Organizing the kitchen is a tricky thing.  It typically needs to store a lot of stuff — in a variety of “categories” — and it’s sometimes very small.  It often doesn’t have storage spaces that are clearly designed for the many things they must store.  And because we work in there every day, we have to make sure that nearly everything in the kitchen is readily accessible and easy to find!  Sometimes, simple tweaks can make a world of difference.

Hang it Up in the Kitchen

Most of us have plenty of “vertical space” that we aren’t using.  That is, we’re using the surfaces of our homes and storage spaces, but there’s a lot of empty space not being taken advantage of.  You can take advantage of some of that space by hanging things up.  For example, in the kitchen, you can hang:

• hot pads (I like to hang these inside an upper cupboard near the stove)
• colanders
• instructions for things
• measuring cups/spoons
• aprons

Most of those items require only hooks.  (Command hooks really work well.)  If you’re willing to be a little creative and/or invest in special containers, you can work toward organization in the kitchen by hanging other things, as well:

• fire extinguisher
• baskets of drink or sauce mix packets
• bags and wraps
• pots and pans
• utensils

Other Ideas for Organizing the Kitchen

I think each of us has special organizational challenges in the kitchen.   “What do I do with this?” “How do I store…?” A few ideas for various kitchen problems include:

• Baking dishes can go in a pot lid rack.  (If your dishes are deep, be sure to check the spaces in the rack to be sure they’re wide enough.)
• Small items like baby bottle parts or miscellaneous lids/caps can go in stacking bins like you’d think of for hardware  (the sort that are open to the front).
• If you have a  “junk drawer” in the kitchen, or a similar, “fiddly little things that belong here but don’t really fit any other category” drawer, even one or two drawer dividers or small baskets in the drawer can make a huge difference!
• Clean yogurt container lids underneath bottles of greasy or sticky substances (like olive oil or molasses) can help cut down on cleaning time for the cabinet shelves.
• I’m planning to make (literally) a potato sack, and hang it using the embroidery hoop trick shown at this site.
• Cans can be a tough thing to keep organized and space-optimized if your pantry or cupboard isn’t specifically designed for them.  I’ve seen examples of both soda cases (“fridge packs”) and magazine holders used as can organizers.

YOUR Ideas for Organizing the Kitchen

I would love to know:  what are your biggest organizing challenges in the kitchen (what can you not figure out how to store/organize), and what are your tips/tricks?  Maybe we can help each other out!

If you “collected” all of the doesn’t-belong-here items from your kitchen with me last week, have you gone through them and put them away yet?  (I have to confess that I haven’t dealt with mine yet.  I really need to do that this week!)