Kitchen Organization Ideas & Trends Worth Trying

Ever opened a kitchen cabinet and had to dodge an avalanche of mismatched pot lids falling on your foot? Speaking from personal experience…I’m letting you know that’s the universal sign it’s time to get things under control!

Please resist the urge to shove it all back in and hope it magically resolves itself the next time you need to cook some pasta. It won’t!

All of this is fixable. You can do it in chunks. And it can even stay organized…if you set it up right.

Let’s get into it. The time to organize your kitchen is now!

Yes, you have to do this part. I know, I know. No one really wants to hear "get rid of stuff." But there’s a good chance that half the reason your kitchen is a mess is because you’re trying to organize things you don’t even use.

So grab a trash bag and a donation box, and go shelf by shelf. Here’s what goes:

• Anything broken, chipped, or missing pieces. Blender with no lid? Gone! The mug with the crack you keep "meaning to glue"? Buh-bye.
• Duplicates you don't need. C’mon, you don’t need four spatulas. You just don't. Keep your two favorites and let the rest go.
• Gadgets you used once. That avocado slicer. The banana holder. The thing that's supposed to make fancy eggs but makes a mess. If you haven't touched it in six months, it's taking up prime real estate for no good reason.
• Expired food. Check your spices, your baking supplies (yes, baking powder does expire!), the random can of coconut milk in the back. You'll be shocked at what's lurking back there.

I made the mistake of skipping this step my first time around and basically just reorganized my clutter…into prettier clutter. Please don’t be like me.

This one tip changed my entire kitchen. Seriously!

Instead of putting stuff wherever it fits, think about your kitchen in zones based on what you do in each area. Here’s what I mean…

• Coffee/morning zone: Mugs, coffee maker, filters, sweetener, maybe your toaster, all together, ideally near an outlet.
• Cooking zone: Pots, pans, cooking utensils, oils, and your most-used spices. Keep these near your stove.
• Prep zone: Cutting boards, knives, mixing bowls, measuring cups. These go near your main counter space.
• Snack/kid zone: If you've got little ones (or, if you're a snacker like me!), put grab-and-go stuff on a low shelf or in one designated cabinet.
• Baking zone: Flour, sugar, baking sheets, mixing bowls, all grouped together even if you only bake a few times a year.

The idea is that when you’re doing a specific task, everything you need is within arm’s reach. No more running back and forth across the kitchen looking for the measuring spoons while your butter burns.

Yet another practical tip that almost seems almost too simple, but you’ll want to use.

Whether your kitchen is ginormous or itty-bitty, the stuff you use every single day should be the easiest to reach. The stuff you rarely use goes up high or way in the back.

Eye-level and counter-level shelves >> daily dishes, glasses, go-to spices, snacks.

Top shelves and hard-to-reach cabinets >> the slow cooker you pull out in October, the fancy platter for holidays, the waffle maker.

Under the sink >> cleaning supplies (not a junk drawer overflow, we’ll get to that later).

Earlier on I mentioned about opening a cabinet and having pots and lids fall out. I can say the exact same things for storage containers!

Here’s what finally worked for me…

• Throw out anything without a matching lid. Like right now. Don't even think about it. Just do it.
• Hold on to the containers that are stackable. You might even find you want to get rid of all the ones you have and start from scratch. Glass or plastic, square or round, your pick. So long as they can stack.
• Store lids separately in a bin or rack. You can get a cheap lid organizer (I just use a large storage container and line them up from biggest to smallest). The point is lids in one spot, containers nested together in another.

Gone are the days of searching for something to contain all those leftovers!

I get that most kitchens have one. It’s the drawer where batteries, takeout menus, rubber bands, pens, and a phone charger from eons past all live together.

Now, I’m not saying you have to get rid of your junk drawer (it’s nice to have a catch-all spot). But you CAN (and should) tame it.

Grab a few bins, a silverware tray you’re not using, or even some boxes, and give everything a little section. Batteries in one spot. Pens and notepads in another. Tape and scissors together. Menus and coupons in a stack.

Takes about ten minutes and suddenly you’re not digging through a pile every time you need a pair of scissors.

This is an optional one so no worries if it doesn’t work for you. The insides of your cabinet doors are also usable space…doing nothing.

You can stick up…

• Hooks for measuring cups and spoons
• A rack for spice jars or lids
• Command hooks for oven mitts or utensils
• A little whiteboard or notepad on the inside of a pantry door for your grocery list

These are quick fixes that give you more room without using up prime kitchen real estate.

Organizing is the easy part. Maintaining it is where things tend to fall apart.

The rule is simple. Every time something new comes into the kitchen, something old leaves.

New set of cups? Donate the old ones. New spice? Toss the expired one it’s replacing. Got a new gadget as a gift? Say goodbye to one you never use.

This keeps the clutter from creeping back in. And trust me, it creeps! Until one day you open a cabinet and you’re right back to the avalanche situation.

If you can’t tackle the whole kitchen right now (totally fair), here are a couple of things you can quickly do that’ll make a noticeable difference.

Clear your counters. Put away everything that doesn’t belong. A clean counter gives you the sense that your kitchen is on its way to being organized even if your cabinet insides are still a mess.

Do the spice shelf. Alphabetize them or group them. I like having baking spices together, savory together, blends together. Takes fifteen minutes, and you’ll stop buying duplicate cumin. I had THREE containers of cumin (fortunately I use a lot of cumin in my cooking!).

If even thinking about organizing your entire kitchen is giving you palpitations, rest easy! You can organize one drawer, a shelf, one cabinet at a time. Do it during a Netflix episode. Do it while you’re brewing some coffee.

And if you’ve got a partner or roommate who keeps putting things back in the wrong spot after you organize... deep breaths. Labels help. So does a loving but firm conversation.