How to Organize Your Kitchen

Clean up the clutter for a better functioning kitchen

As the heart of your home, your kitchen is a busy and hardworking room. It’s also the place where you store all the cookware, utensils, dishware, flatware, gadgets, food, and cooking essentials needed to plan, prepare, and serve your daily meals. With so many items stored in one place, it’s easy for the kitchen to frequently becomes a cluttered mess that’s no longer functional or enjoyable in which to work or cook. Getting your kitchen organized is an ongoing journey. If you feel your kitchen is disorganized and the clutter is becoming out of control, it doesn’t have to stay that way. Here’s some tips for storing items and turning your kitchen back into a tidy and functioning space.

Conquer Drawer Clutter with Dividers

Ever try to open a kitchen drawer only to find it jammed closed by some wayward utensil? The kitchen junk drawer—that catch-all drawer where you stash your odds and ends—is notorious for becoming cluttered to the point it won’t glide open. Thankfully, you can conquer the mess by separating the drawer into convenient compartments by using dividers or inserts to better organize items into easily accessible categories.

Add Hooks and Racks Inside or Under Cabinets

Make your cabinet doors do double duty by using them to organize your pantry and kitchen. Install hooks, racks, or bars on the inside of your cabinet doors or under upper cabinets to hang mugs, pans, lids, or dish towels out of sight and still in easy reach. You gave extra storage without using valuable shelf space. You can attach the racks, hooks, and organizers using screws, Command adhesive strips, or magnetic attachment if mounting on metal surfaces.

Keep a Functional Flow with Moveable Storage

If you’re tight on cabinet space, moveable storage options that offers flexibility is a great solution. Rolling carts give you extra space to store items throughout your kitchen and can be relocated as needed. Some kitchen carts also double as convenient islands for food prep, while others can be used as bar carts for mobile entertaining.

Maximize Cabinet Space with Organizer and Storage Containers

A variety of storage containers will help you literally keep a lid on clutter. Canisters and utensil crocks give you quick access to cooking and baking essentials without hunting through cabinet shelves. Lazy Susans, pull-out shelves or bins, tiered shelf racks, and other cabinet organizers can help you maximize the space you have and make it easier to find the items you are looking for. Consider clear containers for storing food products on shelves and in cabinets. Clear food containers such as Lock & Lock brand will also help keep items fresher, visible, and free of accidental cross-contamination.

Hang Pots Overhead

Busy cooks need quick and easy access to their cookware. Get those pots and pans out of the cabinets and hang them overhead using a pot rack. Ceiling mounted racks work well hung over a kitchen island in a central location. They not only provide functional storage, but look great as part of your kitchen’s décor. Wall-mounted racks for pots and utensils work great in pantries or on walls without cabinetry.

Stack Items Vertically

Save space by stacking some items vertically. Use dividers to hold sheet pans, cookie sheets, and pot lids stored upright in cabinets to utilize space more efficiently. You can also fold kitchen towels and table linens and line them up vertically in drawers instead of stacking them horizontally to save space.

Organize Tea Packets in a Drawer

Instead of filling a cabinet with bulky cardboard tea boxes, store your tea packets and coffee pods in a drawer. You can use drawer dividers or bins to organize them which works well to keep your tea and coffee selections in full view.

Keep Plastic Bags Neat and Tidy

The most organized kitchens have a spot for everything. Having a designated spot for plastic bags will help you keep them from creating a mess. A plastic jar or container makes a clever and compact storage solution for holding those leftover plastic grocery bags to keep them handy for use when needed.

Organize Your Refrigerator/Freezer into Zones

Give more thought to where you store food in your refrigerator. Some areas of the fridge work better for certain items. Keep items you use most often at eye level where they’re easily seen. Milk and other perishable items should be stored on the lower shelves or nearest the freezer where they will be kept cooler. If everything is kept in a specific spot, you spend less time scanning for items and be better able to keep track of when something needs to be restocked or tossed when it has expired.

Add a Command Center to Your Kitchen

Keeping track of grocery lists, schedules, calendars, important papers, mail, and task lists is easier with a command center. Some can be as simple as a cork board or chalkboard while other have built-in holders for paper items, hooks for keys, and even charging ports for your personal electronics. These wall-mounted organizers are great to have in a busy kitchen on a wall, outside of a cabinet, or even inside on a cabinet door.

With a little bit of thought and creativity, you can get your kitchen organized with room to store everything you need. Tackle the trouble spots first, then sort and declutter areas as needed. Soon your kitchen will be neat, functional, and an efficient space to cook.