The kitchen is the heart of the home, and arguably the most important room for your health. How you organize this space can have a surprisingly powerful impact on the healthfulness of your diet.
Case in point: Research shows a strong link between the home environment and obesity: kitchens with fewer fruits and vegetables (as measured by researchers during home visits) are linked to higher rates of obesity for the owners of those kitchens.
And a cluttered kitchen may increase feelings of stress, which for some can lead to stress-related eating behaviors, such as overeating.
An organized kitchen, on the other hand, can make eating well a simpler, more enjoyable task. “When your kitchen is tidy and organized, it’s easier to see what you have, plan meals, and prepare food quickly,” says Alexia Zolis, RD, a registered dietitian in Toronto.
From kitchen storage solutions to cleaning hacks, here's how registered dietitians recommend setting up your space for a healthy eating routine.
1. Choose Tools You’ll Actually Use
Audit your existing kitchen tools and gadgets. If you haven’t used something within the last year or so, it might be time to toss or donate it. Tools you use daily, weekly, or monthly, on the other hand, should stay within easy reach.
Once you’ve removed excess tools and gadgets, consider whether there are any you’d add to make food preparation and storage easier. For example, countertop appliances like rice cookers and air fryers can be good options for creating quick, healthy stir-fries, meat dishes, and casseroles, says Ashley Lombardi, RDN, a registered dietitian-nutritionist in Clinton, New Jersey.
Whichever tools you feel deserve real estate in your kitchen, store them where they're easy to grab. “You want to keep these tools easily accessible, such as in a low cabinet in your kitchen or in the drawer under your stove, rather than a high cabinet or a separate room, to remove any barriers to using them,” says Alissa Palladino, RDN, a registered dietitian-nutritionist in Atlanta.
Be careful about leaving too many on the kitchen counter, to keep your space from looking and feeling cluttered, Palladino notes.
2. Keep Less-Healthy Foods Out of Sight
The saying, “out of sight, out of mind,” applies well to foods that are ultra-processed, low in nutrition, and high in calories, salt, sugar, and fat. “Most people tend to eat what's in sight — the ‘see-food’ diet, as they call it,” says Helen Tieu, RD, a registered dietitian in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Rather than putting sweets, chips, sodas, and other less-healthy foods where they’ll immediately catch your eye, store them in harder-to-see, harder-to-access places. The bottom shelf of the pantry and the back of the pantry or the fridge are often good options. You can even take things a step further and store candy and cookies in opaque containers.
3. Put Healthy Foods on Display
Putting nutritious foods in plain sight is an excellent way to organize your kitchen to encourage healthy food choices.
Lombardi recommends keeping a well-stocked fruit basket on the kitchen counter to encourage intake. Research finds that school-age children who have access to a fruit bowl at snack time are more likely to reach their target of five fruit and vegetable servings per day than kids who don’t have access to a fruit bowl.
Even behind the closed doors of the refrigerator, the proper organization can make you more inclined to grab healthier foods. “My recommendation is to have fruit and veggies at eye level in the refrigerator, instead of in the drawers. This way they don’t get lost and forgotten,” Lombardi says. Store them in airtight, transparent containers that showcase their rainbow of colors.
4. Keep the Freezer Stocked With Healthy Foods
Despite their reputation for being unhealthy, many frozen food items — such as vegetables, fruits, grain blends, and some meats — are just as nutrient-dense as their fresh counterparts.
In fact, older research shows that the vitamin content in eight common fruit and vegetable products was comparable to, and occasionally higher than, that of the fresh versions.
Still, some frozen foods can be high in sodium and sugar. So, read nutrition facts labels to get a sense of a frozen food’s nutrient content and choose options with little to no sodium or sugar listed.
Once you’ve stocked up on frozen foods, keep each food category organized in designated areas of the freezer. This way, you’ll know where to look when seeking frozen berries for smoothies or frozen chicken for dinner.
5. Keep the Pantry Uncluttered
To avoid a cluttered pantry, organize items by category. For example, this might look like keeping snacks on one shelf, canned goods on another, and sauces or condiments on another.
Stock your pantry with healthy, shelf-stable foods, such as whole-wheat or chickpea pasta, oats, nuts, seeds, and low-sodium canned beans, sauces, and nut butter, Palladino suggests. Keep these foods in easy-to-reach areas and less-healthy snacks and sweets out of sight to encourage healthier choices.
