"The Home Of The Year contest Committee really does not care whether we spend time together," my wife said. She headed toward kitchen in search of iced tea, nearly tripping over a bag of clothes along way. "They just want to see a spotless house with all classiest decorations."

Who needs paper, anyway. Little Lady found a blank spot on wall, and started applying her green crayon.

"Well, that might make a good House Of The Year, but a home is a place to live in. It needs to exude love and comfort, not cleanliness," I said.

Apparently, I was still clueless. "Homes of year never exude love, and certainly not comfort," she explained, picking up a copy of Good Housekeeping from floor. "They are showcases of a woman's ability to keep a house in immaculate condition with absolute precision ... despite presence of a male creature around."

Ouch. Little Lady gleefully switched to red crayon. "Well I don't know anything about keeping a house tidy, but if that's what magazines want, why don't they call it The Janitorial Olympics?" I asked.

"I don't know. Maybe it's too hard for them to spell," my wife replied, smiling. "But they don't, so just get used to reality. We simply do not have even slightest, tiniest, most minuscule hope of ever winning Home Of The Year contest."

By then, Little Lady had drawn three stick figures on wall. "My home," she shouted, running to give Mommy a big hug.

I didn't need a magazine to tell me we already lived in home of year. And if dust doesn't kill us off first, we will live there every year.

The other method we will list is painting method. This is a great method to use if you are a creative type, and also if you have children who have difficulty putting things where they should. Simply acquire several different colors of paint ( surface depends upon what type paint. Please use your best judgment), and a paintbrush. After grouping your items, look at and evaluate your space available. Make out a map of sorts, and be sure to leave room for future accommodations. Once you have decided in your mind or on a sheet of paper where everything will go you can do one of two following things. First you can simply paint lines around areas where certain groups will sit. For instance, draw a square line in corner of cabinet exactly where your spices will be. You can ,make lines straight, wavy, dotted, curly...whatever your imagination desires! Then after letting paint dry, place items in their designated areas. The other way of doing this is to paint entire area in instead of just drawing lines. This can be a lot more challenging, but also a lot prettier. Imagine for a moment, opening a pretty white cabinet with brass handles, and finding inside painted with four different pastel colors, each having its own group of like minded items. Very pretty indeed! In fact, if you are an artist, you can paint any type of motif or design for a specific category.

Now, while you are doing this there are several things to keep in mind. First, remember to clean out shelves while you have everything out. Secondly, there will be several things you find that you know won't be used...get rid of them. Thirdly, you probably will find several items that just won't have a category of their own. For this you can make a "misc" box or section, or else place it in a different room or area.

I hope these ideas will help you to create kitchen of your dreams, and to find things easier in meantime. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions.