How to Organize Your Kitchen

Which area of your house or apartment is in the greatest need of organization right now?

For me, the area of need is my kitchen. I moved into my apartment 5 months ago in a hurry, when I started a new job. I only had one day to unpack all of my stuff, so I kind of just threw things into drawers and cupboards with little to no rhyme or reason. The way I put away my kitchen contents can be a pain when I’m cooking or baking. The kitchenware and ingredients I’ll need for a given recipe are scattered throughout my kitchen. When I put away groceries each week, I just stick them in whichever cupboard they fit into. However, now that I have a lot of spare time because of the social-distancing-to-flatten-the-coronavirus-curve thing, I decided to take the time to organize my kitchen.

De-cluttering and organizing your kitchen might seem like an overwhelming project. It might take you a whole afternoon, or even an entire day, to complete the task. But once it’s done, you’re set! That investment of time and energy will pay off in the years to come. You won’t waste money by buying duplicate kitchenware or ingredients because organization will help you take stock of your kitchen contents more easily. Assigning places for food items in your fridge and pantry will keep your groceries from getting lost from sight and going unused. In the long run, that could cut down on food waste.

A well-ordered kitchen saves you valuable time. You won’t waste time searching for things or struggling to figure out which cabinet to throw stuff into. Organization will make the workflow of your cooking and baking sessions more efficient. This will, in turn, help your mealtimes to go more smoothly. The time that you save in the kitchen can be used to enjoy your partner, socialize with friends, or do whatever you enjoy!

I did some research on the best method for getting a kitchen in order. A person’s work style and preferences will play a major role in determining how to store items in their kitchen. However, there are general tips that anyone could benefit from, regardless of their style. I’ve taken what the experts have to say and summarized it into 8 suggestions.

1) Take Everything Out

Empty everything out of your cabinets and drawers and go through it all. Yes, it is necessary! We tend to get stuck on how we have things set up, which limits our ability to re-imagine our space. Emptying out your kitchen storage area will help you re-imagine how to set up that space.

Set up separate spots on your kitchen floor for your “keep”, “discard”, and “donate” piles. Discard or donate kitchenware and ingredients that you don’t frequently use, are damaged/broken, or have in duplicate. The goal is to only keep the things you love and will use in your kitchen.

2) Group Like Items

Put similar or related items together when you’re organizing your kitchen. Grouping like with like could be literal; take pots and pans for example. Nest your pots together and stack your pans together. Things can also be organized more broadly, like grouping all your cooking items separate from your baking items. Other groups you can form are: dishes you eat from, glassware, utensils, and so on. Put related appliances together. For example, you might find it helpful to group your immersion blender with your hand mixers. Do you have 4 different types of peelers? Store them together instead of scattered throughout your kitchen.

Tupperware is a major kitchenware group that people tend to need to get in order. Sort through your containers and discard the ones that are damaged or don’t have their matching lid. To keep your tupperware organized, store each container with its corresponding lid. Or, stack the containers to save room and keep all the lids in a large container so they stay together.

A Note About Seasonal Items

When you’re organizing your kitchen, group together items that you only use during the holidays, certain seasons, or special entertaining occasions. These items could include baking tins, grilling equipment, or serving pieces. Since these things are only used a couple times per year, or only during certain times of the year, make sure that they aren’t taking up too much space. From what I’ve read, it’s recommended to limit the storage space of seasonal items to about 1/5th or 20% of kitchen real estate. If the items you’re only using occasionally are taking up more space than that, sort through them to determine what you absolutely have to keep in the kitchen. The rest can be stored in another area of the house or discarded/donated.

3) Decide Where Each Group Should Go

This is a key step in organizing your kitchen. If you’re wise about where you store your items, you’ll save valuable storage space and simplify your kitchen sessions. Here are some tips for deciding what should go where:

cooking and baking items should be kept close to where you do food prep
keep utensils in the drawer nearest the food prep area
store glassware near the sink or fridge (close to your source of water or where you store beverages)
if you’re a coffee or tea lover, set up a station for yourself to avoid going back and forth across your kitchen for the things you need. Stock your station with sugar, mugs, filters, etc and make sure it’s close to a water source

store tupperware down low. Let’s face it, we all know what ends up happening when containers are kept up high: we open the cupboard door, chuck the container inside, and quickly close the door, hoping we beat the tupperware avalanche. And the cycle of tupperware disorganization continues. Storing containers in a low drawer or cabinet makes it easier to put them away, nice and organized
save your highest shelves for seasonal items. Since you use them less frequently, they can be kept in the spaces that are harder to get to. Use the areas that are easier to access for the items you use day-to-day
if you have a small kitchen and storage space is tight, try keeping appliances on top of your fridge. For example, you can use that space for your microwave or blender. If you have an especially tall fridge, you can easily find a cheap step stool at a dollar store or similar outlet
keep pots and pans in one designated area of your kitchen. If you have a deep pull-out drawer, it makes a great storage area for pots and pans. You can just pull out the drawer instead of squatting down to a low shelf to pull up a heavy pot. If you have a lot of pots and pans and run out of shelf space, you could keep them on a wire shelving unit. (Don’t have room for one? Go to suggestion #5.)
prevent your pot and pan lids from getting jumbled up and lost by using a lid organizer. You can buy one from various sources like Ikea, Walmart, or Amazon. A cheaper option is to store them in a large plastic container or durable cardboard box

4) Invest in Organization Products

There are some excellent products out there that will help keep your cabinets, drawers, fridge, and pantry organized. Set yourself up for success by using tools that’ll help you get your kitchen in order and maintain that order. If your budget is limited, don’t worry. The items below can all be found at locations such as Dollarama, Walmart, or Dollar Tree. There’s no need to spend large amounts of money. In fact, you don’t even have to spend any money at all! I’ll give some examples of ways you can re-purpose items you have around the house for storage solutions.

I’m going to cover the major organization products that I saw mentioned repeatedly while doing my kitchen organization research. There are a bazillion products on the market. Use what makes sense for your kitchen. And remember that you’re trying to cut down on clutter - only buy the things you know for sure that you’ll use.

Containers, Containers, Containers

The organization experts seem to agree that containers are the MVP of kitchen organization supplies. They come in all shapes and sizes and can be used to hold pretty much anything. Group together the various packets you have floating around your kitchen (ie: sauce mixes, hot cereal, baker’s yeast) and stick them in a plastic container or wicker basket. You can use a rectangular container to store your tiny boxed items that tend to get jumbled, like pudding mix or gelatin. Other kitchen items that can be stored in containers include pot/pan lids, cooking & baking ingredients, tupperware, utensils, and knickknacks in your junk drawer.

If you’re able to afford purchasing containers, it’s recommended that you buy clear ones. They’re best for kitchen storage because you can easily see what’s inside them. However, items you have kicking around your house can also be used to store things. An old vase can be re-purposed to hold your cooking utensils. You can give a second life to shoe boxes or boxes from appliances and toys. If you’re in need of something cylindrical, you can re-use jars (of the pickle or peanut butter variety), oatmeal tins, icing containers, and the like.

If you decide to re-purpose items for storage, have fun with it! You can dress up old containers with wrapping paper. Or give some boxes to your kids to decorate with crayons and stickers. Break out your hot glue gun and get wild. Use this as an opportunity to incorporate your style into your kitchen.

Lazy Susans/Turntables

This space-saver can be put to use anywhere in your kitchen, from your pantry to your dinner table. Use a lazy Susan to get your oils, vinegars, and/or spices organized. Put a turntable in your fridge to help prevent food from getting hidden in the back and spoiling. For example, if you store containers of leftovers on it, all it takes is a quick spin and you know what needs to be eaten up. Your fridge lazy Susan could also be used for jars (pickles, olives, sauces, etc) and various beverages. That way, you’ll be able to grab what you need more easily, instead of having to reach into the depths of your fridge, knocking things over and shifting them around as you try to navigate your jar jungle. Keeping your fridge organized will make whatever you’re doing in the kitchen go smoothly: cooking, setting the dinner table, making grocery lists - everything!

In addition, turntables are a good tool for keeping bottles of vitamins and medications in order. And you’ll save precious space on your counter top or table.

Drawers Dividers

Drawer dividers allow you to assign a specific spot to each of your kitchen items so that you can always find them whenever you need them. Not only can they be used to sort various cooking and baking utensils, they’re also handy for getting your junk drawers in order. We all have those drawers that we use to keep our miscellaneous things, but they don’t have be overflowing with chaos! Using a divider will prevent things from getting out of control and will help you find that doodad you’ve been saving when you need it.

Paper Sorters

This one could technically have gone in the “Containers, Containers, Containers” section, but I feel like papers are a separate battle. Papers can quickly pile up: coupons, takeout menus, notepads, mail. They might be accumulating on your counter top, table, or the doors and sides of your fridge. Getting the papers in your kitchen organized saves space for storage and gives your kitchen a less cluttered appearance. Restoring order can be as simple as buying or re-purposing a basket to use for your paper pile. You might want to buy a magnetic sorter box, that has multiple sections for each type of paper, to hang on the side of your fridge. Or, if you’re crafty, you could make your own sorter out of cardboard or wood.

5) Make Use of Vertical Space

This is especially important if you’ve got a small kitchen. It can be very challenging to get all your things stored and still have space for meal prep and food storage. If you’re facing this problem, the wall is your best friend. Any vertical space that you can use to hang something equals horizontal space that’s freed up for other things. For example, you could install a small wire rack on your wall to hold spices. Hooks are another indispensable tool. Adhesive hooks can easily be found at hardware stores and even at some dollar stores. Attach them to walls or the inside of cabinet doors and use them to hold aprons, measuring tools, oven mitts, and other kitchen gadgets.

When you’re shopping for containers, containers, containers, you might be able to find wire baskets with hooks on them. These will help you take advantage of vertical space. You can hang the basket on a cupboard door and use it to store anything you’ve run out of room for. For instance, you could keep your dish soap and scrubbers in a hanging basket instead of on the counter.

Even if you don’t have a small kitchen, you might be struggling to get your kitchen organized because you own a lot of a certain item. Have a lot of wine glasses? Get yourself a stemware rack to mount on the wall. Don’t know what to do with your mug collection? Install a shelf or creatively arrange some hooks to make your own mug display.

And don’t forget about the ceiling! You can use a ceiling rack to hang pots, pans, and other kitchen items.

6) Labeling

Using labels when you’re organizing your kitchen will help you maintain all your hard work. Since you’re already taking the time to neatly arrange the contents of your kitchen, why not take a bit more time to label where things should be stored? Labeling is especially helpful when you have multiple people going in and out of the kitchen. If you’ve got roommates, a partner, kids, and/or live with your in-laws, labels can help ensure everyone is held accountable to keep the kitchen organized.

While it’s not necessary to have a label for absolutely everything, you might want to prioritize certain things. Maybe everyone in your household uses a certain appliance a lot, like a blender. You can label where the blender should be kept after it’s been cleaned so everyone knows where to find it when they want a smoothie. If multiple people do the grocery shopping in your household, having labels in your fridge and pantry will help keep those spaces organized and assist everyone in keeping track of ingredients. Also, labeling snacks can cut down on confusion and conflict between family members or roommates.

Even if you’re living alone, using labels can help you maintain organization. Labels are a visual reminder of the homes you’ve set up for different kitchen items. Using them enables you to keep your kitchen in order, even when your schedule gets hectic.

7) Clean Out the Fridge

While you’re organizing your kitchen, give your fridge a deep clean to clear out items that have gone rotten or expired. When you’re emptying out your fridge to take stock of what you’ve got, that’s a good time to give it a good wipe-down. Clean out any spills or crumbs that have accumulated. This initial clean will get your fridge tidied up. If you want to maintain that organization, it’s important to sort through your fridge on a regular basis. A convenient time to do this is the night before trash day. That way, after you’ve cleaned out your fridge and thrown out expired food, you can take the trash straight out to the curb.

Regardless of the day you choose to do your weekly clean, taking the time to do this task will save you time and money. By keeping on top of expired food and messes each week, that will prevent you from having to do another major clean out down the road. Sorting through your fridge will make you aware of what you have. This helps you know what food needs to be used up, which cuts down on food waste. It also keeps you from buying ingredients you already have.

You can make clean up easier by keeping trash bags near you garbage can or putting a stack of loose bags into the bottom of the can. When you take the trash out, new bags will already be waiting there to be used.

8) Shop Your Kitchen

This tip isn’t part of the initial kitchen organization process, but it will help you keep your kitchen organized long-term. Before purchasing new ingredients or kitchen items, take a couple minutes to check out what you have in your fridge and cupboards. Maybe you’re trying a new recipe or stocking up for the week. When you’re making your shopping list, make sure you don’t already own the things you thought you needed. You might’ve forgotten you have certain items because you only use them occasionally or seasonally.

Shopping in your own kitchen before shopping at the store will prevent you from wasting time, money, and adding more clutter to your space.

In conclusion, if your kitchen is looking like this…

Hopefully these suggestions will get it looking like this…

Happy organizing!

References:

Bauer, Anna. (2019) How to Organize Kitchen Cabinets By A Professional Organizer. BuzzFeed Nifty. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jb9k77qPqS8> Accessed April 14, 2020.

HGTV. (n.d.) 10 Steps to an Orderly Kitchen. Home and Garden Television. <https://www.hgtv.com/design/rooms/kitchens/10-steps-to-an-orderly-kitchen> Accessed April 14, 2020.

1) Take Everything Out

2) Group Like Items

*A Note About Seasonal Items*