Is your kitchen cabinet and drawer space feeling cluttered and chaotic? Do you struggle to find cooking essentials when whipping up meals? Getting organized can make your kitchen more functional and enjoyable to cook in.
We’ll explore tips to efficiently organize dishes, cookware, pantry items, and all the odds and ends crammed into kitchen storage spaces. From assessing your needs to DIY projects and product recommendations, discover how to create a tidy and ultra-organized kitchen.
Assess Your Kitchen’s Storage Needs
Before diving into organizers and new systems, take time to evaluate how you currently use your kitchen cabinets and drawers. Identifying problem spots and organizational habits (good or bad!) will ensure the solutions you implement target the right spaces.
Take Stock of Current Storage Spaces
Start by conducting a kitchen storage audit. Open all your cabinet and drawer spaces and take stock of what’s inside. As you survey the contents, ask yourself the following questions:
- What areas seem the most cluttered or disorganized?
- Are there items I don’t use regularly taking up prime storage real estate?
- Where do I spend the most time struggling to find items?
- Are my pots and pans hard to access or stored inefficiently?
- Do I have trouble finding lids to match containers?
Make notes about problem areas, prime spots for improved organization, and any kitchen items that seem to wander around without a proper home. This storage audit highlights how you’re currently using the space–an important factor when choosing organizers.
Consider Your Kitchen Habits
Your cooking style, menus, and tool preferences also impact how you organize your kitchen. Do you cook large family meals or quick meals for one or two? Are you a casual cook or serious chef with lots of specialty equipment? Make frequent use of small appliances and gadgets or mostly just pots and pans? The answers to these questions can guide your approach.
If your busy family creates lots of dishes, focus on dish organizers and extra storage for plastic containers. Avid bakers should designate prime real estate for baking sheets and tools. Cooks favoring one-pot meals or air fryers can minimize pot and pan storage. Analyze how you actually use your kitchen to determine optimal organization.
Organizing Kitchen Cabinets
Kitchen cabinets provide abundant storage space, but their fixed shelves and depths often lead to disorganization and wasted space. The right organizers can transform those jumbled cabinets into highly efficient storage.
Clever Cabinet Storage Solutions
Adjustable organizers allow you to customize your cabinets to store items of various shapes and sizes. Here are some top options:
- Shelf organizers: Shelf risers, turntables, and tiered shelves double your usable shelf space.
- Vertical dividers: These partitions neatly divide shelf space for baking sheets, cutting boards, and other bulky items.
- Pull-out trays: Install slide-out trays or baskets in corner cabinets or deep base cabinets.
- Pantry storage organizers: Use drawer inserts, divided turntables, tiered shelving, and other specialty organizers to optimize pantry storage.
Maximize Interior Cabinet Space
Take advantage of empty vertical space on the inside doors of your upper cabinets. Install thin storage racks, bins, or holders to neatly organize items like spices, oils, paper towels, plastic wrap, and more. Mounting these organizers frees up shelf space for other items.
For ultra-narrow spaces like next to the sink or refrigerator, add pull-out cabinet organizers. These accordion-style inserts provide easy access to items that would otherwise get buried in dark corners.
Group Items Together
Storing similar items together in one area saves you from rummaging through every cabinet while cooking. Consider dedicating spaces for:
- Dishes: Install dish racks or plate holders to neatly store dinnerware.
- Pots and pans: Use lid racks, pan dividers, and vertical organizers to arrange cookware.
- Food storage containers: Corral lids in a lid rack. Use turntables or tiered shelving to neatly stack same-size containers.
- Appliances and gadgets: Designate a cabinet for small appliances, like a toaster or mixer, with extra outlets installed inside.
Get Organized Drawers
From utensils to office supplies, drawers cram in all the odds and ends. But with some handy organizers, you can keep even the junk drawer under control.
Top Drawer Organizers
Customize drawers based on their contents using options like:
- Cutlery organizers: Opt for in-drawer wooden or plastic trays with built-in utensil compartments.
- Divided trays: Use these shallow trays to neatly corral cooking gadgets, office supplies, or health and beauty items.
- Spice drawer organizers: Use risers, mini shelves, or tiered drawers to organize spice bottles.
- Adjustable dividers: These movable partitions allow you to resize compartments as needed.
Organize Junk Drawers
Don’t forget about organizing oft-neglected spaces like junk drawers. Use shallowpartitioned trays to neatly group like items, such as batteries, light bulbs, pens, rubber bands,Take inventory of contents and regularly clear out unused items.
Deep or Large Drawers
For organizing expansive drawer space, look for tiered drawer inserts, narrow vertical dividers, adjustable bins and compartments. These organizers allow you to break up the space into smaller, more manageable storage zones.
