Dissolving in the kitchen not only frees up space, but also often makes using your kitchen much easier. But like any home project, cleaning the kitchen requires a little prep work before you get started.

After all, even the golden rules of decluttering don’t always ensure that your space is organized according to your needs and the time you have on hand. So, we spoke to two kitchen experts to find out the six questions you should ask yourself before cleaning your kitchen.

Where is the best place to start?

Take a few minutes to think about where you want to start your kitchen decluttering process before you do it – starting it in the wrong place could lead to overwhelm, boredom, or never actually finishing the job.

If you’re the type of person who needs a small win as soon as possible to stay motivated, start by cleaning an area that ends easily, like under the sink or the junk drawer.

If you’d rather get the heaviest parts out of the way first, start decluttering by conquering the pantry or hard-to-reach cabinets on top of the fridge and microwave.

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What can you throw away in the time you have?

Another question to ask before you start is how much you can expect to cut in the time you have. Assuming you can clean the entire kitchen in an hour or two will only lead to frustration.

Instead, try to finish a few cabinets if you only have a few hours, or break them up into smaller parts by trying to clean a cabinet or drawer in thirty minutes each day. Cleaning the entire kitchen will probably take about half a day.

What devices do you really need?

Appliances can be a big waste of space in kitchens when they are rarely used.

“I find that the items that take up the most space are old kitchen appliances from the ’90s that are no longer used,” says Delah Gomasi, CEO of MaidForYou.

Go through every small device you have and try to remember the last time it was used. If it’s been more than a year — and it’s not a particularly expensive or hard-to-find device — consider donating. This also applies to bulky, single-use appliances such as egg cookers.

“I always recommend to my clients to buy all-in-one gadgets and then dispose of the individual items,” says Gomasi.

What’s just taking up counter space?

De-cluttering involves more than organizing and revising what’s in your cupboards and drawers – your worktops should be de-cluttered too. Kitchen counters will be much more useful if they are as clear as possible, except for utensils.

Taylor Riley, founder of Boom. Facility Service Advisors, answers this question by doing “a quick assessment of what I use frequently versus what just takes up space.”

Items that are used almost every day, such as coffee makers and dish racks, can be kept on counters. But appliances that are only used weekly or monthly, such as rice cookers or food processors, should be stored elsewhere.

What food do you need?

Don’t forget to clean out the pantry. It can hide just as much clutter as your cabinets, but the difference with pantry clutter is that it can lead to odors, spills, and even critter problems.

Go through all the food you have stored in your pantry or refrigerator and look for ingredients that have expired or are about to expire. Try to cook soon-to-expire items as soon as possible and throw out expired food.

If you come across large quantities of the same item that will be hard to use over time (“Those dozen cans of canned tomatoes, are you really going to use them all?” says Gomasi), donate them to a food pantry instead.

How can your kitchen work harder?

As you put down all the kitchen items, think about how you use the space—and how you’d like to use it.

For example, would it be much easier to empty the dishwasher if the cabinets near it held all those frequently used items that need to be washed frequently later? Would cooking during the week be simpler if pots and pans were kept next to the stove?

“Items you use every day—like spices or utensils—should have a designated place near your prep area for quick access,” says Riley. “Items that are used less frequently, such as large appliances, can go in closets or storage so they are out of the way.”