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By Bridget Reed Morawski , Kristi Kellogg , and Will Porter
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Coming up with the right kitchen organization ideas and creating a system that works for you doesn’t have to take up a ton of mental energy, and you probably don’t need a full makeover or anything custom-built. But that doesn’t mean you should skip thinking about kitchen storage entirely, especially if you want to maximize storage and efficiency in a tiny space. While a perfectly organized kitchen may be a myth, some smart storage solutions (and some clever hacks) will save you precious time during meal prep; free up pantries items, cabinets, and other small spaces; and, most importantly, create a welcoming environment.
“I think people overthink organizing too much, and they think everything has to be exactly perfect,” says Laura Cattano, a professional organizer in New York City. “And that’s not the case at all.” Cattano recommends some fundamentals to get you started: Group like items or place them in zones within kitchen cabinets and drawers. A designated shelf for non-perishable breakfast items will make breakfast run that much smoother. And adding a spice caddy on the countertop could inspire you to try new culinary dishes. It’s all about finding what works for your storage space, whether it’s a small kitchen or not. Kitchen organization also comes with another benefit: not buying repeated cooking gadgets and that fifth jar of almond butter. Here are 47 storage ideas and tips to help get you there—along with products that will make opening kitchen cabinets a dream.
Many instruction manuals can be found online, and restaurant menus change too often to rely on a pamphlet from 2018. Recycle those papers after you’ve bookmarked the links or downloaded the files you need. If the menu is more nostalgic than useful—say, a menu from the pizza place you and your partner loved in college—it should be framed or otherwise displayed outside of a kitchen drawer anyway.
This frame has all of the right touches to permanently house your heirloom ephemera.
Working from home often becomes working from the kitchen table, but that isn’t where you should be storing any important paperwork, like bills, neighborhood notices, or critical forms. Store those in any other room that isn’t as prone to spills, liquids, and messes, and free up your kitchen counters or table. At the very least, pick up a file folder that will keep documents safe from spillage.
A high-quality file folder will ensure that you know where your most important bits are at all times.
Every trip to Whole Foods Market is another opportunity to see a slew of Amazon-approved sauces, snacks, and spices. But condiments and other fun foods can become a nightmare for pantry organization if you end up with a bunch of unopened or half-used snacks that aren’t on your usual rotation (looking at you, last three handfuls of Veggie Straws). Choose a bowl for the countertop and decree that everything in it has to be eaten up ASAP before anything new is bought.
“I think most people have way too much food in their cabinets, but I do think that if you’re organized, and you have your foods organized in a way where you know what you have in each category, it’s easier to not overbuy,” Cattano says.
Katin Black Wood Centerpiece Bowl
Don’t let your fruit roll around and wallow away on the kitchen counter, get a vessel just for them.
The pumpkin-shaped pancake molds are adorable in October but don’t really deserve a place alongside your silverware the other 11 months of the year. That goes for any holiday-specific or seasonal goods, like hot cocoa mugs that only get used in the wintertime. So if space is sparce, don’t navigate around them—store them instead with the rest of your holiday decor. Allocate several large storage containers to store your festive goodies. Better yet, label each with the holiday or theme.
SmartStore Large Nordic Basket Charcoal
Nesting baskets like these are always a space saver, whether they’re actually full or not.
Cookbooks are amazing sources of inspiration and guidance for amateur and experienced home cooks alike. But that doesn’t mean you need to keep them all in your kitchen if you’re short on space or otherwise can’t find a way to organize all 45 of them. Look at where you want to put them, whether that’s on a shelf or in a kitchen cabinet, then spend a cozy Sunday picking the most-used cookbooks that will fit that space. Implement bookends for a neat display that will help keep the books in line.
Seasonal cookbooks can be stored with decorations for that holiday. For the rest, digitize or write down the recipes you love or think you’ll want to try, then donate them to a local library. You’ll always be able to borrow them if you need them. Same goes with recipes cut out of magazines, but recycle the leftover paper after the information has been digitized.
These modern bookends add bright color to your kitchen without being eyesores.
Reusable water bottles are great. Fifteen reusable water bottles with the logos of every event you’ve attended? Not so much. Keep a handful that represent something you’re proud of or function particularly well and donate the rest to a homeless shelter, for example, as unhoused people need sturdy and portable drink containers. Group the ones you kept on a wall organizer.
X-cosrack Adjustable Water Bottle Organizer
Who among us doesn’t have a cupboard with an absolutely disastrous water bottle situation?.
Say goodbye to random scraps of paper that list three ingredients for something you baked last month. Keep a pad on the side of your fridge so you can jot down what you need, tear it off on the way to the market, and recycle it at the store when you’re done.
