How to Organize Your Kitchen
12th Nov 2015
Kitchens are notoriously challenging to keep organized. Large shopping trips or dinner parties can throw the delicate balance of clean organization into disarray.
An organized kitchen is one which makes both preparation and cleanup run smoothly. It’s no fun to hunt for equipment or ingredients for just as long – if not longer – than the time you spend cooking.
When you’re spending hours trying to just keep your kitchen structured, it may be time to look into how to organize your kitchen!
Tips on How to Organize Your Kitchen
Everyone’s kitchen is set up differently depending on usage, preference, and need. If you have a small kitchen, then the tips below will be especially helpful to assist you in making use of empty vertical space!
Generally speaking, you want to make sure that frequently used objects are easily accessible. This may be your favorite cooking utensils or equipment, ingredients, or both.
Likewise, place items in places which everyone in your family (except sharp objects and young kids) can easily access so that things will be returned to the right location.
Kitchen Organization Ideas
The kitchen may be a single room, but there are plenty of sub-sections of your kitchen which can easily become disorganized. Here are some ideas to keep your ingredients and equipment in place!
Refrigerator
- If your refrigerator doesn’t come with inbuilt divides or drawers, make your own! It’s easy to find plastic bins at your local home or dollar store, and these can store everything from sauces to sandwich fixings to vegetables.
Appliances
- Store your less-frequently used appliances in cabinets or in the closet to keep your countertop space clean and clear. Regularly used appliances like coffee makers, tea kettles, or toasters are best to leave on the counter to save you time during the day!
Cabinets
Your cabinets can do a lot of organization work for you – it’s just a matter of how you use that extra space! There are plenty of options, including:
- Drawer dividers
- Stackable shelves
- Wire filing racks for baking sheets, pans, lids, and cutting boards
- Place small items into bins or baskets within your cabinet; this way you can just pull out the bin instead of digging through the whole cabinet to find what you are looking for.
Plastic Storage
- Don’t over-collect plastic storage boxes. Every so often, inventory your collection and remove any which are broken or missing lids.
- Organize your plastic storage using separated bins, boxes, or wire filing racks to keep them orderly and in one place.
- Alternately, attach the lid and base prior to storage to keep your storage together when not in use.
Make Use of Empty Space
- Vertical storage is a great way to use empty space, especially for bottles and cans
- Install or find a use for existing corner cabinets or shelves
- Hang utensils instead of keeping them in drawers or on the counter
- The back of cabinet doors can easily converted into a pin board for recipes, or used to hang kitchen gadgets
- Pots and pans take up a lot of room when stacked inside your cabinets. Hanging them makes use of the empty space above you and opens up storage room.
- Stacking is your friend! You can either purchase additional shelves or use hanging baskets to give yourself double the room.
- Install an under-sink tension rod to store spray bottles under your kitchen sink. This will give you plenty of room to keep sponges, scrub brushes, and more beneath your hanging bottles!
DIY Kitchen Organization
You don’t have to hire a professional to organize your kitchen! You can keep your kitchen organized without breaking the bank by using a little creativity and some household items.
- Install shelves for extra horizontal storage space
- Use wooden or plastic crates to store small or loose items. These can be stored under cabinets or on shelves when not in use.
- Install specialized organization equipment like slide-out organizers to optimize your cabinets’ storage space.
- Use items you already have to maximize countertop storage options, including: old ice buckets, mugs, jars, baskets, etc,.
- DIY Lid Storage Rack: Use a wire dish drying rack to keep your lids organized. Just flip the dish drying rack upside down, and you’ll have a handy wire rack and basket! This can be modified using wire and pliers to adjust for baking sheets, pans, pan lids, etc,.
- Pantry Storage: Attach plastic or metal sink caddies to your pantry wall using Velcro. They can then be used to store bags, packages, soup mixes, and other small items!
- Magazine Racks: Magazine racks are perfect to store your tin foil, saran wrap, parchment paper, and storage bag boxes! Simply attach them to your walls using Velcro, nails, or screws.
Kitchen Organization Options at Linen Store
Linen Store has plenty of kitchen organization options to help keep your kitchen tidy and clean! Check out our options here.
There are countless ideas to keep your kitchen organized. You’ll be able to enjoy the preparation, cooking, and cleanup process far more when you aren’t digging around for hard-to-find tools or ingredients!