Are You Ready for the Allrecipes Kitchen Organization Challenge?

Serious question: In the last week or so, have you gone to put away the evening's dinner leftovers and found yourself frustrated with your current tupperware set-up — either because finding a matching container + lid combo is a chore on its own or because merely opening the tupperware cabinet is a treacherous feat, given that you just never know what may avalanche out of it? (I'm not speaking from personal experience or anything.)

If you answered no, let me pose another query: Does accessing your large stock pot from the depths of some cabinet take more time and muscle than you might like? And when it comes down to dry goods, wouldn't you like to actually know where to reach in your pantry when you need a can of tomatoes for a recipe, ASAP?

Now, if you answered YES to any of the above, what if I told you that in another week's time, you could be looking at a completely different space? Not just the junk drawer or that one entirely out-of-control shelf in the pantry…I mean the entire kitchen. And when I say, "completely different," I mean organized, functional, and pleasing to the eye. Interested?

Look, the kitchen is one of the hardest working rooms in any household, and if you've ever struggled with pulling yours (or any area of yours) together, you're far from alone. In fact, that's why professionals exist. And it's exactly why we partnered with Brittani Allen — the CEO and founder of Atlanta-based home organization firm, Pinch of Help — to bring you the Allrecipes Kitchen Organization Challenge.

We're calling it a challenge, not because any portion of it is terribly difficult, but because it requires your commitment. (And as we all know, making the commitment to see any project through is often the biggest hurdle.) So here's the deal: This week-long plan, fueled by Brittani's extensive organization expertise, homes in on one organizationally problematic area of home kitchens each day of the week, providing strategies to whip the given area into tip-top shape. Your part comes down to reviewing Brittani's advice and applying one of the expert approaches provided in your own kitchen. The beautiful thing about it? Most of Brittani's solutions require an hour or less to see through. (But don't worry, She saved a couple of projects that you can invest more time into for the weekend.)

Pause, just imagine that. Obviously, we're all busy and generally distracted, but if you can carve out about one hour or even two per day, for only ONE WEEK (seven days…consecutive or not, you choose!), you could very much transform the heart of your home. As in, an acclaimed home organization virtuoso is about to provide you with a step-by-step guide to making your kitchen less chaotic and more functional, beautiful, and streamlined. Yes, it may sound too good to be true, but hey — it's true!

We're covering everything from cabinet space crunching to formulating more functional cooking utensil storage. The thing to keep in mind is that you can make this challenge entirely your own; dive in with the days that feel relevant to your kitchen, and bypass those that don't. Apply the strategies and tips as you can, even if that means waiting until next weekend to take on Wednesday's "challenge." And if all seven days feel applicable to your home (Hi, the editor behind this project is right there with you), you can really, fully embrace the organizational makeover process each day and be finished after one solid week — OR you can take the wisdom provided, order the products recommended, and tackle the individual segments of your kitchen on a timeline that makes sense for you. It's your home, after all.

The long and short of it is this: The entire challenge is all about making your kitchen a space that serves you well, and a space that you legitimately enjoy spending time within. Again, this is the reason we teamed up with such an incredible talent, someone who has made a true art of creating spaces people love to live in. Decluttering and de-stressing is Brittani's primary mission, and she accomplishes it roughly 100% of the time. How?

Well, as a wife and mother to two teenagers (and a puppy, no less), Brittani understands the struggle. "The reason I do this job is because I was the one who needed it most," she says. "It used to be so hard for me to keep up with my house because I was cleaning all the time but I was never organizing, and so when I truly learned to declutter and organize, it actually changed my life. And then, you know when something changes your life, you wanna tell everyone about it."

As we've learned through this collaboration, having a master like Brittani — someone who genuinely understands where you're starting from — on your team, makes all the difference. So join us in the challenge, you can find all of the day-by-day breakdowns below.

Besides a little clutter, what do you really have to lose?

The Allrecipes Kitchen Organization Challenge

Day 1

Junk Draw Makeover: You'll need less than an hour to make the cluttered, chaotic junk drawer a thing of the past.

Day 2

Tupperware Tetris: It's a simple strategy for organizing your food storage containers, but the impact on your kitchen's functionality is profound.

Day 3

Fridge Fix: Organizing your fridge to be more functional (and beautiful) does not mean setting the bar at pristine Pinterest perfection. In fact, professionals would advise against that; here's why.

Day 4

Pots and Pans Master Plan: It's almost too easy to be true.

Day 5

Utensil Storage Solutions: An overflowing cooking utensil collection is all too easy to amass, but with a few pro pointers, it can be nearly as easy to organize.

Day 6

Complete Pantry Empowerment: It might sound daunting, but don't even start to sweat it — the queen of pantry organization herself has crafted your step-by-step plan.

Day 7

The Cabinet Space Revelation: As it turns out, you may have more kitchen cabinet space than you ever realized.