The Ultimate Guide to Organizing Your Kitchen

No matter the size of your kitchen, you need to minimize clutter to maximize your space.

Here’s the key thing to remember: it’s okay to get rid of things you don’t have a use or space for.

The organization process is easier if you have fewer things to keep track of.

Keep reading for our favorite ideas on organizing your kitchen and maximizing your space.

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Declutter Surfaces

Start your organizing process by clearing up surfaces.

Your countertops, kitchen tables, and the top of the refrigerator may fall victim to visual clutter.

Get rid of clutter like piles of bills, loose spice containers from last night’s dinner, and dirty dishes.

Not only will you get a better idea of the space you’re working with, but a study from the University of Connecticut also found that decluttering your home helps relieve stress.

 Maximize Surface Area

With your surfaces free of clutter, consider the following ideas for maximizing your organization capabilities out in the open.

Don’t forget, you aren’t limited to counter space; your walls are usable surfaces, too.

Here are some ideas to make your open surfaces organization-friendly. 

• Use a lazy Susan. Kept on your countertop, these rotating organizers can store products like spices, writing utensils, and large cooking utensils like wooden spoons or spatulas.
• Store items on top of cabinets or the refrigerator. If you are low on shelf space, light pantry items like snacks or napkins can be stored in baskets on top of cabinets or your refrigerator. Make sure anything you place on these surfaces is not heavy to avoid damage.
• Install a magnetic knife rack. Butcher block knife sets are bulky and take up counter space. Replace them by hanging your knives on the wall on a magnetic strip. You can also use this type of magnetic strip to hang other small magnetic objects like a meat thermometer or your car keys.
• Hang small floating shelves. Small shelves can be used to store or display frequently used items like your favorite spices, small plates, and dish soap. They can be installed in smaller corners and tight spaces to make the most out of awkward angles. Be sure not to overload the weight capacity when you hang them. 
• Hang larger floating shelves. If you have open wall space but don’t want to install cabinets, consider hanging a bigger shelf. This is an easy and affordable DIY option that can store or display your plates, glasses, bowls, and even decor. 

Cabinets

Next, move on to your cabinets.

This may feel like the most overwhelming step, but we’ll guide you through it.

Here are our tips for organizing and maximizing your cabinet storage.

Consolidate Opened Products

Combine any open boxes of the same products (like cereal, pasta, spices, or cleaning products) and throw away or recycle the extra.

This is an easy way to narrow down objects taking up valuable cabinet space.

You may also consider investing in transparent cereal or pasta containers.

Many come with labels so you can easily find what you’re looking for.

This will cut down on waste, keep things clean, and remind you when you need to restock so you don’t over-buy things you already have.

Narrow Down Food Storage Containers

Plastic leftover containers may be stackable, but can easily become disorganized.

Now is the time to get rid of anything that doesn’t have its matching lid or bottom.

You may even consider replacing plastic containers with glass containers that double as cookware.

Unlike plastic containers that melt, glass containers survive the dishwasher and oven and still store your leftovers in the refrigerator. 

Pick Up Your Pots and Pans

If you are storing your pots and pans in your cabinets, consider hanging them on the wall instead.

This will provide easy access to your cookware and open up more cabinet space. 

If you can’t hang your pots and pans, consider purchasing pot and pan organizers for the inside of your cabinet.

Each pot and pan will have a designated shelf (and possibly room for its ever-elusive matching lid.)

Lid Line Up

If you aren’t storing your pots and pans (or food containers) with their lids, it’s a good idea to look into a lid organizer.

To keep the lids from disappearing, you can purchase organizers that sit on shelves or hang over cabinet doors.

Multiply Your Shelving Space

Now that your cabinets are a little more open, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting the most out of the shelving you have.

You don’t need to install an entirely new shelf in each cabinet to use more space. Instead, get some shelf risers to make use of the empty area above your products.

These come in many different sizes, so be sure to measure your cabinet space before making the purchase. 

Use Cabinet Doors as Storage

No room for a spice rack?

No problem.

The inside of cabinet doors is a great place to repurpose for storage.

By using an over-the-door organizer or small hooks, you can hang your spices, pot holders, oven mitts, and more.

Drawers

Drawers are a great place to maximize your kitchen storage.

Drawers provide a hiding place for anything you don’t want sitting out on your counters.

While this is great for storing items you don’t frequently use, drawers are also prone to disorganization.

Here are some tips for organizing your kitchen drawers and making the most out of the easy access that they offer. 

Utensil Drawer

Whether you use a set of fancy silverware or have a mismatched collection, your utensils are easy to organize.

Measure your utensil drawer and insert an organizer to keep things easily accessible.

Towel Drawer

Kitchen towels are useful for cleaning messes, drying dishes, or standing in for pot-holders.

However, haphazardly shoving them all into one drawer isn’t the best way to store them.

To save space, roll your towels instead of folding them.

This will make them more compact – allowing you to use the extra room for things like pot holders, oven mitts, or even napkins. 

No Drawers? No Problem

If your drawer space is minimal, you can make your own by installing sliding drawers into your cabinets.

Sliding drawers are a great place to store pots and pans, spices, and snack foods.

For even more organization, you can install drawer organizers inside the sliding drawer inserts.

Refrigerator

Next stop: organizing your refrigerator.

Inside and out, your fridge is another place you can maximize your space.

After all, it’s part of your kitchen, too.

Before you can get to organizing, you’ll need to clean out your refrigerator.

Get rid of expired food, consolidate any containers possible, and give it the deep clean it deserves.

The same goes for your freezer.

Freezer-burned food?

Toss it out.

Last year’s holiday turkey?

Think about getting rid of it. 

Once you’ve cleaned out your refrigerator from top to bottom, you can get to organizing.

Make sure you are making the most out of your space by considering the following ideas.

Shelf Risers (Again)

Just like your cabinet shelves, your refrigerator shelving space can be doubled by adding a shelf riser. 

If you need to store taller items, take advantage of the different shelf riser sizing options.

For example, you can use half of your shelf for tall items and then use the other half for two layers of small items.

Expose Expiring Items

To avoid forgetting about expired food in the back of your refrigerator, you may want to dedicate a bin to items that are about to go bad.

If kept in a specific space, there is less of a chance for expired items to take up precious space. 

Consider Convenience

When you restock your fridge, remember to place items in a way that is convenient for you.

For example, if you reach for a jar of pickles every day, you should keep it in the front.

If you never grab the mayonnaise jar, keep it toward the back. 

For more ideas, check out our blog post on how to organize your refrigerator.

Maximizing and Organizing Your Kitchen: Final Thoughts

Getting (and staying) organized is essential to making the most out of your kitchen – big or small.

After following our tips, not only will your space feel more organized, but every trip to the kitchen will be a little more efficient. 

Other Kitchen-Related Organization Posts

• Pantry Organization
• Deep Freezer Chest Organization