I have to confess that I am a little bit of a neat freak. I like for things to be nice and organized. Especially in my kitchen. Having a small kitchen like we do means you have to maximize the space that you have.
Why is it so good to be organized in the kitchen? First of all, you won’t have to hunt and search for items that you need while cooking. That makes cooking a lot less stressful. Less stress makes for a much more enjoyable cooking experience. A more enjoyable experience means you might cook more often.
A nice and tidy pantry means you can see what you have on hand, and you won’t be buying duplicate items that you don’t need.
I store my lighter plastic food storage containers on the top shelf. Clear storage containers allow me to quickly and easily see when I am running low on something.
I found these glass food storage containers at T.J. Maxx and Ross, and I just love them. These are stored on the middle shelf in my pantry since they are heavier. My can goods, unopened bottled items, etc., are stored on the bottom two shelves.
Wire shelves were essential in helping me maximize my kitchen cabinet space. They are especially great if you live in an apartment where you can’t make permanent changes. I can move them around to suit my needs. The Container Store and Target both sell these.
I try to store items close to where I will be using them. I store my coffee cups in the cabinet above my coffeemaker instead of with my other cups.
Items like my cutting boards, food prep bowls are stored in the cabinets by the counter where I prepare our meals.
Baskets are an absolute must for keeping those plastic lids nice and neat.
I own several platters, and I’ve found that standing them up behind my other dishes is an efficient way to store them. Plus, I can enjoy seeing my pretty plates and platters whenever I open the cabinets.
I keep all of my pots and pans in one cabinet. I love this pan rack that I bought a few years ago. Before I got this, I had to stack the pans inside of each other. That was kind of a pain, plus I worried about my non-stick pans getting scratched. I highly recommend getting some kind of pan rack if you have a lot of pans. A basket keeps my pot lids, steamer basket, and pasta strainer tidy.
In a different cabinet, I keep all of my glass storage containers. I also store all of my casserole dishes in this cabinet. The rack that my casserole dishes are stacked in was originally meant for cookie sheets, muffin pans, and such. I didn’t really like it for that purpose, but it works perfectly for storing my casserole dishes.
I store my food prep tools in the drawer that is directly under the counter where I do my work. This plastic drawer organizer stores my knives safely, and keeps thing nice and neat. I purchased this one at Target a few years ago. I checked their website, and they sell a slightly different version of it now. You can check it out here if you are interested.
I made some room in one of my drawers for my foil, saran wrap, and ziploc bags. The coffee filters are also stored in this drawer because it is located by the coffee maker.
Having a well arranged, organized kitchen has made cooking for me a lot more enjoyable. Do you have any great tips for organizing a kitchen?