Since clearing out my kitchen cupboards recently, I’ve been able to move many of the items I used to keep on the countertop into that newly freed up cupboard space. What a difference it made — my kitchen looks bigger and brighter than ever now!
That got me thinking about other ways I could streamline and achieve my goal of an organized kitchen while making my kitchen both easier to use and nicer to look at. After some research and brainstorming, I came up with 9 practical kitchen organization tips to share with you today.
Check them out and see what you might be able to use in your own kitchen!
9 Practical Tips for a More Organized Kitchen
1. Get Rid of Unnecessary Items
Every good organizing effort should start with an effort to identify and get rid of any unnecessary clutter in the area. Go through your stuff and figure out what you can sell, donate, or give away, which will both reduce the amount of items you have to organize later, and make it easier to do so by freeing up some additional storage space.
(Drawing a blank? This list of kitchen items to get rid of should give you some ideas.)
2. Consider Your Countertops
In many kitchens, countertop space is extremely valuable real estate, so be mindful of how you’re using yours. Avoid cluttering them up with too much stuff — a good rule of thumb is to limit your countertop to items you use every day, and keep everything else in a cupboard, drawer, etc.
For more tips that can help you tidy up your countertops, check out my list of what should be kept on the counter.
3. Store Ingredients in Space-Saving Containers
Store bulk ingredients like flour and sugar in neat, stackable containers and label them so you can easily find what you need. These storage containers have saved me a lot of shelf space in my pantry!
Plus, you can refill your containers by shopping in the bulk section at the store. These items are often quite a bit cheaper than their packaged counterparts, so it’s a smart way to save money.
4. Keep Fruit in a Fruit Basket
Corral produce that doesn’t need to be kept in the refrigerator in a wire fruit basket. Fruit baskets not only allow you to easily see what you have on hand, but they also allow for airflow that will keep your fruit fresh longer — a win-win!
5. Hang Things up on Adhesive Hooks
Use adhesive Command hooks to hang your oven mitts or pot holders somewhere near your oven. This will free up space in your drawers and keep your oven mitts closer to the area where you use them most.
You can also use Command hooks to hang measuring spoons and other small items on the inside of a cupboard door or wherever they’d be handiest. It’s a lot easier than digging for them in a drawer!
6. Use Your Cupboard Doors
Speaking of the insides of your cupboard doors, another way to use that space is to hang the lids to your pots there. You can do this with Command hooks by using two hooks at the bottom to support the lid, along with one at the top to hold it in place.
Cookware lids can be one of those things that take up a lot of space when stored elsewhere, so this could free up some very valuable storage space in your kitchen. (And check out other ways to use Command hooks here.)
More Ideas You'll Love
7. Keep Necessities Close
Set up an area somewhere near your stove to store your most-used cooking items. For instance, I keep cooking oils, a ramekin of salt, and a pepper grinder next to my stove, since I use those all the time when I’m cooking.
You can do the same thing with your coffee-making supplies or other often used items. Arranging them on a nice platter (there are some pretty cute ones at Home Goods!) will help keep them neat and organized.
8. Find the Right Organizers
If there’s something in your kitchen that has become an organizational pain point, do a search on Amazon or Google, looking for “[item name] organizer.” You’ll be amazed at the types of organizers you can find for coffee and tea, underneath your sink, and spices and seasonings.
Finding the right organizer can be a game-changer. For instance, this adjustable rack for pots and pans can be configured in a dizzying number of different ways, making it easy to find the ideal setup for your unique collection of cookware.
9. Think Creatively
There are plenty of items that can help you get organized that aren’t considered “kitchen items,” like pegboard, mason jars, and magnets. Pegboard is highly versatile and can provide additional storage space for all sorts of things.
You can use mason jars to corral and store things, and you can use magnets to turn any metal surface (and some non-metal ones!) into more storage space.
Want Even More Kitchen Organizing Hacks?
- For even more tips and tricks that can help you keep your kitchen organized, check out these posts:
- 9 Simple Hacks That Will Help You Get Organized In The Kitchen
- 7 Clever Hacks To Organize Your Kitchen On The Cheap
How do you keep your kitchen organized?
We stay organized by using large containers to store flour, sugar, etc in the pantry. We use metal dividers in the drawers to keep loose items organized. Could use more containers!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I definitely go through and get rid of things when I’m feeling the clutter. I also try to keep as much as I can in the pantry or in cabinets so my countertops stay clean. I keep sugar in a bin but need to get a few for the different flours I have!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I think I could use a professional organizer..
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I put a file organizer in narrow cabinet to store cutting boards and cookie sheets. Fits perfectly and makes it easy to find and put away
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Any ideas for deep corner cabinets? I have one that is mostly unused because I don’t want to lose canned goods into the black hole. The other is used for rarely used baking items. That is most definitely a black hole.