Rifle Paper Co. Corner Store Magnetic Notepad
Notepads > tired. Magnetic notepads > wired. This one will is ideal for keeping a grocery or to-do list right on the fridge where you’ll constantly be reminded of it.
If you could have a fridge that can make you a grocery list and tell you when food is expiring, why wouldn’t you? Plus, fridge organization can spill over to keeping the rest of your kitchen in order. What’s more, the energy efficiency and potential electricity bill savings are usually worth the upfront cost in the long run. And with the Inflation Reduction Act, your purchase could even qualify for a tax credit.
Samsung 3-Door French Door Counter Depth Refrigerator
Ditch that old fridge that’s actually way too small to keep properly stocked and upgrade to one of the best brands in the refrigeration business.
Maybe you put your waffle maker to work every weekend without fail, but you’re probably not regularly using most of those single-use appliances that take up counter and cabinet space. When you have a tiny kitchen, pare down your culinary gear to bring order to unruly cabinets.
“A lot of kitchen gadgets are just a waste,” Cattano explains. “You know, no one needs an egg separator. Eggs come with their own separators—it’s called the shell.” All the experts say that anything you’re not likely to use often needs to find a new home. Strike a deal with friends who have single-use appliances to share them—perhaps they won’t mind lending out the popcorn maker one weekend if you sweeten the deal with your ice cream maker. For the items you do decide to keep, show them off on a floating shelf that hides annoying cords.
Reds Wood Design Appliance Cord Box
Every gadget you’ve ever known is now electric, so hiding cords is imperative in keeping a tidy kitchen.
First off, make sure your garbage doesn’t smell up the kitchen—nothing screams the place is a mess like the smell of rotting food. After that, aim to minimize food waste, which will also help you get rid of an eyesore that is a giant trash can. Invest in a compost bin that can be placed on the countertops or under your kitchen sink. No room in either space? Chuck the scraps in a bag and stick ’em in the freezer until you swing by a local food scrap drop-off site. Alternatively, bag and freeze unwilted scraps to make a DIY vegetable stock.
Composting will keep you from filling up the garbage too quickly, and a countertop bin like this one allows for easy access while also keeping nasty smells at bay.
Store fruits and vegetables with easy access so you can use them before they turn into fruit-fly heaven. Instead of corralling everything in a corner on your countertop, display them like a still-life with a pretty basket and a banana hook.
Barrett Banana Holder with Basket Graphite
Fruit and vegetables are beautiful, so give them a beautiful leg to stand on (plus it keeps them off the precious counter space).
We all have a few half-used bottles of cleaning solutions under the sink that may not be used up any time soon. Vow to use them all up before you buy anything new. If they don’t serve a purpose, either give them away or bring them to a chemical drop-off site in your community for safe disposal. Anything that you do keep, use a tension rod to hang the bottles up to make room for smaller supplies underneath.
KXLIFE 2 Pack 5/8" Sping Tension Rod
A cheap spring tension rod like this one is ideal for hanging up cleaning supplies under the kitchen sink or in the laundry room.
You know to regularly declutter countertops and cabinets, but no matter how many drawer organizers you own, it won’t matter if your cabinet doors and other surfaces are crusty and gross. Use a sponge or rag to wipe down the countertop at least once a day. Spruce up cabinet fronts and hardware frequently once a week.
BLUELAND Multi-surface All Purpose Cleaning Spray Bottle
Blueland’s bottles are made to last. Run out of spray? Get a refill kit and save yourself some cash.
Keep recycling and garbage separate without the pain of multiple bins with a combination recycling bin–trash can.
EKO EcoCasa II 36L+24L Dual Compartment Kitchen Recycle Trash Can
A combination trash and recycling storage bin like this one from EKO saves space and keeps you from having to find multiple locations for multiple bins.
This is probably the most commonly suggested kitchen organization idea out there, but that doesn’t make the advice any less useful. For all your bits and bobs, find storage bins, baskets, tubs, or dispensers that keep everything in its place. Buying in proportion to the kitchen you have will keep things less crowded, but you can also decant any larger amounts into “something nice that you can have accessible, like in the pantry cabinet that’s closer to where you cook,” suggests Jeffrey Phillip, a professional home organizer who once lived in a tiny New York City studio. “Trying to fit large, large bags of rice or flour can be challenging,” he adds.
Get creative with what containers you have at home. Use canisters (like a large glass jar from pickles) to store dry goods in your kitchen pantry. Berry boxes, jam jars, and similar food containers can be wiped or washed out as well.
