‘Keep it simple, keep it handy’ – top chefs urge you to do these 3 things to your kitchen to declutter like a line cook

Professional kitchens don’t have room for clutter – every tool, pan, and ingredient has to earn its place. Chefs know that efficiency isn’t only about skill or speed, it’s about stripping a workspace down to the essentials.

Bringing that mindset into your own kitchen and organizing a kitchen like a chef can transform the way you cook. By thinking like a pro, you’ll quickly make every inch of counter space work harder.

So, we spoke to two top-class chefs to learn how to declutter a kitchen like a line chef, and which items should be bumped to the top of your kitchen decluttering checklist.

How to declutter your kitchen like a line cook

If you want to pare things back and think like a line cook, it's all about exploring how to be more ruthless when decluttering.

‘It is about creating space for the things you actually use and love,’ Chef Maricel Gentile, culinary ambassador and author, shares. ‘That way, when you cook, you feel prepared, focused, and ready to create something beautiful. What good is it to have that specialty tool if you can not find it when you need it?'

With that in mind, these three decluttering methods can help you create a Michelin-star rated order in your own home.

1. Get things in the open

If you want to pare back your home kitchen, the first step is to try the ‘out in the open’ decluttering rule.

For Chef Maricel, this means keeping everything in a kitchen in clear bins, such as the Our Clear Storage Boxes from The Container Store, to help declutter without making a mess. This way, she says, you can easily see when something is chipped or cracked, or no longer up to the task.

‘Every few months, do a sweep of your kitchen,’ she adds. ‘If something has not been used in months, move it to deep storage. If it still goes untouched by the next round, sell it, donate it, or let it go.’

Chef Steve DiFillippo, restaurateur and owner of Davio’s, takes it one step further, suggesting, ‘If you haven’t touched it in a week, it has got to go. There is no room for fancy gadgets you pull out once a year. Keep it simple, keep it handy.’

If you are not looking to create a perfectly professional kitchen in your home, don’t fret. There are some quick tricks you can try to make a kitchen look organized, even when it’s not.

Maricel shares, ‘The irony for me is that I truly love kitchen wares and gadgets. Because I teach so many cuisines, I collect specialty tools so my students can experience cooking with the real thing. For example, when I teach sushi rice, I use a traditional hangiri (wooden mixing tub) and fukin (cotton cloth) for cooling and seasoning the rice.’ The answer, Maricel says, is to keep all of these items together in just one box (the clear lidded boxes from Target are also ideal), so they are easy to grab when you need them, but don’t take up too much precious real estate.

2. Sort by station

Line chefs work in stations, creating separate work zones for each specific task.

If you are struggling to decide what to declutter, Chef DiFillippo suggests sorting items by ‘station’ (such as food prep tools, cooking tools, plating tools). This can help you to identify duplicates and unnecessary items suitable for donating or selling, and ‘keep the go-to items front and center.’

He adds, ‘It’s not about having a million things; it’s about having the right things so you can work fast and make every dish perfect.’

Investing in top quality can make this easier. Rather than having dozens of peeling non-stick pans, for example, opt for a concise set of professional stainless steel pans, such as the KitchenAid Brushed Stainless Steel Pans from Wayfair. The same goes for the best kitchen knives, opting for one high-quality knife, such as the Henckels Classic 8-inch Chef’s Knife, also from Wayfair, and keeping it sharp.

Struggling to find your key stations? Use the kitchen triangle to establish your main work zones and work from there.

3. Follow FIFO

The final step to decluttering like a line chef is to stop clutter before it starts. It is far easier to be efficient when you are not having to go back and undo your mess on a daily basis.

For this, Maricel recommends the FIFO method. ‘The first in, first out trick is not just for pantry goods as a food storage idea to reduce food waste, but for wares and tools too. This prevents clutter and keeps your kitchen fresh.’

For cabinets, a tiered shelf riser from The Container Store can make this organizing hack more manageable. In drawers, bamboo drawer dividers, from Target, can be helpful.

Of course, bad home habits sometimes rear their head, so Maricel suggests a monthly ‘sharpen the saw’ day, where you go back in and check over your systems and ensure no clutter has slipped in, or items have ended up in the wrong homes.

To really stay on top of clutter, consider a daily professional kitchen closing shift routine, to mimic the pros.

Pro kitchen organizing must-haves

FAQs

How do I decide where to put things in my kitchen?

One of the easiest ways to decide where to put things in your kitchen is to work out where you use them most. Pots and pans are best kept by the stove, mugs near the kettle (if you have one), and crockery near the sink or dishwasher so things are easy to put away when unloading. Try to find homes for everything in cabinets to keep kitchen counters clear.

Really want to boost efficiency? Consider organizing a kitchen for a better morning routine to start the day off on the right foot.