With just over a week left to go to finish cleaning and organizing the kitchen for this month’s Household Organization Diet, I thought that I would gather up some easy kitchen organization ideas for you. Obviously it is really important that you declutter your space first {did you do the kitchen decluttering challenge HERE?}, but once you are down to your necessities, these tips and tricks will help you get your kitchen in tip top shape!
Ready to get organizing?
If you need to keep items out on the counter, group them together on a tray or shallow crate, like this one from Romantic Home. Not only does it look less cluttered, but it also serves as a pretty display piece.
Keep paperwork off the counter by creating a kitchen command center. You can use a wall mounted system similar to this one, add some file folders to the inside of a cabinet door or simply get a small file folder to file away all of your papers in one place.
Cell phone and iphone chargers left out on the kitchen counter are a pet-peeve of mine. I think this idea from Houzz is perfect to keep the cords {and electrical devices!} out of sight.
Use clear pull out bins and lazy susans in the fridge {lazy susans work great in cupboards too!} to corral similar items together and make it easy to reach all of those items in the back of the fridge.
You can find more fridge and freezer organization ideas HERE.
Add plastic containers with Command strips to the inside of your cupboard doors or pantry for extra storage {from Make Bake Celebrate}. You can also use the Command hooks on the inside of cupboard doors to hold pot holders, measuring cups, and other light items for extra storage.
When organizing your kitchen cabinets, group similar items together and organize the kitchen into “zones” such as a baking zone, kids’ zone, dish zone, etc. Try to keep the items as close to the place that you will be using them as possible and keep dishes and cutlery close to the sink and dishwasher for easy put away. Find more ideas for organizing your kitchen cabinets HERE.
Pantry labels make everything look so pretty {and stay organized!} and these ones from The Painted Hive are my favorite!
Utilize the inside of your cabinet doors for extra storage. You can add vinyl chalk board to write out lists or recipes, cork board to track menu planning or to pin up favorite recipes, or add Command hooks to hang file folders, oven mitts, measuring cups or other light items.
Use a magazine rack stored on its side for inexpensive canned food storage like this one from PB & J Stories.
Here’s another smart way from Mimi’s Crafty World to use a magazine file to hold kitchen staples.
The cupboard under your sink is probably one of the most used spaces in your kitchen, so take some time to simplify your cleaning supplies and organize them into a functional space. A pull out drawer helps to make the space more accessible and still works around the piping.
Use wire shelving installed upside down and at a slight angle to store canned goods. Simply add new items to the back so older items get placed up front. You can find the simple DIY at Today’s Home Owner.
Use expandable drawer dividers to section your drawers into smaller spaces to help keep everything organized. This also works great for drawers holding kitchen utensils and smaller kitchen gadgets.
Secure a vertical organizer on its end to a cupboard wall for easy access to pans and bakeware without having to remove everything! {from Martha Stewart}
Create a cleaning cupboard or designated space specifically for household cleaning supplies.
If you have wire racks, I love these hanging clips from Rubbermaid to store partially opened chip {or other snack item} bags. They could also hang from a wall mounted bar on the inside of a cabinet door or pantry.
Utilize pegboard to optimize your storage space like this idea from Apartment Therapy. It doesn’t need to be a whole wall so think of little alcoves or even on the inside of a cupboard or pantry door.
Hopefully that gives you some ideas that you can easily use in your own space. There’s no time like the present to get things done! 🙂
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This post is part of The Household Organization Diet. If you need some organization inspiration, check out THIS POST to learn more about the plan and THIS POST for all of the 2016 updates. You CAN get that house cleaned and organized once and for all! To see all of the previous posts click the Get Organized tab at the top of the blog and go to The Household Organization Diet. I also have all of the posts pinned to my Household Organization Diet pinterest board. Start at any time and make sure you are following along so you don’t miss out…
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Clara @ Top Cleaning ATlanta says
As all people I will say great tips, but they are definitely great! I loved the idea of lazy susans in the fridge. They save so much space! Thanks for sharing all those really helpful ideas. I’m sure a lot of people will be inspired 🙂
creativejewishmom/sara says
Wow, good for you, now maybe some of your organization will rub off on me, virtually? Thanks for sharing on craft schooling Sunday!
Jenn Lifford says
haha! You never know!
Rebecca says
What a great round-up of kitchen organization ideas! I love the hanging chip clip. That’s brilliant. Pinning!
Sandra @ Jack's Cleaning says
Thanks for the great tips! When I was getting married my mother in-law gave me a lot of cutlery, but I had my own as well. Now, I have a lot of stuff and I want to organize it. Your ideas will definitely help me! Thanks again!
Jenn Lifford says
Glad it was helpful!
Megan @ Prioritized Living says
Jenn, I love the idea of using Command hooks to create storage space easily! Such a great tip!
Also, YES to the command center. My home (and life!) became so much more organized once I created one of these for our family. You absolutely need a place to catch paperwork and keep track of a family’s schedules — and putting that command center where people naturally want to drop and abandon those papers forever is key to avoiding mountains of mystery paper.
Jeanne Grunert says
Great ideas to organize your kitchen! I like the potato and onion bins, and the chip clips too. Thank you for sharing this on the #HomeMattersParty
Jenn Lifford says
Thanks for hosting!
Frugal Hausfrau says
I see a few ideas I can use! I especially love the bins in the fridge. Thanks for sharing with us on Throwback Thursday & we’re looking forward already to what you’ll bring next week! 🙂
Mollie
Renee firestone says
What do you do about a dish strainer? Your countertop looks so wonderful without one, but I’m not sure I could do that. I hand wash a lot of my plastic ware, etc. because it can warp the shape. Any ideas?
Jenn Lifford says
By a dish strainer, do you mean like a drying rack? I just have a thick microfiber drying mat that I put down on the counter when we wash dishes – but my husband usually washes and I dry so we rarely leave them out to air dry unless it is just overnight. The mat fits under the kitchen sink when we are not using it.
Renee firestone says
Yes! That is what I meant. Not good with kitchen gadget terminology. 🙂 thank you for the tip. We are about to move into our first home (my husband and I) and I would love to keep the kitchen clutter free! Thank you for the tip!
Charlotte says
Would live to have the labels that are on the sugar jars
Jenn Lifford says
Yes, I love those too! If you click on the link in the post, they are actually available as a free printable over at The Painted Hive. The link will take you directly there!