There are so many different items on the market today that are designed to help you organize your home. The key to finding the best organization items that will work the best for you is to first look at your lifestyle and your organization personality, and then find items that contribute to both categories.
Lifestyle: are you a busy person who needs things to be quickly accessible?
Organization personality: Do you like things out and visible, or neatly stowed? Your lifestyle will partly influence this. If your lifestyle dictates that you need things readily accessible, you are going to want organization items that contribute to this. If not, you can have organization items that can be tucked away.
Knowing your lifestyle and the type of organizer you are will be the two factors that you will rely on to help you dictate what organization items will work best for you. In this article, I am going to provide you with options for kitchen organization that will work with the type of lifestyle you have, as well as compliment the type or organizer you are.
(If you would be interested in this becoming a series for organizing different areas of the home, please let me know in the comments!)
*Disclaimer: We do not earn commission from any of these products should you choose to purchase them, nor through any purchases made through the links shared.*
Table of Contents:
Utensil Organization
Kitchen drawers can get messy FAST. If you are needing some type of drawer organizer, I recommend getting one that fits perfectly inside your drawer. If you get one that is too small, you will have wasted space and rattling objects when you open and close your drawer. You can buy one that is the exact size of your drawer, or you can buy an adjustable organizer. This one is my favorite because it can be for both cooking utensils and silverware, and it has a long compartment for longer objects, such as reusable straws.
For more flexible organization, these are great because you can create your own compartment sizes for more fine-tuned organization. This works great if you have smaller-sized items to organize and need to quickly see everything.
For a countertop option, find a decorative jar to put your most used cooking utensils in! This is a convenient option that allows you to add cute decoration to your kitchen counters!
Spice Organization
If you cook frequently, which I assume most of us do, you most likely have several spices floating around. I am not a fan of the traditional spice cabinet: spices inevitably get shoved to the back and then you forget what you have. That is why I really like spice drawers where you can see every spice that you have at the same time. This is helpful when cooking because it encourages you to try different spices as well! To keep your spice drawer tidy, I like these:
Stainless steel is great because it will hold up over time without rusting. It also will not mold like wood, and it is very easy to clean. While this product is expandible, just make sure to measure your drawer width to order the right starting size.
If you do not have a drawer to dedicate to spices, or if you prefer to have your spices within eyesight, something like this is very convenient as a countertop option:
What I like about this is that it is super slim and can tuck right up against the wall. You can keep your most used spices here. It also comes in three different colors and two different sizes! As an added bonus, it is super cute!
Pots and Pan Organization
The dreaded pots and pans cabinet! Honestly, this is one of my least favorite cabinets in the kitchen (right up there with food storage containers, am I right?). Pots and pans are so clunky! Mine always end up in a Tetris-type pile, and I seem to always need the one on the bottom. Then, when I go to grab that one pan on the bottom, I inevitably knock my pots and pans tower over and all of the sudden I have the world's loudest, tone-deaf marching band in my kitchen. Here is my solution for organized pots and pans!
The customization of this item is incredible. You can adjust the shelving size so you can store pots and pans with their lids on, and you can fit it to a narrower cabinet by simply removing the racks on one of the sides. You can also lay this organizer on its side to store pans and lids vertically. This also works great for holding your cutting boards upright!
Under the Kitchen Sink Organization
Under the sink is where most people keep cleaning supplies. In my experience, several of my liquid cleaning supplies get knocked down and spill quite often, so I have found two solutions for this problem. The first solution is to install a protective silicone mat. This one is designed to fit under the standard 34x22 inch kitchen sink cabinet, and has a lip to trap in liquid in case anything spills. It is silicone so it is easy to clean.
The other solution is to get a lazy Susan with a tall edge. The tall edge is important, because most cleaning bottles are tall, and when you spin it you do not want them to knock each other over. Here's the one I have.
Under the kitchen sink is a place where I often end up with a bunch of random, little cleaning tools: razors, sponges, rags, Swiffer duster refills, etc. This shelving unit is small enough to tuck under the sink while providing three drawers to organize your tools. I like the sturdy, flat top that allows you to stack items on top of it. The sky is the limit with organization when you have one of these.
Food Storage Container Organization
I recently figured out the key to food storage container organization, and that is to stop saving all of the yogurt and sour cream containers, and buy matching containers that are specifically for leftovers and meal prep. When the lids and containers match, they stack together better, and you have less of a container avalanche when you open the cupboard.
My favorite brand for food containers is Rubbermaid. Rubbermaid containers have sturdy lids, and the plastic container is durable enough to withstand the freezer. This size is very universal, and is ideal for leftovers and meal prep.
Pantry Organization
There are two ways to tackle pantry organization, and this will depend on your organization personality. The first way is to organize snacks (bags of chips, popcorn, bars, etc.) into labeled containers like these. Bins are quick and efficient, and instead of having floating bags of half-eaten chips in your pantry, you will have containers of bags of half-eaten chips, which is much cleaner looking. Something opaque will keep everything looking neat. Make sure you add labels. I like these because they are easily removed for cleaning or switching the label itself. The labels are also waterproof!
Pro tip: Measure the space between your shelves to ensure you are getting the correct size container.
On the other hand, if you prefer to see all of your pantry items rather than categorizing in bulk using containers, you will benefit from individual, airtight storage containers. These are decorative, clean-looking, and functional. Your food will also last longer this way. Bonus, these containers come with their own labels!
Now onto canned goods. This is going to depend on how many cans you have: if you have multiple of the same canned good, or if you have a bunch of random food cans.
If you have multiple of the same canned good, these stackable organizers are great for saving space.
If you have more of a variety of random cans, a lazy Susan is perfect for you. The rotating feature allows you to easily see what you have in the back, so you always know what you have on hand. These come in a 4-pack and have a non-slip bottom.
Refrigerator Organization
The only two things that I believe are necessary for refrigerator organization are these acrylic organizers and the same high walled lazy Susan listed for Under the Sink Organization.
I REALLY like these organizers for storing cheese sticks, beefsticks, organizing your cheese drawer, butter and cream cheese, or containing packets. I recommend the 11-piece size for the refrigerator specifically, as the larger sizes include too many small square containers that, in my opinion, are useless in the refrigerator.
The lazy Susan is great for storing condiments and coffee creamer.
Unless you have your own chickens, I do not believe you need the trending egg organizer. Unpopular opinion, I know.
Most of the items in your fridge are snacks and condiments, so a way to contain them is necessary. Otherwise, they will end up in one big pile, pushed to the back of your fridge.
Wine Organization
Last, and certainly not least, is this wine organizer. Wine can be tricky to organize as not many people have the counterspace or bar space to store their wine. I like this organizer because it keeps wine accessible (which is very important) and you can put it under the cabinet that holds your wine glasses so that everything is in one place (you know, in case of emergencies!). However, it does require you to drill into the bottom of your cabinets to fasten it.
If you like to keep your wine chilled, this organizer allows you to store your wine bottles horizontally in your refrigerator so that they do not roll all over the place. They are also stackable!
A Note to Remember
Although these items are not necessary to have, they make organizing your kitchen a heck of a lot easier. The goal of organization is to keep things tidy and easy to find, and, as a busy mom, that is definitely necessary! I wish this list is helpful to you, whether you are looking for a specific organization item, you need a one-stop list for your complete kitchen revamp, or you simply need to figure out what organization items work best for your lifestyle!
I would like to know what your favorite kitchen organization items are! Moreover, let me know if you are interested in this becoming a series as well. Let's chat in the comments!
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See you next Monday!
Mary