Whether you’re considering putting your Portland home up for sale or you’d like to keep your new year’s resolution to have a tidier house, the kitchen is a good place to start with upgrades and improvements. The kitchen is the heart of the house, and it should be both functional and attractive. Before rushing out to buy new appliances or compare paint chips, start with decluttering. Go through your cabinets and donate or sell appliances and dishes you don’t use. When you can easily access the items you use on a daily basis, everything is going to run more smoothly.

You probably have special occasion or seasonal dishes or linens you use to decorate your Portland home. These items should be stored apart from the everyday things, but if they’re all together, you can pull them out for the next big dinner party without a fuss.

Once your kitchen is purged of unused clutter, sit down and think about the flow of the room. Where do you do food prep? Keep knives, cutting boards, mixing bowls and measuring cups close by. Do you have your pots and pans, stirring spoons and spatulas within easy reach of the stove? Are dishes near the dining table? Organizing dishes and tools so that they live near where they’re needed will streamline cooking and serving.

If you are planning to spruce up metro Portland real estate with a big kitchen facelift, come up with a design concept and palette to help organize your shopping. Try to keep appliances in one finish. Pick a paint color that highlights the color of your dishes. When you’re updating the kitchen for the purposes of selling the house, keep things fairly neutral to appeal to a broad range of tastes but don’t be afraid to have some fun with colorful towels or a statement clock.