Have you ever seen the glossy photos in magazines depicting a beautifully organized and uncluttered kitchen?  An impossible dream?  Maybe not.

Just as there is no one way to live a life, there is no one way to organize a kitchen! In the end, it’s your personality and lifestyle that will help define your choices in kitchen organization. 

Of course, the size, amount of storage, and configuration of your kitchen will also help you decide about organization. 

Have a Plan

First, have a plan of action.

Pull everything out of each cabinet, and drawer and go through it. Discard or donate those things that are infrequently used. Also get rid of duplicate, expired, or broken items or things you forgot you even had. The goal is to only have things you like and use. 

This might also be an excellent time to clean those cabinets and drawers as well.

Group Like Items together

After your cabinets are empty, consider what is best for you in terms of how to group items. Sort all your baking items together, sort your cooking items together, etc.

Group these items together:

• dishes you eat from every day
• glassware
• dinner cutlery
• holiday items that only get used once or twice a year
• special entertaining or serving pieces that are only used occasionally. 
• bakeware items 
• pots and pans and cookware utensils

Place like items together, generally with the most used items within easy reach and the least used items up high. 

Organize by Activity

You may also prefer to have zones such as a baking zone, a cooking zone, a cleaning zone, and so on.  A simple example is having all your baking items, including baking pans and sheets, utensils, baking staples such as flour and sugar in close proximity to each other and to your oven. 

Items to Help You Organize Like a Pro

• towel holders
• magnetic strips
• S-clips or hooks
• hook screws or Command hooks
• tension rods
• drawer inserts or dividers
• large cup like containers for storing cutlery
• baskets
• cabinet organizers
• drawer dividers
• pull-out organizers
• mobile carts
• label maker

Consider Hanging Items Inside and Over Your Cabinet Doors

• Using command hooks, place pot lids onto the inside of a cabinet door.
• Hang adhesive hooks on the inside of cabinet doors or pantry doors to hold tools such as measuring cups and spoons, oven mitts or other kitchen gadgets. 
• Over the door organizers are handy organizers that can hold everything from cutting boards to bottles and cleaners.

Consider Storing Items Underneath Your Cabinets (or Even on the Side of Cabinets)

The surface below your upper cabinets can also be used to keep items organized and off of surfaces and can free up cabinet space:

• Spices can be stored in jars and affixed with magnets to a strip on the underside of cabinets. Not only is this a storage solution for spices, but it frees up interior cabinet space for other items. Keep spices in dark colored jars to protect them from the light.  Label the name of the spice and date of purchase on the jar.
• Hang coffee cups using S-hooks.
• To free up a drawer or two, mount a curtain rod or towel rack below your cabinets to hang your large utensils with S-hooks. You can mount it to the backsplash, or directly to the bottom of your upper cabinets.
• Mount your measuring spoons and cups on the side of your cabinets using a board with small hooks.
• Hang knives on the side of your upper cabinets using a magnetic knife strip.
• Hang pots and pans to the side of your cabinets – if there is enough space, use small towel racks and S-hooks to attach handles.

Use Turntables or Organizers Inside Your Cabinets

• If you want to free your counter space, turntables or lazy susans are magic when it comes to making any dead space functional. Spices, oil, condiments are great here and easily accessible. 
• Organizers help you to stack small items on risers, or to stack different sizes of dishes separately and keep items easily visible. 

Under Sink Sliding Organizer

Having all your cleaners, brushes, and cloths in one sliding organizer can really help finding what you need in an instant without having to get down on your hands and knees!

Use Those Small Cabinets Above Your Range or Microwave

These are perfect for storing your baking and muffin sheets on edge, separated by dividers.

Organize Drawers with Diagonal Drawer Inserts

Diagonal drawer organizers make tidy cubbies for both your long cooking tools and the small ones without wasting space and without having to mix items in slots that are too big for them.

Create a “Pantry” in a Drawer

If you have a lot of drawer space, count yourself lucky. Don’t feel confined to just the “usual” items like cutlery. If it makes sense for you to put items in a drawer that would typically go in a pantry or cupboard instead, do it. Use bins to separate items in deeper drawers and keep them tidy and accessible. 

• Spices in plastic food containers with labels on lids – (name of spice, date of purchase), or in original jars lying flat.
• Canned goods – use a label on top.
• Store dinnerware in a drawer- this is easier than reaching up into a cupboard.

Put All Those Oblong Boxes in a Drawer

Try placing plastic wrap, freezer bags, foil wrap in a drawer instead of a cabinet. That makes it very easy to find what you need in a drawer vs. a cabinet where things often get pushed around out of place.

A Mobile Cart Takes Up Minimal Space with Maximum Benefits

Use a rolling cart to keep all your kitchen basics together. If you’re really tight on storage, put your most-often used kitchen essentials together on a cart, and move it to wherever you’re chopping, stirring, or washing. Many of these units are very slim and can fit into a narrow space easily.  If you’re always using it, it’s never really in the way.

To keep your major appliances operating at their best, call the pros at C&W Appliance Service at (855) 358-1496 or complete our online service request form.