Prioritizing what you keep in your kitchen is a crucial starting point. First, take stock of everything in your kitchen. Sounds like a can, doesn’t it? Well, you’ll be surprised at what’s hiding in the back corner of the lower kitchen. The drawer trusts me. For example, I guarantee that AT LEAST some of the following items will take up valuable space in your kitchen.
- Too much Tupperware!
- How many casseroles did you say?!
- Jars of things that expired 5 years ago… yuck
- To be honest, when was the last time you used your Panini maker? Kitchen Help?
- Do you remember the juicer you bought for your juice diet? Well, it’s getting dusty.
- Don’t even get me started on the stale granola or frozen brown bananas you swore would make banana bread (… or is it just me?)
I think you get the point. Fortunately, there are simple ways to create more useful space in your kitchen, which can make your kitchen look cleaner and more organized.
Here are 5 steps to organizing your kitchen for optimal space and storage.
1. Detox
Yes, the time has come. Take a deep breath and take the step. Go through all of your food and drinks and check the expiration date. Be realistic and honest with yourself when deciding whether or not to actually eat things. This one is tricky because we don’t want to waste food and throw it away like it’s nothing. Access to so much delicious food is a luxury we must not forget; but we also do not have to store rotten apples, mouldy jam, and burnt bagels in our fridges through our fault.
2. Cabinet for cabinet, a drawer for drawer
For some of us, food is less of a problem than household appliances and kitchen appliances/utensils. This is also based on personal preferences, as I hardly use my Kitchen Aid, for example, but have friends who use their almost every day. Sit in the front row on your counter. It’s the unopened crepe maker and refrigerator from your wedding ten years ago that we’re talking about here.
3. Optimize Your Space
This can be the fun part, especially if you love decorating. If you are the one who loves having cute decorations on your countertops then go town! This just requires you to find a closet or shelving racks for your appliances. So it is helpful to only choose the ones that you use regularly to keep in your kitchen. The others should be kept elsewhere in the house if possible.
4. Organizing What You Have Prioritized
Now that you have everything in your kitchen organized, it is time to organize your cabinets and drawers. Go through the batteries you made from appliances and foods that you plan to keep in the kitchen and collect similar items. Then decide according to your preferences where you would like to have each one of them: some like to have the baking utensils closer to the oven, others the dishes closer to the dishwasher. The sky (and the size of your kitchen) is the limit!
5. Dive into the details
Small tweaks and tricks can make a big difference in the kitchen.
Here are some nice organizing tips:
- Drawer Dividers
- Lazy Susan’s
- See-through bins for keeping small items together (especially in a drawer) of rubbish
- Hooks for hanging coffee cups, pots, and pans to free up closet space
- Extra shelves and shelves (especially if you don’t have a pantry)
- Fridge magnets for holding papers, receipts, invitations, etc.
- Extra trash bags in the bottom of the trash can (simple exchange)
