By employing the right design skills and better organizing your kitchen, it can be surprising how much extra space you can create. Before you make any changes, it is important to assess how well your kitchen works now. Make a rough sketch of where everything is kept. You may find answers to why you never have a place for your recycling or why you can never find the right size casserole dish when you need one. Ask yourself a lot of questions. For example, is it best to have your dishwasher right next to your kitchen sink, where you can pre-rinse dishes under a running tap, or is it inconvenient having to walk right across the kitchen to put clean dishes away? Next, look at changing what is not working for you. If you are struggling for worktop space, consider investing in a kitchen island. Would a hanging saucepan rack create more space in your cupboards as well as an attractive visual display, or would you worry that utensils would become dirty more quickly? Look at your storage space and be practical. If you only use your cake tins once or twice a year, would it be better to store them in a box in the attic? If you have plenty of cupboard space, but not enough shelving, think about adding some shelves to your cupboards. Set up a labeling system, to prevent unidentified frozen left-overs from clogging up your freezer and keep a running list of spices and other goods that you need to replace. Lastly, implement your new system and try it out for a month. If it works well, reward yourself with the purchase of a new piece of kitchen equipment and give yourself a pat on the back.