A perfectly organized cooking area may seem like a myth, but it’s never entirely out of reach. Smart storage and some savvy kitchen organization ideas can maximize efficiency and even save you precious meal prep time.
“Organizing kitchen cabinets by adjusting the shelves and using shelf risers takes patience, but being able to grab a dinner plate without moving the salad plates makes life so much easier,” says Katie McMenamin Sabo, organization expert and cofounder of Pixies Did It in Cleveland and New York City.
Creating designated zones is what helps Shea McGee, home decor expert and founder at Studio McGee, keep the space organized. She’ll sector off a prep zone near utensils and cutting boards and bundle dish soap, towels and sponges within arms’ reach of a cleaning station. “By grouping items by function, the kitchen flows effortlessly, and everything feels intentional and easy to find,” McGee tells AD.
To help you free up pantries, kitchen cabinets, and other small spaces, we spoke with interior designers and organization experts about kitchen organization ideas that won’t bog you down. Here are some step-by-step storage ideas and tips to help get you there—along with products that will make opening kitchen cabinets a dream.
Sort Out Your Pantry
Often the largest and most chaotic area of your kitchen, the pantry holds it all—from dry goods to small appliances. For all your bits and bobs, find storage bins, baskets, tubs, or dispensers that keep everything in its place. Buying pantry organization in proportion to the kitchen you have will keep things less crowded, but you can also decant any larger amounts into “something nice that you have accessible, like in the pantry cabinet that’s closer to where you cook,” suggests Jeffrey Phillip, a professional home organizer who once lived in a tiny New York City studio.
You’ll be shocked at how much space all the boxes and bags of grain take up in your cabinets. Sorting food into airtight containers will clear shelving space, especially if you’re a Costco fan and buy in bulk. Look for stackable storage containers and refill them after every grocery trip.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Beyond silverware, kitchen tools—like whisks and spatulas—aren’t usually uniform pieces that can be stacked on top of one another in a drawer divider. Using a clingy liner can help keep gear in place.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
An ordered kitchen means the cabinets are also organized, especially when it comes to food storage containers—you can’t rely on sight or smell to distinguish all-purpose flour from cake flour. Keep a label maker on hand, perhaps in an organizer storage bin for odds and ends that find their way into a kitchen drawer. Take inspiration from The Bear and label containers with both the item and the date you stored it to ensure you’re never reaching for month-old carrots.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
“Plastic grocery bags are like gremlins—they multiply when you’re not looking,” McMenamin Sabo says. Keep plastic bag chaos to a minimum by anticipating the overflow and sorting them into containers, whether it’s an old coffee canister or a whimsical cloth bag you can hang in the pantry. When the bags exceed the limits of the designated space, take them to the recycling bin at the grocery store.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Install hooks to store pans, lids, or serving and measuring spoons, or add a slim rack to stash pot lids or boxes of foil and plastic wrap. Sure, you might have to inch back the contents of your pantry just slightly, but you’ll be happy to do it when you open the door and see this supremely organized situation.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
If you’re short of closet space and in need of extra storage that’s flexible enough to move from room to room, get a little cart. You can add storage bins, uncommonly used kitchen utensils, or spare linens, and roll the cart into the kitchen when you need it. It’s not as convenient as built-in storage in the kitchen itself, but it’s great for anything you aren’t using every week.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
A kitchen cabinet with a bevy of lids might as well be chaos. “Pots and pans and their lids can be some of the most challenging kitchen items to organize,” says Emily Arthur, chief creative officer of Isla Porter, a female-founded luxury cabinetry company focused on customization. “Try using a peg system or a divider system to hold thinner pans upright instead of stacking them on top of each other in a drawer.”
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Rebekah Zaveloff, co-founder of Kitchen Lab Interiors, a kitchen design firm, is a huge fan of multiple tray dividers in a kitchen. “We do one small one near the sink for cutting boards, one near the ovens for bakeware like cookie sheets and sheet pans, and one in the pantry or elsewhere for serving dishes,” says Zaveloff, who is also co-founder and creative director at Imparfait Design Studio. Measure canisters and containers to make sure everything will still fit—there’s nothing worse than buying something that makes your kitchen organization woes worse!
