The family kitchen is usually the most often used room in a home. It’s not only where everyone goes to eat, but typically it’s also where they come together to share their day as well as prepare a meal or bake their favorite brownie recipe to share. With all the different people coming and going as well as the busy nature of our lives, it can be difficult to maintain an organized kitchen if you don’t start with some good systems.
Location, Location, Location
– When setting up an organized kitchen, a good place to start is with your dishes, cups, and flatware. Since they are used the most often, they should be easy to reach in order to set the table and located within close proximity to the dishwasher. You don’t want to have to turn in 4 directions or walk all the way across the room to set the table or put your dishes away. If you have young kids set-up a low drawer or shelf for their cups and plates. They’ll be able to assist with getting ready for mealtime and feel empowered by being able to perform a task on their own.
Drawer Organizers
– Junk drawers are a common site in most kitchens and not just for random rubber bands, lose change, small toys, and crumpled post-it notes. When serving and prep utensils are thrown in drawers they become an unruly mess (making them junk drawers) and finding the right tool can be a challenge (after all 90% of doing a job well is having the right tool). Divide your drawers with organizers to make things easy to find. Use empty space in the back for less used items. No more digging through your drawers trying to find your measuring spoons or can opener, they’re easy to see and find.
Store Lids Vertically
– Whether it’s pots and pans or food storage containers, keeping lids with their mates can be a challenge. In addition, the lids take up a lot of space when stored horizontally. My favorite solution to this kitchen organization problem are Like – It Bricks. They hold lids upright in deep drawers or on shelves and make it easy to see the size you need and match it to the proper bottom. Added bonus: things just look a lot less cluttered when you open a drawer or cabinet.
Pantry Binz
– Zoning your food makes it much easier for everyone to find what they are looking for. In order to create an organized kitchen, you’ll want to use use bins and containers where possible to keep like with like. My favorite food storage solution is clear Pantry Binz because they come in a variety of sizes as well as let you see what you have. They work great for keeping bagged food (like pasta, rice, beans, as well as snack bars and small packaged items) from making your shelves unruly mess. *Photo Credit – Container Store
Shelf Expanders
– When canned goods and spices are placed on a shelf, the items in the back can get lost and be difficult to reach. Shelf expanders create a tiered system allowing you to see everything you have and easily access it. Another bonus, you’ll decrease the likelihood of buying duplicates because you know what is there.
Photo of Kitchen from IKEA