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28 Ways to Organize Your Kitchen

By , About.com Guide

With an eye towards the streamlined and simple, these kitchen organizers can be re-purposed to fit your kitchen no matter how large or small.

1. Keep an inventory of your pantry supplies.

A Wall of DIY ClipboardsPhoto / Decor 8

Tack up an inventory of your pantry and store it affixed to a clipboard and a pencil on a hook on the inside of your cabinet door so you can quickly scan before you grocery shop.

2. Move flour, sugar, and grains into food storage containers.

Pop Food Storage Containers from Stacks and StacksPop Food Storage Containers from Stacks and Stacks
Place the grains you cook with the most at eye-level in the pantry. Overflow can be stored in their original bags in a plastic storage container that is easy-to-retrieve but not taking up valuable space. Try the back of the cabinet or pantry. I like these Pop Containers from Stacks and Stacks:

3. Use as much vertical storage as you can, especially in a small kitchen.

Meal PlanningPhoto / Home & Home
I know what I'm talking about here: I once lived in an apartment with literally only 12 inches of counter space. I stored appliances in large basket above my cabinets. It didn't look quite as nice as this, but it was very effective. I used my trusty step stool to retrieve what I needed and put it back as soon as I was done so it didn't clutter up my tiny space.

4. Move linens out of the kitchen.

Flowers in the KitchenPhoto / La Dolce Vita

Table cloths, cloth napkins that are not used daily or weekly, and the leaf for your table can be stored outside of the kitchen, either in the linen closet or in your kitchen storage space.

5. Roll out storage for the win!

Roll Out Kitchen StoragePhoto / Lynk Professional
Roll-out storage is so effective at creating additional space and making things easier to reach, it's my number one kitchen storage solution. The winning element is that rollout drawers allow you to use back-of-the-cabinet space more efficiently because it's easier to reach. This is a worthy time and monetary investment to install.

6. Hang kitchen towels.

Blackboard in KitchenPhoto / Pinterest

Hang towels on the refrigerator door rather than folding them into a drawer. Then you can easily grab and use them as needed, and wash them 1-3 times a week depending on how often you cook.

7. Move your appliances around according to use.

Green kitchen with white shelvesPhoto / Domino

Move your most-used appliances directly onto your counter top, or into the cabinet just above or below the counter top you use them on.

8. Create a kitchen storage space inside your home, but outside the kitchen.

Blueprint Magazine KitchenPhoto / Martha Stewart Living

Use a simple shelving unit (something like this Workforce Shelving Unit from Home Depot) to store out-of-season or rarely-used kitchen items in the basement or attic, all stored together on a shelving unit.

9. Keep your shopping list on a clipboard.

Photo / Architectural Digest

Keep a clipboard and pen attached to the fridge to jot down things you need as you are working in the kitchen: decluttering, tidying, and doing the dishes, cooking. This helps everyone in your household know exactly where the list is at all times, which means no one will tell you in passing "I need this."

10. Establish a user manual file box.

Modern Pink KitchenPhoto / Pinterest

No need to organize any further than throwing all user manuals for kitchen appliances into the same box. Think about it: do you really need to establish a file for each appliance? No, you don’t! So just toss them all into the same box and forget about them until you need them to fix something, order a new part or use your warranty.

This way you only have to know where one box is and not 15-20 different user manuals.

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