I’d love to make full use of my storage space, but plumb out of ideas.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Look at this: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/391602130068700935/
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Organization is a challenge for me in the kitchen. I cook every day and we are planning the addition of cabinets on a third wall of our kitchen as well as an island. Our vision is to have the new cabinets just as a baking center. While we are in the planning stage of this project we still needed storage. I found a wonderful 6 ft wooden corner shelf which was from IKEA (but I found it at a thrift store) It holds my sheet pans on the bottom shelf vertically, and my many small appliances and bowls. I have a large but shallow drawer and store my spices lying on their sides so the labels are visible. I keep nearby my stove on tiers small amounts of the very frequently used spices and herbs. Still, staying organized in the kitchen is a challenge.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Great ideas. I am wondering if anyone has an idea about a corner cabinet. It seems like a lot of wasted space and can’t figure what to do with it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Take a look at what I did after 10 years of complaining. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/391602130068700935/
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Some people have mentioned putting lazy susans in the corners, maybe that could help :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I keep my silverware in individual buckets on the counter. one for knives and forks, one of teaspoons and icetea spoons, and one for serving utensils. and I try to sort my utensils in the dishwasher and then just pull them up and dump them back into the buckets.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi! I loved this post! I already implemented most of these tips when I re-did my kitchen last month :) one thing that I had to realize was that there are things that don’t need to be stored in the actual kitchen. My bread machine is not going to be used every day, so I put it in a closet close by. This saved so much space in my cabinets!!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I will admit I have no organization in my kitchen which is why I could use this gift card.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use plastic handled containers that I purchased from Walmart, in my fridge to store like items. One is filled with yogurt sour cream and cottage cheese, one with pickles since we eat many different kinds, and one is the sandwich making basket filled with meats, cheeses, cleaned and ready lettuce, and a small container of mustard. This allows my husband to pull out one item…make his sandwich and return everything to the fridge neat and tidy. Before doing this he would literally stir around looking for all these items, which were actually still all together in one spot. Hubby always puts any returns back on the top shelf and I hate a messy fridge, so when ever I open it I move items back where they BELONG. You would think he would notice that these things are never on the top shelf when he goes back to get them!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I store my spices on “stepped” shelves also, but put them
in alphabetical order–so easy to find exactly what I want.
Also, I added a shelf in the cabinet under the kitchen sink–
Please log in or create a free account to comment.it doubled the storage space available there.
I use bins in my pantry for storage. Loved the spice rack idea and will have to try it!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I added an extra shelf in my upper cabinets so I can fit even more in the same space.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.In our tiny apartment the cabinets are are all too narrow to hold any pots and pans. So I used a tension rod between cabinets and “S” hooks to hang the pans. Another tension rod hung a little lower holds the lids as well. I also use containers for bulk items and have a shoe organizer hanging in my pantry!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use the drink station idea. Coffee, tea, and drink mix ins are all in one location, near the fridge for easy access.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.i recently moved from a kitchen with wide cabinets and drawers to one narrow and smaller. I had to put things not used frequently into plastic containers like extra mugs. Also I took advantage of the drawer under the oven to store baking pans in.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I LOVE tea. I use mason jars to store my teas and have them on a narrow floating shelf on the wall space in my kitchen. Also, in order to keep my organizing supply costs down, I save and grab boxes and cover them with wrapping paper from the dollar store to store and hide clutter in my office/work space. Makes all the difference! Thanks for this post! I love the bins for the deep drawer idea. Will definitely be doing that!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love the idea of hanging the lids on the doors!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use 2 things ALOT! 1 is Mason Jars – I pick up alot thru friends who no longer need them or garage sales. I lover the various sizes and use them to store my dried beans, rice, chocolate chips, etc. Secondly are baskets – I love the functionality of them. You can get the cute chalkboard tags, label them and tie them to your baskets.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It’s love not lover! Sorry – not enough coffee this morning.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I put two tiered carousels in a cabinet to hold my spices, it really helped to be able to see what I have..
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’m currently planning a long overdue remodel of my 1950’s kitchen. Constantly looking for good storage ideas! One thing I do is try not to keep a lot of extra food around taking up precious space.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.After having some repair work under the sink, I had thrown everything under there in a box temporarily. Temporary lasted beyond that time! I found myself buying more of something because I couldn’t tell what I had. One day I had enough and organized by taking everything out and putting all like things together. Then I arranged my under the sink area by sections so that I can find it by a glance and haven’t had to buy anything for months now! And the best part is when I do need something I can find it!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.These are all great ideas and I use many of them. The best cabinet space saver and most user friendly thing we have done, is use a hanging pot rack. If you can find a little space to hang one, it will make your life much easier, especially if you are tall.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I just declutter often, i have too many cook books. Great post.
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