Small Vertica Wire Stacking Bin
These affordable stacking bins can hold anything from fruits and vegetables to spices, olive oil or bottles of wine.
Utilize cabinet dividers to keep the kitchen knickknacks in their place. Measure canisters and containers to make sure everything will still fit—there’s nothing worse than buying something that makes your kitchen organization woes worse!
ROUFA 4Pcs Clear Acrylic Shelf Dividers
These acrylic dividers are a simple solution that will change your life from the moment they’re installed.
For a kitchen cabinet that’s a bit awkward—perhaps it’s really short or super deep—add functionality with a pull-out drawer organizer combined with a pot rack to reveal neatly stacked cookware. You won’t ever have to crawl into the cabinet to grab a pot from the back or avoid a cacophonous avalanche that comes with looking for an errant pot lid.
Smart Design Pull Out Cabinet Shelf
Whether you’re simply not tall enough to get your hands to the back of the cabinet or just want your pots and pans stacked in a more aesthetic way, these are a must-have.
The same principle with pot racks applies to baking sheets and cutting boards. Stop piling up sheets in the oven and arrange them neatly so you don’t have to shuffle the deck before baking the next batch of cookies.
YouCopia StoreMore Adjustable Bakeware Rack
So many things can be stored standing upright. Plus, this doubles as a drying rack.
A kitchen cabinet with a bevy of lids might as well be chaos. Keep them all in one place with dividers, which you can also use for all those insulating sleeves you’ve collected over the years.
YouCopia StoraLid Container Lid Organizer
Again, more upright storage—it just makes sense, especially for those slippery Tupperware lids.
Even if you have a spice rack in your kitchen cabinets, no one wants to take out every bottle and tin just to find the paprika. For those oft-used spices and condiments, place a lazy Susan on a countertop or kitchen cabinet to shorten the search.
A Lazy Susan does all of the hard work for you, keeping your kitchen organized and easily accessible, letting you be the lazy one.
Although it might seem like a half-step above just piling everything on top of one another, using a divider for pots and pans will help make everything easy to find—plus, you’re less likely to start a kitchen cabinet avalanche. Cabinet dividers can also be used to stack cutting boards, oven pans, and all the cheeseboards you’ve been gifted for every occasion since college.
Never hear the “clang-clang-clang” of organizing cast iron pans again.
Cardboard can holders hold their shape for about as long as it takes to get from the grocery store to the kitchen. But at that point, it’s anyone’s guess as to when they’ll pop open and release a cascade of aluminum cans. Avoid that hassle—and the unsightly look of a torn-up cardboard box in your fridge or cabinets—with a polished version that will last forever.
Hold Everything Metal Powder Coat Soda Can Bin
Another solution for things that tend to take up space in a completely unorganized manner: A soda bin will make it easy to keep your Spindrifts and Ghias in their rightful place.
Take advantage of that empty vertical space by placing risers in cabinets. This will help keep items separated so you don’t have to try to pick something out of the middle of a huge stack.
If your cupboards have high ceilings, double your storage with these svelte, lightweight shelves.
The inside of your cabinet doors is filled with storage possibilities. Install hooks to store pans, lids, or serving and measuring spoons, or add a slim rack to stash pot lids or boxes of foil and plastic wrap. Sure, you might have to inch back the contents of your cabinets just slightly, but you’ll be happy to do it when you open the door and see this supremely organized situation.
Especially short on counter and cupboard space? Throw one of these over your kitchen door and have cutting boards all in one place, high off the ground.
Every time you open a cutlery drawer, the silverware gets jostled unless you have something keeping it all in place. Invest in nice drawer dividers to keep everything together for easier table setting, or grab a utensil holder that looks chic and orderly.
Tower Expandable Cutlery Drawer Organizer
A nice cutlery divider drawer will stave off the numerous headaches that come with an expanding collection of knives and flatware.
The last thing you want is to cut yourself when you’re digging for a knife. To avoid that fate, get a countertop knife block, a knife divider for the drawer, or a magnetic strip to show off the best chef’s knives.
Fox Run Brands Magnetic Knife Holder
We are big fans of putting the knives up on the wall.
Beyond silverware, kitchen tools—like whisks and spatulas—aren’t usually uniform pieces that can be stacked on top of one another in a drawer divider. Using a clingy liner can help keep gear in place.
Duck Brand Clear Classic Shelf Liner, 2 Rolls
Immediately make searching for your favorite spatula a thoughtless process.
A kitchen in order means that the cabinets are also organized, especially when it comes to food storage containers—you can’t rely on sight or smell to distinguish all-purpose flour from cake flour. Keep a label maker on hand, perhaps in an organizer storage bin for odds and ends that find their way into a kitchen drawer.
