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Tired of not being able to find what you’re looking for? Fed up of moving 20 pans to get to the one you need? These brilliant kitchen organisation ideas are here to help! No more finding ingredients that went out of date 5 years ago, or feeling like you can’t move for gadgets on the kitchen side. Become a kitchen organising pro, and grab your FREE Kitchen Organisation Checklist…
Free Kitchen Organisation Checklist
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Why is kitchen organisation important?
Ever heard the phrase “Tidy desk, tidy mind”? The same logic applies in your kitchen!
If your kitchen is tidy, and well organised, you will put yourself in a much better mindset to create great food, with less stress.
Picture the scene… You’ve got stuff all over your kitchen worktops, and your cupboards are full to breaking point. You’re mid recipe, and you’re stressed out. Why? Because you can’t find that one pan you need. Or that dried herb you want is 3 years out of date. Or the tray you need is at the bottom of a pile of 20 other trays, and you can’t get it out the cupboard!
But if you’ve got a clear worktop, and well organised cupboards? You can immediately get to the pan you need, the dried herb is accessible and well in date, and the tray slides out the cupboard like a dream!
See the difference? I’d much rather be the second person, wouldn’t you?!
What is the most efficient way to organise your kitchen?
If you just say you’re going to ‘organise your kitchen’ and dive straight in, it can feel overwhelming and you’re likely to come unstuck. Whereas, if you break it down into smaller more achievable tasks, you’re much more likely to succeed!
You might find it helpful to use a checklist, where larger tasks are broken down into sub-tasks.
Being able to tick things off a To Do list automatically makes you feel like you’ve achieved something. And spurs you on to do more!
How do you organise what goes where in your kitchen?
Start by thinking about the items you use every day, and work from there. Put these in the most accessible places.
On the other side of that coin, put less used items in the harder to reach places. If you don’t need them that often, they’ll cause you fewer headaches!
Grouping items together can also be helpful. For example, if you’re making a cup of tea, you don’t want to go to the other end of the kitchen to get a teaspoon, do you?
How to organise your kitchen cabinets
Organising your kitchen cupboards can seem a daunting task. Especially if you’ve left it for a long time. It’s best to start by removing any items that are out of date, broken, or you’re not going to use again.
Once you’ve done that, there are a surprising amount of really great products that can help you get creative with the space you have available.
How to organise a small kitchen
Having a small kitchen can feel very inhibiting at times. However, clever use of the right products can help you overcome your lack of space!
There are quite a few products in the Kitchen Organisation Ideas list below, that are perfect for making the most of space in smaller kitchens. Keep reading to learn more!
Kitchen Organisation Ideas
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If you want to organise like a pro, these kitchen organisation ideas are guaranteed to help! I love getting organised, and have personally used all these items (or very similar) to get my kitchen in order.
Being organised really helps to get you in a positive head space before cooking or baking. Meaning you’re less likely to make mistakes, waste money, or get stressed out!
Why you’ll love it: Bored of having to move 10 trays to get to the one you need, at the very bottom of the pile? This tray rack is the answer! I’ve had one of these for years, and it’s honestly the best thing EVER! This one is particularly great, as you can adjust the widths to suit your needs. It can also be used with frying pans and lids too.
Perfect for: Instant, easy access to all your trays! (And frying pans/lids.)
2. Under Shelf Storage Organiser
Why you’ll love it: Utilise that dead space under any shelf in your kitchen cupboard. Designed to store things like foil and cling film – I actually use mine to store plastic food bags and a tub full of food clips. Freeing up precious drawer space. It’s genius!
Just make sure you measure your cupboard and decide what you’re going to put in it first (and measure that too!) to avoid disappointment.
Perfect for: Using dead space that would otherwise be wasted.
Why you’ll love it: Again, this genius product makes the most of that under the shelf space, that would otherwise be wasted. I store my fresh garlic, stock pots, sesame seeds and pine nuts in here. It’s really secure, and works perfectly.
Perfect for: Utilising dead space and freeing up drawer space.
Why you’ll love them: Perfect for use in the fridge and/or your cupboards. They also stack, which is brilliant! As it utilises height, that might otherwise be wasted space.
Perfect for: Keeping your fridge and cupboards more organised, and utilising height space.
Why you’ll love it: This is one of my favourites!! Rather than stacking heavy plates on top of each other, you can separate them AND utilise height. Making better use of space, and providing much easier access!
Perfect for: Making the most of cupboard space, and providing easier access.
Why you’ll love it: I’ve had this bread bin for a few years now. It’s so good, because it’s narrow and utilises height. Rather than taking up lots of worktop space, like a traditional bread bin. You can easily get 2 full 800g loaves of bread in here, with a little room to spare.
