We love beautiful kitchens, but we know that an eye-catching and well-organized kitchen makes homeowners fall in love. Great kitchens are as much about function as they are about style.
To achieve organization in the kitchen, start with a blank slate (we have tips on cleaning your kitchen here). Once you’ve cleaned and culled through piles of kitchen items, it’s time to put them back in a thoughtful, organized way.
Here are our top ideas for kitchen organization:
- How to organize pantry items
- If you have multiple items, store them in labeled baskets or boxes.
- Store grains, flour, and loose seeds in jars.
- Store like items together (for example, put the pasta on the same shelf as the sauce; store condiments and sauces next to each other).
- How to organize kitchen cabinets and drawers
Remember that the layout is essential. We suggest picking cabinets for dishes and glasses since they are everyday items. Store these in the spot that is most accessible from and closest to the dishwasher. Once you organize these items, it’s easier to pick a place for everything else.
If space is a challenge, consider storing dishes and glassware you infrequently use elsewhere in the house.
Store pots, pans, and similar items as close to the stove as possible.
Splurge on custom cabinetry organizers for tricky spaces, such as custom corner cabinets, drawers with pegs to separate storage, or an overhead pot rack for easy access.
Add durable, pull-out cabinet organizers for bulky items like pots, pans, cooking sheets, and cutting boards.
How to organize kitchen drawers
Store items based on usage. If you don’t use it daily, store it in the least convenient spot, leaving suitable storage spaces for the items you use most.
Decide what needs to be stored in the kitchen. You can free up storage space by moving items you only use once a year (like holiday-themed cookie cutters or specific servers) to another storage area in your home.
How to organize kitchen utensils and small appliances
You probably already use drawer organizers for silverware. Still, our favorite solution for managing kitchen drawers is to use drawer organizers for more oversized items like spatulas, whisks, and measuring cups. The easier they are to see, the easier they’ll be to grab as you cook.
Your island or peninsula is your food prep station, so use them to store the cooking necessities. Any small appliances like a food processor or blender will most likely be used at the prep station. Keeping silverware here is convenient, too– as meals are put on plates, forks are easy to grab, and knives are ready to be used.
How to organize decorative elements
Beautiful hand-painted vases, seasonal candles, glass art, or fresh flowers make your kitchen unique– but they can also make it cluttered. Incorporate only the items you love most, and donate or store the rest. When you include only a few pieces, you allow each to stand out and create a lighter, roomier feel in the kitchen.
Instead of filling your kitchen with assorted decor, consider switching items out seasonally to keep things minimal and fresh.
Use these kitchen organization tips as a guide to consider how to organize your kitchen cabinets so that you create a space that feels good to cook, bake and eat in — and is gorgeous, too.