Kitchen Organization: Master Cabinet and Drawer Clutter
In need of some helpful kitchen organization inspiration? Here are 6 easy ideas for tidying drawers and cabinets.
Are you tired of digging through cluttered kitchen cabinets and drawers every time you need to find something? Trust me, I’ve been there.
But don’t worry, I’ve got some easy ideas to execute. Lots of helpful tips and projects from around my home on how to organize your kitchen cabinets and drawers.
We are going to cover all the basics from cooking supplies, utensils, pots, pans and so much more!
Plus there are time saving tutorials for many of these ideas you can tackle in just one weekend.
Review Your Current Kitchen Organization Situation
Let’s take a look at where I started on my kitchen organization journey, so you can start thinking about yours.
This is what my cabinets and drawers USED to look like. You are going to love the after!
So if any of these pictures remind you of what is going in your kitchen keep reading!
Stop opening that kitchen drawer or cabinet hating what you see and decide to get it it organized instead!
You’ll thank yourself later…
Contains hand selected products, with affiliate marketing links where I may earn a small commission if a purchase is made. {full disclosure here}
Spice Organization
First let’s talk about spices. If you’re like me, you probably have a ton of spices that are very unorganized “peppered” throughout your cabinets and drawers.
Why not put them in clear glass spice jars with a lid and large font spice labels (I need them for my terrible eyesight!).
That way you can see exactly what you have with ease and hey go crazy and alphabetize them too!
If it’s important to you to track the expiration date, you can put a small sticker on the bottom and write it there.
I just smell my spices and toss when they go bad, so I wing it!
Another tip is to use a tiered spice drawer organizer, this way you can grab and go, and you won’t have to worry about the spices getting jumbled together.
Maybe when you look at what I did to organize my spice drawer, you may think it’s a bit much.
I’m telling you it took me all of 2 hours to do the whole project and it has provided YEARS of happiness at my house.
Not only do I love being able to open the drawer next to my cooktop and easily grab my seasonings, but so do others who cook at my house.
It’s a worthwhile project and I have a full tutorial for you!
Pot, Pan and Lid Cabinet Organization
Next, let’s dive into a big problem when organizing a kitchen which is deep cabinets.
Have you ever found yourself bending over or sticking your head in the cabinet just to grab something in the back? It’s not fun right?
Well, the best solution I’ve found is pull-out drawers for cabinets. Install them in the cabinet near your stove top so you can have pots, pans, and lids organized and in reach.
Group and stack everything by size, this way you can find the right pot or pan for the job quickly and easily.
If you take the time to organize your lids with a divider inside the pullout drawer so they stand up, you’ll be able to see every size quickly and easily.
No more scrambling to find the right lid while you are cooking when you can see them lined up by size.
In full disclosure, I did loose a little bit of cabinet space side to side. It forced me to declutter and rid myself of things I never used.
Then I moved larger items that I want to grab easily, like the toaster, over to a pull out shelf in the kitchen island.
Make sure to think through how you use your kitchen items, so you organize them close to where you use them as well.
Now it is easy to grab a pan and place it on the stove, when I make eggs in the morning.
Having a place for everything makes putting clean items away fast and simple too.
I literally thank myself everyday for updating my deep open cabinet with the pull out drawer organizers.
While you have out your tools and organizing your cabinets, another quick and easy DIY update is to install soft close hinge adapters!
If you don’t have soft close cabinets, these little easy adapters are amazing and worth the time and money investment.
NO MORE slamming cabinets and calmer happier people. Sounds nice, right?
Food Organization: Cans, Cooking Supplies, and Leftovers
Food items, such as cans and jars, can be tricky to keep organized, especially if you have a lot of them.
One idea is to use a lazy Susan, this way you can rotate cans in the back and see everything you have at a glance.
Or if you have the room in your cabinet, a tiered riser is the perfect solution to see all the cans in the back. My cabinet was too narrow for this.
Group them by category, such as canned fruits, vegetables, and soups, this way you know exactly where to find what you need.
Something that I really struggled with are storing basic food staples, but found pretty solution.
Think about putting flour, pasta, rice, tea bags, cereals, and other regular pantry items into airtight glass jars.
Place them on the counter for a pretty jar pantry. This will clear out valuable cabinet space and keep your counters looking organized.
I used a set of large 2.5 gallon jars and 48 oz glass jars to create this pretty jar pantry on my counter.
This entire bank of cabinet IS my PANTRY, which is very narrow on the top so this was a great solution for to add the jars for my essentials.
In addition using glass jar for pantry items, I also created a “coffee station” with my Keurig.
