Kitchen Organization

Keeping your home free of clutter is a worthy, if lofty goal. As much as we vow to keep the one-in-one-out policy and only keep what makes us happy or is the best version of itself, there are a few things that we do need to hoard in multiples—and sometimes there’s no way around the fact that they’re just plain clutter-y. That’s where smart organization solutions come into play.

The kitchen is the de facto command center in most homes. This is where families gather for breakfast and dinner—and homework and work work, too— every day, and it’s the spot to catch your kids or your spouse if there’s something you need to communicate about your day. So no wonder companies and bloggers make a big deal about putting a command center in the kitchen. It sounds so good: a designated spot, bulletin board and all, for controlling your household.

We go to great lengths to get things out of our homes, but there's one popular trope that will always work.

It’s still summer, but make no mistake: fall is right around the corner. Now’s a great time to get your kitchen in shipshape before school starts and life becomes crazy again. Here are seven simple, inexpensive tools and creative methods that’ll make your kitchen easy to use again, and next-level organized. You thought you grabbed a spoon, but it isn’t until you got clear across the room that you realized it was a fork instead.

It’s an unfortunate truth of small space living that the tinier the kitchen, the harder it is to find storage space—and worse, stay organized. While some of us invest in new ways to carve out storage space and keep our kitchens tidy, others are forced to forgo their non-essential (and clutter-causing) kitchen wares, especially plastic Tupperware. But fret not my lunch-packing (and leftover-loving) friends, there’s hope for your messy Tupperware cabinet.

I don't have a fortune to customize the cabinets from top to bottom — just a few dollars here and there to maximize my kitchen's storage potential.

Be it a room, a cabinet or even just a drawer, your pantry deserves a little love.

Nothing turns a happy chef into a frazzled one like rifling through drawers or disassembling the kitchen to dig out the necessary tools. Don’t let this be you at Thanksgiving. For a smoothly running kitchen — and, more importantly, a smiling cook — eliminate everything that doesn’t need to be in your kitchen before the big day.

It’s natural to focus your attention on the parts of your home that other people see, but we’d like to advocate today that you turn your focus to a small spot that easily becomes messy, cluttered and frustrating — your kitchen utensil drawer. Go open yours right now; what do you see? A streamlined monument to organization and efficiency? No? Ok, it’s time to straighten it up. It will look better and, more importantly, work better for you.

If you’ve got a pantry—no matter the size, from a small cabinet to a complete closet to a dedicated room—chances are you have a door or two enclosing it. While you might have given attention to organizing the shelves within your pantry, have you thought about tackling all that wasted space behind your door? This DIY pantry door storage solution is functional and beautiful. And it’s such a good idea, we’re rerunning this post two years in a row!

Plastic zipper bags are probably a food storage staple in your home—they’re an easy way to store food in the fridge and freezer, plus they can help keep you organized in other ways, including being a necessity when you travel by air.

When you think of a silverware organizer, you probably think of a standard cutlery tray—a plastic bin with sections for knives, forks and spoons, with maybe an extra section or two for other miscellaneous utensils. But just because most of the options you come across are simple, that doesn’t mean you’re stuck settling for the basics.

Plus, it's super renter-friendly.

If you’re itching to kick your standard closed cabinets to the curb to update the look of your kitchen, you may be considering the controversial open shelf. But before you add a bunch of bespoke floating wooden shelves to your kitchen, consider this in-between look that’s a little less expected. It just might be the thing you’re looking for to add some organized, yet visually interesting storage to your cooking space.

The area under your kitchen or bathroom sink can sometimes feel like an island of lost products. And it will never get any better, until you actually take the steps to sort it out and install some (potentially temporary) organization solutions. Here, half a dozen ideas to get your cabinets in order. Put one or more of these into place, and you’ll be rewarded with a storage area that looks better (good for your heart) and works better (good for your mind).

Whether your space is just too small or your storage options lacking, you might find yourself in the position of figuring out where to store pots in your kitchen. Don’t despair if there’s no cabinet to tuck them away in; there are ways to store your pots out in the open that won’t hurt your eyes. For your storage inspiration files: 14 examples of real homes storing pots stylishly.

I moved into a small, 500 square foot apartment with real wood floors, tall charming ceilings and a spunky little kitchen that can’t be more than a few feet wide. Yes, WIDE. We’re talking can’t-open-the-oven-unless-you’re-standing-on-the-side small. But I managed to fit everything I needed in my kitchen snugly, in a way that functions well enough that I can easily pull things out as I need.

Looking for easy things you can do to make your kitchen better, look nicer and feel more comfortable? You want it to be an inspiring space you want to use. There are lots of improvements you can make; these four things are easy and work with any size or style of kitchen. What are those things you use everyday? The things you’d have to open a door or drawer to get to (or maybe even dig out of some container)?

For years I’ve coveted pantries, and now that I have one… it’s kind of a mess. Keeping a well-stocked pantry user-friendly is definitely a challenge, but the wisest minds online are here to help… From across the web, here are some of the best ideas for keeping your pantry organized. You’ll never spend 15 minutes digging around for the sugar ever again. Open + Industrial Perhaps the best way to keep your pantry looking its best? Make it public.

Who hasn’t opened their pantry or cabinets to a mess and thought — there’s not even any “real food” for dinner? Kimberly’s pantry needed a clean out and some order. If this ‘before’ photo looks familiar to you, check out what some labels and dollar bins did for her: From Kimberly: I decided I’d just take one shelf at a time one night a week and organize everything. That idea lasted until I finished the first shelf.