Kitchen set-ups often dictate the tone of the moments that make up our home lives—from the kinds of breakfasts grabbed during the morning rush to how often a home-cooked meal makes it to the table. Whether you’re starting afresh in a new place or you’re ready for a re-do of your current space, here’s how to organize a small kitchen so that rather than creating a Pyrex-wrangling, pots-and-pans banging mess out of you, it serves you.

If there's ever a time to reduce stress and engage in tasks that give a sense of "calm or release, it's now.

Your space—and therefore, you—will enjoy a little perk-up.

When there are stacks of canned food on usually-cleared-off counters, and makeshift work stations in the middle of the living room, it can bombard you with an uneasy feeling that things are out of place.

Emily's kitchen provided an "Aha!" moment for how I could get my kitchen counters looking cleaner.

It's so overwhelming that you don't even know where to start. This is when you need a strategy.

Kitchen cabinets tend to get messy. But the cabinet under the sink has its own unique way of becoming a cluttered cave of castoffs.

Get ahead of that new year "I must get my house in order" bug.

With nothing to lose but a couple bucks, I brought them home and now I'm completely hooked.