SHOP all kinds of glass jar storage here
Store your tea, coffee grounds, k-cups and sweeten in pretty airtight jars. I used the same 48 oz jar and a small square jar I bought years ago.
The best part about the clear glass jars is you can see what you have and know when it’s time to stock up.
Better than shaking the box and realizing you only have one left!
Other Kitchen Organization Ideas
Do you have a weird empty cabinet under your cooktop without shelving?
An easy way to maximize that wide open space is to install metal pull-out racks to create a TON of storage. Make sure to MEASURE, before you buy.
It’s a great way to store items you don’t use as often for baking and cooking, like bakeware, ceramic or glass dishes and lids. The lids can be organized too.
For items you use often, you can place them on the top pull-out rack for quick access.
At my house, since it is heavy, I have my slow cooker on the top pull out rack to make it easier on my back!
A little hack for organizing cutting boards and cooking sprays is to use a slotted pan/lid metal organizer.
Just turn it the other way, so you can stack your boards from shortest to tallest and then use the front compartment for cooking oils and sprays.
This has been my favorite part of organizing this weird cabinet under my cooktop. I can grab the oils in a flash and they stay standing up so I can see them.
Kitchen Organization: Cooking Tools and Food Storage
Have a large kitchen drawer and can’t find a utensil organizer large enough??
My kitchen island drawer is 26 inches wide and 19 inches deep and I FINALLY found the best utensil organizers for this drawer.
Before I was using multiple pieces and it was a mess! See the before. While it wasn’t horrible, I was able to replace 3 trays with ONE!
Cooking tools and gadgets can be a real pain to organize, but it doesn’t have to be.
Divide them into categories, such as cooking spoons, whisks, and spatulas.
Use mesh tray organizers to keep them organized in a drawer close to your cooktop.
This way, you’ll always know where to find what you need and not have to dig through a pile of loose items floating in a drawer.
At my house I use the drawer right by my cooktop, so I can grab what I need as I am cooking.
To keep everything organized I just used a couple of metal mesh tray organizers that fit the size of my drawer, with a rubber liner to keep things from sliding and clanging together.
Don’t forget to use the extra space at the front of the drawer for smaller items too!
New Food Storage Containers
Try ditching old plastic storage containers that are taking over your cabinets.
Instead, buy a set of glass storage that nest and have lids you can stack.
Store them in a deep drawer instead of a cabinet for quick access to store leftovers or for meal prep.
Now that I’ve given you a TON of ideas it’s time to get real about KEEPING your kitchen organized.
Let’s talk about practical tips. When everything has a place for storage in your kitchen it will be much easier to maintain the organization.
Daily Maintenance: How to Keep Your Kitchen Organized
Maintaining your kitchen organization on a daily basis is crucial, otherwise, it can quickly become cluttered again.
Set aside a few minutes each day to wipe down counters, put away dishes, and put things where they belong.
Make a habit of doing a quick sweep of your kitchen before you go to bed. That way you can start the next day with a clean and organized kitchen.
Easy Kitchen Organization Tip Chart
| Kitchen Items | Kitchen Organization Tips |
| Spices | -Pour spices into clear glass containers. -Use a tiered drawer organizer to grab and go. -Apply large font labels for easy identification. |
| Pots, Pans and Lids | -Use pull-out drawers to organize pots, pans and store lids. -Stack lids by size in slotted dividers. -Nest pots and pans by size so you can see what you have. |
| Cooking Tools and Gadgets | -Divide into categories (measuring cups, whisks, spatulas, etc.) -Use a tray organizer inside drawers by your cooktop. |
| Food Items (cans and jars) | -Group items by category (fruits, vegetables, soups, baking essentials, etc.) -Use a lazy Susan or tiered rack for easy viewing of cans. -Put flour, pasta, rice, tea bags, cereals, and other regular pantry items into airtight glass jars. |
| Bakeware and Food Storage | -Install heavy duty metal pull out shelves in the cabinet under your cooktop. -Stack cutting boards in a slotted tray organizer. -Place oils and cooking sprays in the front of a tray organizer. -Ditch old plastic containers for glass that nests with snap on lids. |
| Daily Maintenance | -Set aside a few minutes each day to wipe down counters, put away dishes, and put things back where they belong. -Make a habit of doing a quick sweep through to reorganize and keep the clutter under control. |
Seriously, keeping your kitchen organized is essential for a more efficient and stress-free cooking experience.
By following these simple tips, you can easily keep your drawers and cabinets in order.
Remember, a little bit of effort goes a long way. Take some time to organize your kitchen and enjoy the benefits for years to come!
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