HOW TO ORGANIZE KITCHEN CABINETS AND KEEP THEM ORGANIZED

Here you will learn how to organize kitchen cabinets, cupboards, counters, and drawers along with tips on keeping them arranged on a daily basis.

When I was growing up I learned how to organize kitchen cabinets from my mom. She basically taught me how to organize in zones. This technique makes working in the kitchen more efficient and time-saving.

I didn't know how efficient it was until she came to my house and set up my kitchen when we moved.

How to Organize Kitchen Cabinets

Where does a person begin when organizing their kitchen? What is the most efficient way to organize kitchen cabinets?

The first step is assessing what items you have and how you use them. I would suggest beginning with thinking about your kitchen in compartments or spaces according to the task that you do the most.  Assigning kitchen space or cabinet space to common tasks can go a long way to saving you a lot of time.

Here are the zones I have in my kitchen.

Cooking and Baking Zone

Let's start with the cooking/baking zone.

When unpacking or rearranging your kitchen think about the cooking and/or baking zone.

My cooking/baking zone is right next to my oven.  I keep my spices, utensils, hot pads, pots, and pan here.

As you can see from my photo the second and top-shelf holds all the things I need for baking.

Flour, baking soda, powder, measuring spoons, cups, and so on fit on those two shelves.  Spices are on the bottom with everything from thyme to salt. A shelf riser or lazy Susan is a great way to give you easy access to small items and maximize storage space.

The higher shelves are a good place to store items you do not frequently use, duplicate items, or seasonal items. The lower cabinets are the perfect place to store pots and cookie sheets.

Some people like their flour and sugar containers hidden but lately, I have enjoyed mine on the counter. It gives you easy access to products you use often and today there are so many beautiful food storage container options like glass jars that are airtight and chemical free. You can see these and more great storage solution on my post Unlocking Order: How Amazon's Best Products Saved My Chaos.

Shop supplies:

CLEANING ZONE

Here is another kitchen organizing zone that revolved around something and that is the sink.

So how do you organize the kitchen sink area you might be wondering?

Think about what all you need to clean your dishes and kitchen.

If you are a less is more person then consider keeping most of your cleaning items under the sink but if you like to decorate with them then consider a cake plate with some pretty bottles and such on the counter. 

I am less is more kind of person so a few items on the counter make me happy. Next to the sink, you will find a few pretty bottles like Mrs. Meyer's hand soap and Meyer's dish soap bottles or in my case an amber bottle with my favorite hand soap inside.

Don't forget to utilize all your cabinet space like the inside of your cabinet doors where you can hang dish towels. If you have little ones and store your cleaning supplies under your sink, it's a good idea to add child proof devices to the doors to keep the little ones safe.

Speaking of dish towels a great place to store dishtowel is over your refrigerator in a basket. And if your refrigerator could use a refresh, check out the best ways to organize your side by side refrigerator.

Also, consider placing all your dishes between the sink and the stove in the cabinets or on the shelves.  That way they are easy to put up after they are dry.

COFFEE ZONE

Because my hubby loves coffee and the last thing you want to do is run around the kitchen in the morning getting everything together.  I created a coffee zone.

If you want to keep everything neat consider placing the coffee pot, sugar, and anything else on a tray like this one.  That way it can be easily pulled out to put the water in it and placed back neatly when finished. Decorative storage bins can be fun and keep things in easy reach.

BREAKFAST ZONE

I am not a morning person so in our house I needed everything to be in one place.  It also just happens I eat the same thing every morning and that is oatmeal.  So, here is my breakfast zone with oatmeal, and all the garnishments. Grouping dry goods with similar items gives you easy access to items you use together.

I also have pancake mix here, grits, tea, and so on.

Wire baskets or plastic organizers are a brilliant way to store loose items and create a lovely aesthetic, especially if you have glass front doors or open shelves.

If you are not a morning person I would highly recommend this area to you too.  Also, this zone is close to the coffee zone.

One last area I want to mention in our kitchen is the microwave dish pantry. This is a great place to store your dishes and hide your microwave. This was especially important to me when designing my kitchen into a french country kitchen. Here is how we created a microwave pantry.

CONCLUSION

Thankfully my kitchen is average in size so there are not too many steps to go from one area to another.  But in real large kitchen zones are very important.  It saves a great deal of time and energy. If you have a small kitchen you probably do not have extra storage space so your kitchen zones assign a proper place to every item to keep things tidy. There are many different ways and kitchen cabinet organization ideas that can work for your family members.

Here is a recap of how to organize kitchen cabinets by zones.

I hope this post will help make your kitchen a little more manageable and I have included some fun suggestions to help with your kitchen organizing zones project too.

• Cooking/baking zone – pots, pans, hot pads, small appliances, stove, microwave, cooking and baking materials like flour and spices
• Cleaning zone – cleaners like dishwashing liquid, dishes, dishwasher, drying rack if you need one and so on
• Coffee zone – coffee pot, coffee, sugar, Splenda and so on (it's also great to have this zone near the baking zone since sugar and sweeteners play in both areas)
• Breakfast zone – all the food items you need for breakfast ( it's good to have this area near coffee and baking also because spices and sugar are needed here too)

Well, I hope this helps you think through your kitchen and what your daily tasks are.

When you decide to do some rearranging here is one last thought.

If you haven't used an item in the last five years consider donating it to someone who may need it more than you.  It will free up more space in your kitchen and make like even less cluttered. Or if you need a little extra space, see how I turned a closet into a pantry.

And if you are really motivated and want to do some more organizing check out How to Use Pinterest to Organize Your Home and Organizing 101.  It will give you tips on how to make your organized space pretty too.

Happy Decorating!