.jpeg)
Clear the Counters
Timing your meal plans to align with your grocery hauls and produce expirations can be a juggling act—have you ever used an avocado one day too late? Choose a bowl for the countertop to serve as a reminder that everything in it has to be eaten up ASAP before it goes bad or anything new is bought. “I think most people have way too much food in their cabinets, but I do think that if you have your foods organized in a way where you know what you have in each category, it’s easier to not overbuy,” says Laura Cattano, a professional organizer in New York City.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Bet you didn’t think that paper towel holders could be exciting–and they aren’t, unless you have one with a secret spray bottle compartment you can fill with a cleaning solution. No more searching for a separate cleaning spray under the kitchen sink when you have a countertop spill.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Your fridge, whether stainless steel or textured plastic, is an untapped gold mine of storage space. A magnetic spice rack or paper towel holder can clear both your countertops and cabinets of unnecessary clutter.
.jpeg)
Cattano suggests screwing mug hooks into the bottom of kitchen cabinets to utilize that space between the cupboards and the countertops. That’ll make your coffee mugs all the more accessible during the morning caffeine ritual—plus allow you to show off that DIY mug you brought back from the paint-your-own pottery place.
“The only thing I would say is if you’re a clumsy person, or you have some heavy-handed people in the house and delicate mugs, it might not be the best [idea],” Cattano adds. “You do have to be a little careful with how you take them off the hooks.”
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Maybe you put your waffle maker to work every weekend without fail, but you’re probably not regularly using most of those single-use appliances that take up counter space. When you have a tiny kitchen, pare down your culinary gear to bring order to unruly cabinets.
“A lot of kitchen gadgets are just a waste,” Cattano explains. “No one needs an egg separator. Eggs come with their own separators—it’s called the shell.” Anything you’re not likely to use often needs to find a new home. Strike a deal with friends who have single-use appliances to share them—perhaps they won’t mind lending out the popcorn maker one weekend if you sweeten the deal with your ice cream maker. For the items you do decide to keep, show them off on a floating shelf that hides annoying cords.
Maximize the Space You Do Have
We can’t all knock out a wall or build an addition in order to have more kitchen storage, but we can hack the existing space. Every available inch can be outfitted for storage—the top of your refrigerator, under your sink, even the top of your cabinets.
Making use of untapped vertical space is a great way to store more in your kitchen and pantry. But unless you’re tall enough to be in a basketball league, how do you reach anything you put up there? With a step ladder, of course. Look for one thin enough to slide into the space between your fridge or oven.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
We’ve already looked at the space in and above your upper cabinets, but what about the rest of the ceiling? A pot rack hung from your ceiling can take advantage of otherwise wasted vertical space, and any frequently used tools that happen to have holes in them—slotted spoons, rubber spatulas, and the like—also make good candidates. Just avoid using anything that is heavier than what the rack is rated to carry or anything sharp or potentially dangerous, such as knives and kitchen torches.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Cabinet organization tools, like shelf dividers, can literally double your storage space, especially for flatter items like low-ball glasses and dinner plates. Look to sturdy wood or metal options rather than plastic for a longer-lasting system. This bartender’s solution keeps stemware stored in style. You can hang it underneath a cabinet and showcase wine glasses, or you can tuck it away inside for hidden storage. “Risers have really worked well for me to get more storage out of each shelf because taking advantage of going vertical opens up plenty of unused space,” Chu says. This will help keep items separated so you don’t have to try to pick something out of the middle of a huge stack.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Instead of playing Tetris with all the food storage containers in your fridge and freezer, invest in a set that stacks nicely. You can then designate meal prep zones for easy access. This will be the last time you open refrigerator doors and spend 10 minutes looking for mustard. You can even find wine racks, can containers, and lazy Susans that stick to the shelves to ensure that anything you’re storing has a home.
.jpeg)
A hutch or credenza can easily provide more storage space for serveware and dinnerware while giving your space that eclectic, curated look you’re hard-pressed to find outside of Europe.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
The pumpkin-shaped pancake molds are adorable in October but don’t really deserve a place alongside your silverware the other 11 months of the year, especially in a small kitchen. That goes for any holiday-specific or seasonal goods, like hot cocoa mugs that only get used in the wintertime. So if space is scarce, don’t navigate around them—store them instead with the rest of your holiday decor. Allocate several large storage containers to hold your festive goodies. Better yet, label each with the holiday or theme.
.jpeg)
A drawer organizer can keep silverware sorted and serving utensils paired together. Plus, knife-specific ones cover the blades to protect your hands while keeping your counters clear of bulky knife blocks. We recommend expandable units that can adapt to your available drawer space, type of cutlery, and go with you when you move.
.jpeg)
.jpeg)
Whether stored under your sink or in the pantry, having cleaning supplies that stay neat, organized, and safe from little ones is important. We recommend a pull-out drawer for an unobscured glance at what you have without needing to rummage around the pipes.
.jpeg)