Perfect for: Smaller kitchens with little worktop space.
Why you’ll love it: Let’s be honest. As much as you try not to, you’re always going to end up with things on the top of your kitchen cupboards. So why not make it look neater, while also protecting those items from dust and grime? Cue these fabulous lidded storage tubs from IKEA!
Perfect for: Kitchen cupboard top storage/protecting items from kitchen grime.
Why you’ll love it: Do your utensils slide around every time you open and close a drawer? Keep everything in its place, by putting non slip matting in the bottom!
Perfect for: Small drawers without the space for a cutlery organiser, or drawers storing larger utensils that won’t fit in a cutlery organiser.
9. Adjustable Cutlery Drawer Organiser
Why you’ll love it: This cutlery organiser is deeper than traditional versions (5.5cm). Again, utilising that extra bit of height which would otherwise be wasted. It’s also narrow, and can be adjusted to be wider if needed.
Perfect for: Slim drawers and smaller kitchens.
Why you’ll love it: Lids always get in the way or get lost don’t they?! Well not with these handy lid holders they don’t!
Perfect for: Utilising cupboard door space, and making pan lids more accessible.
Why you’ll love it: These can be used for so many things! They’re stylish enough to look great on your tiles, or you can use them inside your cupboard doors. I use one to hang up my oven gloves, and another to hang my cork pot stand inside a cupboard. These ones are even strong enough to hang pans on!
*Note, when hanging items on the inside of your cupboard doors, make sure you are only hanging light objects. As, over time, heavier items could misalign the door or even break it off its hinges.
Perfect for: Utilising cupboard door space, and decluttering work tops of hanging objects.
12. Self Adhesive Utensil Holders
Why you’ll love it: They’re super strong, and you don’t need to drill holes to use them. These bad boys can hold everything from your kitchen utensils and pans, to your broom or mop! They even have a hook too. Don’t you just love a multi-functional product?!
Perfect for: Utilising wall space, instead of cluttering up your kitchen sides.
Why you’ll love it: Too much on the kitchen side? Can you hang it up? Make the most of wall space by hanging pans, utensils, and more, on this handy mounted bar!
Perfect for: Clearing the kitchen side of clutter.
14. Wall Mounted Hanger and Shelving
Why you’ll love it: Go one step further, by adding in shelving to your hanging mount! You can fit SO MUCH on this thing, it’s brilliant!
Perfect for: Clearing the kitchen side of clutter, and making items more accessible.
15. Storage Tubs and Reusable Labels
Why you’ll love it: Have bags of pasta all over the place? Bought boxes of food that are too wide or tall for your cupboards? Decant them into these airtight storage tubs! They even come with handy, reusable chalk labels.
Perfect for: Keeping your pantry/cupboards more organised.
16. Under Cabinet Kitchen Roll Holder
Why you’ll love it: Free up valuable kitchen worktop space with this handy under the cabinet kitchen roll holder! Can also be used vertically.
Perfect for: Decluttering your worktop.
17. Drawer Dividers
Why you’ll love it: If you hate having tons of things dumped in one drawer, you’ll love these drawer dividers! Easily adjustable to most drawer sizes, divide your kitchen drawers into segments, for better organisation.
Perfect for: Keeping kitchen drawers more organised.
18. Stackable Kitchen Cupboard Shelves
Why you’ll love it: Make the most of the height available in your kitchen cupboards with these stackable shelves! These make is much easier to see what you have and haven’t got.
Perfect for: Cupboards without shelves, or with lots of height space.
19. Under Shelf Storage Baskets
Why you’ll love it: These multifunctional baskets not only save worktop space, but can be used both inside and outside your cupboards! Capable of storing a number of different items, they’re very handy indeed.
Perfect for: Creating extra storage space.
Why you’ll love it: Mugs can be very awkward and annoying to store. Make use of their handles, and hang them up under your cupboards instead!
Perfect for: Making mug storage easier, and freeing up valuable cupboard space.
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Have your say!
Did you find any of these kitchen organisation ideas useful? Thought of something I may have missed? Let me know! Get in touch via social media – on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Or email me at emma@kitchenmason.com. I’d love your feedback!
About Emma Mason
Emma is a professional blogger. Utilising over 20 years of cooking experience, she’s passionate about making your life easier, one recipe at a time! Drawing on her 12+ year background in recipe research and development, photography, copy writing and marketing, Emma has turned kitchenmason.com into a successful career. Known as ‘the organisation queen’ among friends, she is passionate about creating easy to follow recipes that anyone can follow and enjoy. She lives in Nottingham (UK) with her husband, daughter and 2 naughty cats. In her spare time she can be found reading a good book, training at the dojo preparing for her black belt grading, or dreaming up the next crazy colour combo for her hair!