6. Keep Smaller Dishes on Hand
Eating from smaller plates and bowls may help you feel satisfied with less food. “Smaller dishes trick your mind into thinking there's more food than if you were to put the same portion on a larger plate,” explains Amy Brownstein, RD, a registered dietitian in San Francisco. Older research supports this: People who ate from smaller plates rated their satiety levels higher than those who ate from larger ones.
Worried you won’t get enough food at mealtime if you switch to smaller dishware? Brownstein encourages keeping tabs on hunger and fullness while eating to assess whether your portions are adequate.
7. Keep Your Spice Cabinet Stocked
Dried herbs and spices can help you add flavor without relying too heavily on salt. They can also make otherwise-lackluster healthy foods more palatable, which may encourage you to eat more of them. But if your spice cabinet is a jumble, finding the right flavor can become a headache.
Brownstein recommends storing dried herbs and spices in a tiered spice rack. Stash the ones you use most often on the bottom row for easy access, or arrange them in alphabetical order or by flavor profile.
8. Make Cleanliness a Priority
Whether it’s deep-cleaning each Saturday or tidying up as you cook, keeping your kitchen clean makes it more inviting, Tieu says. “Make it enjoyable by listening to music, a podcast, or an audiobook while cleaning the kitchen,” she suggests. “Cleaning with a family member can also speed up the process and make it a more enjoyable experience.”
A clean and organized space will boost your productivity in the kitchen. Research indicates that clutter leads to lost time, poorer mental health, and more negative emotions. So, declutter counter space as much as possible. Keep any equipment you don’t use often — such as blenders, toasters, or measuring cups — stored in cupboards and drawers so they’re out of sight, Tieu suggests.
The Takeaway
Kitchen organization is a crucial strategy for promoting healthy eating habits.
A well-organized, clean kitchen stocked with nutritious options promotes healthy eating habits.
Try storing healthier foods in plain sight (and keep less healthy ones hidden), clean regularly, keep your kitchen uncluttered, and eat off smaller plates.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Dakanalis A et al. The Association of Emotional Eating with Overweight/Obesity, Depression, Anxiety/Stress, and Dietary Patterns: A Review of the Current Clinical Evidence. Nutrients. February 26, 2023.
Zeinstra G et al. Strategies to Increase Primary School Children's Fruit and Vegetable Intake During 10am Snack Time. Appetite. August 2021.
Bouzari A et al. Vitamin Retention in Eight Fruits and Vegetables: A Comparison of Refrigerated and Frozen Storage. Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry. January 2015.
Fresh, Frozen or Canned Fruit and Vegetables: All Can Be Healthy Choices. American Heart Association. October 9, 2025.
Peng M. How Does Plate Size Affect Estimated Satiation and Intake for Individuals in Normal‐Weight and Overweight Groups? Obesity Science & Practice. June 2017.
Rogers CJ et al. Home and the Extended-Self: Exploring Associations Between Clutter and Wellbeing. Journal of Environmental Psychology. February 2021.
Reyna Franco, RDN, is a New York City–based dietitian-nutritionist, certified specialist in sports dietetics, and certified personal trainer. She is a diplomate of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and has a master's degree in nutrition and exercise physiology from Columbia University.
In her private practice, she provides medical nutrition therapy for weight management, sports nutrition, diabetes, cardiac disease, renal disease, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, food allergies, eating disorders, and childhood nutrition. To serve her diverse patients, she demonstrates cultural sensitivity and knowledge of customary food practices. She applies the tenets of lifestyle medicine to reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve health outcomes for her patients.
Franco is also a corporate wellness consultant who conducts wellness counseling and seminars for organizations of every size. She taught sports nutrition to medical students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, taught life cycle nutrition and nutrition counseling to undergraduate students at LaGuardia Community College, and precepts nutrition students and interns. She created the sports nutrition rotation for the New York Distance Dietetic Internship program.
She is the chair of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine's Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist Member Interest Group. She is also the treasurer and secretary of the New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, having previously served in many other leadership roles for the organization, including as past president, awards committee chair, and grant committee chair, among others. She is active in the local Greater New York Dietetic Association and Long Island Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, too.
Sarah Garone is a licensed nutritionist, registered nutrition and dietetics technician, freelance health and wellness writer, and food blogger in Mesa, Arizona. She has written for TheWashington Post, Healthline, Greatist, Verywell, and Eat This, Not That, among other outlets. She is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
