Although we may have just endured our fourth nor’easter, we have now officially moved into spring—a great time to clean out that kitchen. Here is your to-do list:

PANTRY

Pull out all of your pantry food items.

Take written note of what you have and make a list of all the “holes” in your pantry arsenal.

Dispose of expired items.

Wipe down shelves, jars and cans with a warm damp cloth.

Return items to a place where it makes sense for you, keeping the most used and opened items toward the front for easy access and for quick inventory before making a grocery store run.

Keep overstocked items in one location so you can shop first in your home and manage your inventory more efficiently.

REFRIGERATOR/FREEZER

Start with the freezer, remove all items to your sink, defrost if needed and wipe it down with food-safe cleaner.

Take note of what you have and the dates.

Discard old and freezer-burned items.

Return items, keeping items with the nearest expiration toward the front as a reminder to use soon.

Repeat above steps with your fridge, paying attention to those condiments.

Add reusable fridge/freezer refreshing products or boxes of baking soda to keep the smells down and contained.

TOOLS

Pull out all of your cookware, utensils, food storage items.

Take note of everything and assess your use of it in the last year. Could your kitchen use the space your unused bread machine is taking up?

Get rid of broken, melted and warped items, scraped nonstick (Teflon) pans/pots, plastic non-heat-resistant utensils, non-functioning appliances.

Replace all remaining items in a place that works for you and with your flow through your kitchen. Cramped for space? Use your walls to hang pots, pans, knives and most utensils.

IMPORTANT TOOLS TO HAVE

A good 6-inch to 10-inch straight edge chef’s knife.

Measure your prep area/countertop in your kitchen where you will chop and try to get the largest board for that area. Short on space? Don’t overlook covering your sink or the top of your stove with the appropriate sized board. Supplement your big board with plastic flexible cutting mats, for easy daily cleanup and transfer of chopped items to a bowl or pot.

Buy good quality pots and pans now and you will have them for a lifetime. Buy a starter set then supplement as needed. Add at least one sheet pan, lasagna/casserole/roasting dish, too.

Basic utensils: at least one 12-inch wooden spoon, a whisk and spatula for flipping (both nonstick), a silicon spatula for mixing, set of at least 3 mixing bowls (plastic or glass), hand strainer, colander, can/bottle opener, measuring cups (for both dry and liquid measuring) and spoons, a good vegetable peeler, box grater and microplane, hand juicer or reamer, a masher and tongs for nonstick surfaces (both short and long).

Stay warm and good luck!

Happy eating and thanks for reading!

Kysha Harris is a food writer and editor, culinary producer, consultant and owner of SCHOP!, a personalized food service in NYC for more than 15 years. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram, @SCHOPgirl, on Facebook, /SCHOPnyc, and her blog, www.talkingSCHOP.wordpress.com. Questions? Comments? Requests? Feedback? Invitations! Email AmNewsFOOD at AmNewsFOOD@SCHOPnyc.com. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @NYAmNewsFOOD and tag us with #SoAmNewsFOOD with your food finds!