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It can seem impossible to keep your kitchen cabinets organized, especially if space is an issue. With pantry items, pots, pans, and servingware all needing a place to properly be stored, things are bound to get a bit chaotic. Additional cabinets may not be in the cards, but there are things you can do to make your kitchen cabinets much more efficient. These organizing suggestions will help you find a home for everything in your kitchen. You’ll be ready for a #kitchenshelfie any time.
Clean Slate
First things first: Empty your cabinets, and start from scratch. There are probably expired snacks and drinking glasses that don’t get used anymore. Toss or donate anything you don’t use or need, and make room for things you do.
Display Your Ingredients
Put your ingredients in glass containers, and label them to keep everything a bit more streamlined. You’ll easily be able to grab the sugar and flour when you’re ready to whip up a batch of cookies. No more struggling to differentiate between the mess of bags.
Snacks in Jars
Snacks like pretzels and nuts can be stored in glass jars and kept in your cabinets or on display, as well. This avoids a pile of bags shoved on top of each other in cabinets (not to mention the hassle of opening and resealing them).
Snacks in Bins
If you’ve got a house full of kids (or snack loving adults), use bins to organize certain items in your cabinets. Loose tea bags, single bags of hot cocoa mix, candy bars, and all the other goodies that get scattered and lost can easily be kept together in a shallow bin. If things are getting really nuts in your snacking cabinet, break these bins down into categories to keep it even more organized.
Add a Lazy Susan
Finding the paprika is hard enough thanks to tiny print and nearly identical spice jars. Get yourself a lazy susan to make finding spices as easy as possible. Feeling really committed? Alphabetize them, too! It may seem infuriating to do at first, but in the end will save you time and the headache of finding the thyme.
Group Items
Group your like items together as if you’re in a supermarket. Not only will this help you find certain ingredients and necessities easier, it will also be aesthetically pleasing. Keep your pasta and sauces near each other in a mini Italian section, for example. And keep your coffee beans with all your other coffee making essentials.
Shelving DIY
If you have big cabinets but not a lot of usable space, add stacking shelves. These additional shelves will help you utilize all the room available to you. This is a great option in the cabinets where you keep your plates and glasses. This easy DIY from Brittany Goldwyn will help you make space for all of your items to be kept neatly.
Utilize Cabinet Doors
Put cork boards or adhesive hooks inside doors, and you can store a variety of things in this wasted extra space. From oven mits to measuring cups, these essentials can hang to save space, and they’ll be easily accessible when you need them.
Storing Tableware
When it comes to tableware, make sure the things you use on a daily basis are the easiest to grab. Keep those special occasion serving platters and fancy glassware on the higher shelves or towards the back. There is no need to have to send a search team into your cabinet to find a plate for your lunch.
Exposed Storage
If you have exposed shelving or glass doors, you need to be even more on top of your kitchen organizing game. Choose a way to display your items, and stick to it—whether it’s stacking all your like-colored plates together or it’s a playful mix and match situation.
Kitchen Vignettes
Speaking of exposed cabinets, make it fun. Just like you would with a bookshelf, you can make stylish vignettes amidst your cookware and ingredients. Play around with the placement of plants and cookbooks to make your kitchen your own unique space.
Pots and Pans
Store your pots and pans and lids separately. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it really does help. Stack your pots and pans within each other, and slide the lids on the side to make more room. If you’ve done this already and still don’t have enough room, grab some hooks, and display your nicest cooking essentials on the walls.
Extra Hanging Room
While on the topic of hooks, install some on the underside of your cabinets, too. These hooks will be the perfect place to hang your mugs rather than taking up a shelf in your cabinets.
Tray Hacks
If you have an issue finding certain things in your cabinets, use something like a baking sheet or a tray to keep them grouped together. These items will always be easy for you to grab in an instant.
Easy Access
Finally, keep the things you need for cooking and baking in the cabinets and drawers closest to where you do your food preparation. Don’t bother with scurrying back and forth across the kitchen looking for certain things when they can all be right at your fingertips. It may take some planning and rearranging, but it will save you the hassle later.