Kitchen Organization Tips and Ideas

Sharing Kitchen Organization Tips and Ideas that have helped me organize my kitchen so that it really works for me.

I am a little sheepish to admit that 18 months later, we are still settling into our ‘new’ home. When we built our last home, we planned it knowing what would go where and how it would be decorated, not so in this home.

Granted, we have been distracted by any number of things over the past year and a half. But in all honesty, it has taken me this long to figure out what I wanted to do in this new-to-us home. Decision making is not one of my strong points; just ask my college girlfriend, who learned early on never to invite me to Baskin-Robbins! I mean, 31 flavors! Who can choose just one, or two, or three!

Anyway, I am slowly making progress and even have some rooms that I would consider DONE! Well…I guess one room I would consider done…the Kitchen. But I am **this** close to having several other rooms wrapped up as well.

Back to the kitchen; I finished the remodel/redecoration last summer but didn’t really tackle the organization. So when I jumped into the Declutter Challenge this month and re-homed a few things, it was also a good time to focus on the kitchen organization.

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Kitchen Organization Tip #1: Pay Attention to Where You Work in the Kitchen and Have the Tools You Frequently Use Close By

I slowly realized that the way I organized the kitchen when we moved in really wasn’t working for me. I tend to work at one counter and noticed that I regularly use tools while working that there were scattered throughout the kitchen instead of right where I needed them.

One of the first things I did was create a little drawer organization and moved the items that I commonly use at this counter to the drawers right under the counter.

Then I moved the items I commonly use for baking (bowls, sifter, flour, sugar, baking powder/soda, etc…) to the cabinet closest to that counter.

Basically, I just swapped the baking stuff with my pots and pans from the stove’s other side.

This simple ‘swap’ keeps the items I use most often while working at that counter close by.

I don’t have room for all my baking supplies right where I typically work. I’m fine with that; the cupcake tins, loaf pans, etc… that I don’t use all the time reside in a cabinet a little farther from ‘the action,’ but they are all together.

Kitchen Organization Tip #2: Create ‘Command Centers’

Along the same lines of keeping the tools you most use close to where you use them, create command centers for common routines.

Our coffee maker and blender are in the appliance garage right under the microwave. We make coffee every morning and a smoothie several times a week.

I cleared out a shelf in cabinet above the microwave and made that the command center for all the ingredients/tools we regularly use when making coffee or smoothies.

This pull-out drawer that attaches to the shelf above is a great way to use space that would otherwise not be used.

A second ‘command center’ is the cupboards around my dishwasher. All my dishes, glasses, storage containers, and silverware are housed right next to or above the dishwasher. I can stand in one place and empty 90% of what ends up in the dishwasher.

This next item isn’t so much of an ‘organization tip’, but more of a product recommendation. The shelves in my glass-front cabinets were painted several months ago. The company claimed that the shelves would hold up to the dishes and cups being slid/placed on them, but I didn’t want to take the chance.

Plus, often times the plates and glasses are 100% dry when I remove them from the dishwasher.

I found this clear shelf-liner that has little ridges on it. The liner protects the shelves, and the little ridges allow air to flow to dry whatever water drips on it.

You would really need to look hard to see the liner, and I really like the protection it provides.

Kitchen Organization Tip #3: Make it Pretty!

Use attractive and unusual storage containers if they need to be visible.

I found this set of drawers years ago, which has conveniently housed our tea bags. From what I can tell, the drawers came from an old sewing machine cabinet.

This hutch is truly one of my favorite things! When we moved in, there was a built-in desk in this space. Given my work, I knew I would never use that desk. It was taking up valuable space in my new, smaller kitchen and needed to go.

We ripped out the desk, patched the wall, and painted it while I began the hunt for ‘something’ to fit in the space. I am a firm believer in kismet; I found this hutch in a junk store I had never been to before. It was near a granite place I was visiting for the counters, and one day, my curiosity prompted me to pop in. You know those movies when two lovers are running across the field into each others’ arms? It was a bit like that for me and this hutch!

We had to ‘trim’ the top sides to get it to fit in the space, but…it does! I display some of my white bowls and a collection of small spoons. The not-so-pretty stuff is behind the cabinet doors.

Kitchen Organization Tip #4: Corral oddly-shaped or difficult-to-store items.

While I really do love my Silpat baking mats and use them regularly, they are awkward to store in my current drawers. They are too big to lay flat and take up much room when I fold them.

Enter these high-tech silicone baking mat holders! Yup, I am referring to the paper towel roll cut into sections so that I can roll my silicone baking mats up and effectively store them! This is another drawer right underneath the counter where I tend to do all my baking.

Another storage area that gave me fits was the shelf in my pantry that held our travel mugs, water bottles, and large plastic cups.

If I reached in the back for the bottle or cup that I wanted, inevitably, bottles upfront or the lid of a bottle would fall off the shelf. Plus, the shelf wasn’t tall enough for all the lids to be stored on the bottles, so they would get separated. I know, first-world problems. But…it was bugging me!

I found this water bottle holder that has solved the problem! Bottles are stored on the side for easy access; the lids stay on AND, perhaps most importantly, I am limited to 8 water bottles/travel mugs!

Speaking of pantries, I LOVED the pantry in our old house. It was much more spacious than our current one, and I had found this lovely old door I had repurposed with a large window in the frame that made the pantry and its contents quite visible to anybody in the kitchen. Have a look for yourself. Needless to say, I was always reminded to keep it well-stocked and organized.

Kitchen Organization Tip #6: Revisit your current organization regularly.

Our activities change over time, and we often have ‘aha’ moments when we least expect them. The organization is not always static and so be open to changing things up as you go along.

Back to the first tip; be mindful of where you tend to work and ensure you have the tools to work efficiently.

I hope these Five Kitchen Organization Tips will help you arrange your kitchen to make it the most effective and efficient for you. To return back to these tips, bookmark this page or pin the following image.

Thanks for making my day by SHARING!!