Phomemo D30 Label Maker Machine
The label makers in our houses are literally never allowed to miss an organization party.
Maximizing cabinet organization means using the upper cabinets and even the space above. But unless you’re tall enough to be in a basketball league, how do you reach anything you put up there? With a step ladder, of course. Look for one thin enough to slide into the space between your fridge or oven.
Don’t climb on the counters, it’s just not worth it.
We’ve already looked at the space in and above your upper cabinets, but what about the rest of the ceiling? A pot rack hung from your ceiling can take advantage of otherwise wasted vertical space, and any frequently used tools that happen to have holes in them—slotted spoons, rubber spatulas, and the like—also make good candidates. Just avoid using anything that is heavier than what the rack is rated to carry or anything sharp or potentially dangerous, such as knives and kitchen torches.
Maple Hanging Bar Pot Rack
A pot rack frees up space in your cupboards and keeps your most cherished cookware at eye level.
Wine bottles might look great on the bar cart, but you probably prefer drinking chilled white wines, rather than those that have sat at room temperature. However, unless you have room to stand them upright, you’ll need a wine bottle holder to not only keep them organized but also prevent them from rolling out and shattering, which is the number one way to kill the vibe.
mDesign Plastic Free-Standing Wine Set Rack
Cant have a wine cellar? That’s ok, neither can we. A wine rack like this one keeps your humble collection safe while your finer bottles remain on display.
Similar to kitchen cabinets, fridges tend to have a lot of lost vertical space and not a lot of ways to adjust the shelf heights. Luckily humanity has come up with insertable drawer storage racks, which take advantage of the space under a fridge shelf.
Fridge Drawer Organizer 4 Pack Retractable Drawer
Free up some ever precious fridge space by adding retractable drawers that make your space grow almost exponentially.
If you don’t necessarily need more vertical space, but you need to keep similar items grouped together, consider stackable fridge bins to keep like items together. No more looking for that chunk of cheddar.
IDESIGN Wide Fridge Bins Tray Clear
Another perfect solution for organizing your refrigerator; you can’t go wrong with the Container Store.
Place a magnetized paper towel holder on the side of the fridge to clear up the valuable real estate that is the kitchen counter.
A magnetic paper towel holder like this one won’t require any actual setup and can easily be moved around to suit your needs.
Besides being very easy to install (just stick it there), a magnetic shelf is also, of course, removable: perfect for renters.
Spices deserve a place of their own and Yamazaki are masters at finding things a neatly designed home.
“It doesn’t technically belong in the kitchen if it’s a sentimental item [because] if you’re not using it in the kitchen, then it’s not a kitchen tool,” Cattano says. She notes that this applies to items that are kitchen-related but you never actually use for culinary purposes. Take advantage of nostalgic pieces that could hold things. If you rarely use your grandma’s glass gravy boat, use it as a candy bowl to encourage guests to eat all the sweets and snacks you want out of the house.
Remembering that things don’t have to serve just one purpose will make decorating and organizing that much more fun.
Unless you have every accessory, the basic attachments that come with a stand mixer can all fit in the mixing bowl. And since stand mixers tend to take up quite a bit of counter space, this can help reclaim the territory in kitchen drawers. Line the bowl with a clean dish rag to prevent scratches.
KitchenAid Artisan 10-Speed Stand Mixer
Stand Mixer: the boss of kitchen appliances.
Plastic food storage containers, like Tupperware, can’t be put in an oven since they’d melt. But glass storage containers can double as bakeware—or even work triple duty as bowls—if your kitchen cabinets are lacking space.
Pyrex Simply Store 18-Pc Glass Food Storage Containers
That gourmet macaroni and cheese isn’t going to cook itself.
If you’re tight on space for glassware, think about using Ball glass mason jars as both storage and extra cups for unexpected guests (and their plus ones). Cheugy? Admittedly yes, but no one will complain once it’s in their hands and full of beer.
Ball Wide Mouth Mason Jars with Lids and Bands, (Set of 3)
Just get Mason jars, you won’t regret it. They may be everywhere, but you can use them in so many creative ways that you’ll never regret having them around.
Counter space is always at a premium, but there’s an easy fix: Get a dish rack that fits over the sink. The best part is that you won’t have to worry about residual water spilling out onto the counters.
Five Two Over-the-Sink Dish Drying Rack
Ditch those moldy towels and let gravity do the work.
All Aluminum Basket Dish rags, seasonal kitchen towels, and oven mitts can all find a new and easily accessible home on the front or side of a stainless steel fridge. And instead of losing cutesy measuring spoons in your kitchen drawers, you can also hang them from the hooks.