Greet Spring with an Uncluttered Kitchen

In honor of spring's arrival, you've cleaned out the closets, washed windows and rearranged the living room. Hey, don't forget the busiest room in the house: the kitchen.

Of course, start with the refrigerator then move on to five other spots in the kitchen that need your attention:

1. Free up counter space.

• Get rid of the old microwave. Replace it with one that attaches to an overhead cabinet.
• Do you really need stacks of mail, bills and magazines on the kitchen counter? There are entire stores devoted to organizing stuff like this!
• Where's the kitchen TV? If it's on the kitchen counter, there are two better ways: a TV shelf or a new LCD TV that you can hang on a wall.
• Unless you work for the power company, you don't need a blender, food processor, knife sharpener, waffle iron, grill and coffee pot within reach. Put the ones you don't use often in cabinets, the pantry or the garage.

2. Clean out the utensil drawer and consider alternative ways to store knives.
Wusthof, for example, offers four ways: blocks with 7 to 25 slots, an under-cabinet mounted block holding eight knives and a sharpener, wall-mounted magnetic knife holders, and a cutting board with a knife drawer underneath. In addition to hardwood counter blocks and magnetic knife holders, Henkels offers an in-drawer knife tray.

3. Purge the cabinets.
You can probably fill several boxes of rarely used dishes, pots and pans for charity. Add in the hand-me-down knives and the seldom-used electric gadgets, and you've earned yourself a nice tax deduction!

4. Look up.
Your ceiling has great storage potential! A high-quality pot rack adds style, grace, and an organizational heart to your kitchen. Display your finest pots and pans with Enclume's pot racks, available in hammered steel, stainless steel, or plated finishes.

5. Look down.
Trade a little floor space for storage with eye appeal. Create an instant island with a John Boos butcher block table or cart. Make a kitchen corner more functional with a baker's rack or an eight-tier hammered steel cookware stand from Enclume.

Now that you've cleared the clutter and created a more organized kitchen, treat yourself to some quality kitchenware that will last a lifetime. Fill that new pot rack with French copper cookware from Mauviel. And check out Wusthof's renowned forged knives, lightweight one-piece metal knives from Global, ultra-sharp ceramic knives from Kyocera, or stylish knifes from Henckels.

To see these kitchen products and many more, visit www.MetroKitchen.com.