Bring some calm into your life by getting organised in the kitchen. There's no need to spend time hunting for that elusive jar of spice or rummaging through the cupboards to find that spatula you know you have somewhere. With a simple declutter to begin with, you'll see how straightforward it is to sort out your kitchen storage with our simple tips and tricks. Even if your space is limited, there are so many ways to make it work better for you.

Get all your dried herbs and spices out of the cupboard and check the use-by dates. Old herbs and spices will have lost their flavour, so throw out any which are past their best. Whole spices keep better than ground ones – for example, coriander seeds will keep their aroma longer than ground so bear this in mind when shopping.

Once you've sorted out your herbs and spices, invest in a shelf riser, which is a small, tiered shelf unit. Especially handy if you have narrow cupboards, you'll be able to see all of your herbs and spices at a glance, and they are quite inexpensive to buy.

Haul out your pulses, legumes, rice, cereals and pasta. Check the use-buy dates. If you have small amounts of pulses left in a packet, for example, put them all together to make a hearty soup. Think about storing them in glass jars which can be stacked to maximise your space and to easily see what's in there.

Decant your flour and sugar into large glass jars or plastic containers, then label them. You'll always know how much you have in the cupboard, and there'll be less mess from the odd hole in the packets. You certainly don't want a trail of sugar on the shelf, come warmer weather and ants.

Go through all your crockery in the cupboard. If you have any chipped or cracked items, break them up to use as extra drainage for your garden pots. Have you discovered items you don't use or just don't like? Start up a box for a charity shop.

If you have space in a dining or living area, move the crockery and vases you don't use on a daily basis to free up space in the kitchen cupboards.

Time to sort out that mountain of food containers, matching up lids and boxes. We don't know either, why we all end up with boxes with no lids, or lids with no box. Anyway, a box without a lid is handy for storing cleaning items under the kitchen sink or use as a container in the cupboard for sticky jars such as honey, jam and treacle. It's easier to clean a box than a whole shelf. You can even buy a food container drawer organiser, which has racks for the lids.

Have a good sort out of all your kitchen equipment. Put all those gadgets you never use into the box for the charity shop – be ruthless. It's also a moment for you to take stock and to see if any items need replacing.

Pan lids are the most annoying piece of kitchen kit to organise. You try to stack them nicely, only for them to come falling down with a bang. Buy a pan lid organiser to make life easier. You can even buy expandable ones which fit into a drawer or cupboard. They also work as storage for chopping boards and baking trays.

If you have a kitchen island, it's worth having a hanging rack installed above it to store all your pans and free up masses of cupboard space. It's also a great place to hang bulky items, such as sieves and colanders. It will also add a rustic feel to your kitchen as a design element.

Install a rail above your hob to create extra space for hanging kitchen utensils. Hang the items you use most. It's great for large spoons and bulky utensils such as sieves and colanders.

Storing sharp kitchen knives in a drawer is not a great idea in terms of safety. It's far too easy to cut yourself looking for the correct knife. Free up space by installing a magnetic strip on the wall to store knives, palette knives and carving forks. If you don't have space for that or can't do it, find a space on the counter for a neat knife block.

If your worktops are cluttered and you are short of space, a kitchen trolley on wheels could help. They come in all shapes and sizes, some with drawers and a couple of shelves. If your kitchen is small, look for a narrow one. You can also find ones with a solid wooden top, which act as an extra chopping board.

Your piping nozzles and cookie cutters should be stored all together, as they can be easily lost in a drawer. Just sort them all out into stackable plastic boxes, then you'll always know where they are.

Move the oil and vinegar out of the cupboard and into ceramic containers, which you can store next to the hob for easy use. Olive oil spoils quickly if exposed to light, hence ceramic is a good option. Plus, it looks really neat too.

Wherever there's a spot to add a hook, go for it. It's amazing how much cupboard space you can free up by having somewhere else to hang utensils. Even on the sides of cupboards or inside doors, make every bit of space work for you.

Magnetic strips are not just useful for knives, but perfect to store any magnetic utensils you may have, like metal ladles, spatulas and fish slices. You may have a space on the side of a cupboard which you could use for this.

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If your work top space is limited, and full of clutter, move items all together into a deep tray. It also makes cleaning your work top easier and quicker. You can put all your wooden spoons into a container, to free up drawer space, plus you have them to hand while you are cooking.

You may not have room for a kitchen island with a hanging rack above, but if you can free up some wall space, fix a sturdy rail or two where you can hang pans from butchers' hooks. Look for solid curtain poles or have steel rods cut to size.

If you have deep shelving in a cupboard, look for under-shelf storage stackers. Rather than piling up pans and cake tins, you'll make more use of the space and each item is easy to find and remove when needed. Wire shelf risers are a good buy for shelving units, to add extra storage space.

Shallow pans, such as frying pans, sauté pans and griddles, can be compactly stored in a small stacking shelf unit next to the hob. You'll have them readily to hand, and this option is really useful if you have heavy cast iron pans which are heavy to pull in and out of drawers.

When you are stuck for cupboard space, make the most of a wall. Add shelving where you can and put hooks underneath the shelves to hang utensils. You can buy magnetic shelving with metal jars, which just click on underneath.

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Kitchen drawer dividers aren't just for knives, forks and spoons. Look for expandable dividers which you can adjust to fit odd shapes of other kitchen utensils, to make everything organised and easy to find. 

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If your high kitchen cupboards don't reach the ceiling, make the most of that unused bit of space to store dishes you don't use that often. Or if space permits, add a row of rectangular baskets to store smaller items and special occasion table linen.

You want to have the items you use most to hand, so make a strategy for your storage. If you don't bake that often, put cake tins in a high cupboard. Store pans next to your cooking area, with the utensils you use most. The same with your food storage – you may want breakfast goods at a height where everyone can grab them, with the ingredients you use less on a higher shelf. 

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