Clever Storage for Tricky Spaces
Awkward corners, narrow gaps, and other tricky spaces often end up housing a mess of rarely used items. But with some clever organizing, these spots can provide usable storage space.
Blind Corner Organizers
Take advantage of challenging blind corner cabinets with Lazy Susans or dual swivel cabinets that maximize accessibility. Or install pull-out corner organizers built specifically for blind corners.
Above the Fridge Cabinet
The cabinet above the fridge collects dust and random items. Use it to neatly store small appliances, cookbooks, or infrequently used dishes. Install pull-down shelving for easy access without climbing on counters.
Under the Sink
Keep cleaning supplies organized under the sink with caddies designed for this narrow space. Use removable buckets and trays to corral spray bottles, sponges, and cleaning brushes.
DIY Kitchen Cabinet Projects
With a little DIY spirit, you can create custom organizers tailored to your unique kitchen needs. These projects allow you to add storage right where you require it.
DIY Wood Organizers
Build your own wooden storage helpers like riser shelves, drawer dividers, specialty trays, or slide-out organizers. Cut plywood or lumber to size and follow simple construction steps. Sand and stain to match existing cabinets.
Repurposed Organizers
Before buying new organizers, look for potential solutions already in your home. Repurpose everyday items like:
- Empty glass jars or tin cans for utensil storage
- Egg cartons, boxes, or ice cube trays as drawer dividers
- Mesh produce bags, shower caddies, or over-the-door racks for extra storage
Painted Organizers
Add a pop of color by painting or stenciling patterns onto simple wooden trays and boxes. Use chalkboard paint to create customizable organizers you can label with chalk.
Shopping for Kitchen Organizers
Ready to invest in some new kitchen storage helpers? Here are smart shopping strategies for choosing organizers.
Places to Buy Organizers
Browse organizer options online and in stores:
- Big box stores: Mass retailers like Target and Walmart carry a wide selection of storage products at affordable prices.
- Hardware stores: Shop locally or browse online at stores like The Home Depot for cabinet inserts, racks, and specialized organizers.
- Kitchen supply stores: Stores specializing in kitchen wares, like Bed Bath & Beyond or Sur La Table, offer lots of drawer inserts, racks, and trays.
- Online: Take advantage of free shipping and lower prices when ordering organizers from e-tailers like Amazon, Wayfair, or Overstock.
Choosing Materials
Kitchen organizers come in a range of durable materials:
- Metal: Sleek wire organizers often come with adjustable shelves and drawers.
- Wood: Classic wooden organizers complement most decors and work well for DIY projects.
- Plastic: Durable plastic withstands grease and stains while providing visibility of contents.
- Acrylic: Transparent acrylic organizers are shatter-resistant.
- Bamboo: Eco-friendly bamboo organizers are stylish, sturdy picks.
Measure First
Avoid buying organizers that don’t actually fit your space. Carefully measure the specific cabinet or drawer you want to organize. Note the length, width, and height. Measure the interior depth as well.
Set Your Budget
Inexpensive organizers often run under $10-$15 while larger cabinet inserts can cost $50 or more. Set a realistic budget and know you can tackle organizing in stages if needed. DIY options also help save money if you’re willing to put in some handiwork.
Habits for Staying Organized
Consistency is key for maintaining an organized kitchen long-term. Adopt these daily habits so the chaos doesn’t creep back in.
Maintain a Routine
Build time into your weekly routine for brief kitchen organization tasks. For example, spend 10 minutes one evening a week decluttering cabinets and organizing an area that needs attention. Maintaining organization doesn’t mean marathon weekend projects.
Always Put Items Away
Cultivate the habit of immediately returning items to their designated homes after using them. Leaving things out on the counter or tossing back in cabinets randomly leads to clutter.
Regularly Declutter
Over time, disused items inevitably still collect in kitchens. Every two to three months, purge unused or expired foods from the pantry and kitchen drawers and cabinets. Donate extra dishes and cookware.
Use Labels
Labeling shelves, bins, containers, and dishwares makes it easier for everyone to keep items organized in their proper homes. Use free printable labels or DIY chalkboard labels.
From installing cabinet inserts to optimizing drawers, this guide provided tips to organize every corner of your kitchen. Clear out clutter, invest in handy organizers specific to your storage needs, and adopt habits like decluttering and putting items away to maintain order.
If you have a strategic organization, you can gain back wasted space in your kitchen and find what you need. No more ransacking cabinets when cooking. Get inspired to unleash the full potential of your kitchen storage using these ultimate tips!
