I Tried the “Cousins and Coworkers” Organizing Method in My Messy Pantry, and It’s Never Looked Better

As the lifestyle editor at The Kitchn, I spend a good chunk of my time cooking and cleaning, and you can imagine the number of kitchen staples and gadgets really seems to multiply in my home. Unfortunately, I have a tiny kitchen with limited storage space, so finding a spot for everything — one that makes sense, that is — can be a real challenge. At least, until I discovered the “cousins and coworkers” organizing method.

Professional organizer Christen Fackler of iOrganize shared this unique organizing method of pairing items with its cousins, coworkers, acquaintances, or family members online — and it took off. Essentially, the “cousins and coworkers” organizing method asks you to put things with its “cousins,” items that are similar in function or with its “coworkers,” items that are used for similar projects or tasks.

According to Fackler, there are three different groupings you can make, and they all depend on what works best for you and your space. To demonstrate each one, she uses a boxcutter and places it with each of the three categories.

• Cousins: items that are similar in function, but not exactly the same. Example: putting the box cutter with other sharp objects, like scissors or knives.
• Coworkers (aka acquaintances): items that work together or in the same area. Example: putting the box cutter near the garage with other items you’d use here.
• Family: Same as cousins, but a little more general. This could also be the exact same items if you have multiple. Example: putting the box cutter with other box cutters. 

It had been a while since I reorganized my pantry, and the discovery of this brilliant method inspired me to get back to it. I love how it’s a choose-your-own-adventure organizing trick, and I knew it’d be time- and stress-saver throughout the process.

I have one cabinet that holds almost all of my dinnerware, glasses, and cooking tools, and it sometimes feels like a big game of Tetris making sure everything fits. Having a few smart organizers helps, but my growing collection of mugs and tumblers gets things all out of whack. So, I did as Fackler does, and asked myself: “Where does this go?”

I decided the taller tumblers should go with their cousins, the other tall tumblers, in the only spot they’ll fit and put their other cousins, the smaller coffee mugs, next to them — creating one big happy family of beverage holders! On the same shelf, I added their acquaintances: my collection of straws and milk frothers.

Then, I placed measuring cups and spoons together as cousins in a section on the middle shelf. And I took a few miscellaneous tumbler lids and kept them with each other as cousins on the bottom shelf, aka the beverage shelf.

Next, I worked on my mess of kitchen gadgets, like a can opener, grater, avocado slicer, juicer, etc. These items got their own coworking space on the middle shelf. Swapping which shelves the organizers were on really helped make each section more orderly. 

Finally, the storage container section. The larger lids stayed with their cousins, the rest of the lids, and their coworkers, the reusable plastic bags, on the hanging shelf up top. The smaller container lids were corralled into one bin so they could sit next to their coworkers, the smaller containers themselves. And that was that! 

The beauty of this organizing method is that you can make it your own, and there’s no right or wrong way to do it. It’s all about how grouping items will work best for you — or, in my case, also how they’ll best fit. 

As I went through my pantry using the method, I also gathered a handful of things to get rid of, because I realized how many of their cousins and coworkers I already had (decluttering win!). This mindset helped me think about function first, and what I’d find most useful in my day-to-day when I go to grab something from my pantry.

The “cousins and coworkers” organizing method can be done with clothes in a closet or dresser, beauty or art supplies, and even food in a pantry or fridge. Asking yourself “Where does this go?” and deciding whether like items or tasks should take precedence in your space, takes the stress out of organizing.