Because the kitchen is typically the most used room in the house, it's extremely important to ensure that it's organized and functional for all the action that it receives! This isn't always an easy task and often times takes some patience and planning! Which explains why I received the following question from a reader, along with many other's just like it:
"Dear Jen, do you have any tips on how to organize kitchen cabinets for maximum storage and efficiency? I would love to see the layout of your kitchen and behind all those cabinet doors!"
So I finally got off of my tush and went through our entire kitchen to take pictures of the insides of each and EVERY cabinet and drawer. Go big or go home I say! So I did!
First, let's start out with a little reminder of what our kitchen looks like:
Itty bitty. It is really important to live with less and really maximize the way we utilize the space we do have. I thought it might also be helpful to have a map layout of the room too?
And now for the picture tour! Hold on to your britches kids, because you're in for a wild ride!
Let's start with
our pantry! {
fun fact: I have a hard time typing the word, "pantry", it typically ends up as "panty", oops!} This tall cabinet holds all of our dry and canned foods, along with our snacks, breads and produce!
To really maximize our storage, we popped an
organizer
over the door as well!
My favorite tips for a pantry? Add a clipboard with copies of your
shopping list attached, so you can quickly add anything that runs out!
And unload your yummy snack foods such as pretzels and popcorn, into serving sized baggies for quick grab and go portioned snacking {
update - we now use reusable containers}!
Right next to our pantry, we have
our spice cabinet with magnetic spice tins:
And our junk drawer:
And
storage container cabinet:
Next, you even get to see inside
the fridge and
freezer!
I really love to use clear storage containers so I always know what we have for leftovers, fruits and veggies! And labeled bins {the freezer bins are
these medium sized ones from The Container Store} make it super quick and easy to find anything we are looking for!
Above the fridge we have two smaller cabinets where we keep less used items, like our popcorn machine and special cooking oils and wines:
We turn the first corner, where we find our special
kid's cabinet, where all things kid related in the kitchen get stocked:
Along with the majority of our
drawer storage, including our cutlery drawer:
Our two baking drawers:
And our food packaging drawer:
I love to line my drawers with pretty paper and use clear acrylic dividers so that I stay motivated to keep the contents of the drawers to a minimum!
Next up is the stove. We have our microwave above the stove, and above that, a cabinet that we rarely see the contents of....
The next corner contains all of our dishes and cookware, since it's the area in the kitchen we are using most:
Dishes and glassware above, pots and pans and roasters in our lazy susan below:
I used to keep our pots and pans in a typical kitchen cabinet, however, I found they were nearly impossible to get in and out without wanting to quit cooking before I even started, so they found a new home in the spinning lazy susan, which makes them SO much easier to find and grab! There is never harm in switching things up when something isn't working for you!
Next to all the dining storage, we have our sink. Below the sink I stash our cleaning supplies, extra rags and dishwasher pods. We also keep our recycling bin tucked out of site as well!
Right next to the sink is a small drawer that holds all of our essential dish-washing items:
Where almost done! Just a couple of cabinets left. Literally! To the left of the sink, we have more food storage! Like nuts, peanut butter and side dishes:
Since I am on the shorter side,
the labeled baskets make it super easy for me to identify the contents and grab down only what I need!
And last but not least, next to our dishwasher, we have our utensil drawer:
And baking cabinet!
I found an
inexpensive holder
for our bakeware and cutting boards:
And the top drawer pulls out for all of our mixing and serving bowls:
And that's a wrap! The kitchen cabinet tour has come to an end.
The pictures did a really good job telling the story of how I organize our kitchen space! But ultimately, here is what has worked best for us in the past, its super simple:
- Empty the entire contents of our kitchen onto your kitchen table and counter tops. Start with a clean slate!
- Think about how you use your space and plan accordingly. Keep pots and pans by the stove. Keep food storage by the fridge and pantry. Keep dish-washing and cleaning supplies near the sink, etc...
- Purge old food items frequently and only keep the kitchen gadgets that you really use or are multi-functional. And don't feel sad saying goodbye to those one off pieces that only get used once a year.
- Clear storage for food is AWESOME for doing quick visual inventory of your supply before heading out to the grocery store! Plus, it keeps your foods fresh for longer! Win win!
- Remember, once you put it all away, it's OK to change things if they are not working! If you find yourself frustrated with how something in your kitchen is functioning, switch it up! No harm done!
Any surprises or "Ah Ha!" moments? For those that had been waiting eons for this post, did this help a bit? Did it spark any additional kitchen organizing questions? What other tips do you have for keeping a super functional and organized kitchen space?
a try:
