You can put them in to purposefully navigate around the awkward plumbing and bring everything under the sink within arm’s reach.

Do you have a clever way that you’ve made your kitchen more efficient? Share it in the comments section below.