Are your kitchen cabinets in such a mess?
Do you feel that it is just so hard to organize?
Perhaps that spacious cabinet is just a faraway dream?
Nah.. doesn’t have to be that way.
The secret in organizing kitchen cabinets is simply to arrange items based on how often you use them. Those that you use very often must be easier to access than the rest. (Those that you don’t use anymore clearly must leave the kitchen at once!)
Once you have determined how often you use every item in your kitchen cabinets, you are ready to organize them in a way that makes things a lot easier for you.
And that’s where these organization tips enter the picture!
CABINET DOORS
First, let’s start off with an often-forgotten spot – the cabinet doors.
I’m really amazed with how much you can do with cabinet doors.
I haven’t done any organization tactic with them in my entire life (seriously, why haven’t I EVER thought of all these before?). Right now, I can see that it’s a must-do for someone who wants to be really organized at home, especially if you want more space in your kitchen.
Using the cabinet doors as a storage space not only frees up cabinet space, but there is really some good art in there. And yes it does make things a little easier in the kitchen.
Now take a look at just what you can do with that free space!
1. Hang oven mitts and hot pads using command hooks.
Image from The Krazy Coupon Lady
This makes me wanna buy hot pads with holders. Our hot pads don’t have holders so how am I suppose to hang them?
It’s a very simple organization hack, isn’t it? You just have to stick adhesive hooks on the cabinet door. Then hang your oven mitts and hot pads. That’s it!
Just choose stronger command hooks. I mean those that really stick! I carelessly bought three before without knowing the quality and well, they fell in a few days. There’s no need for you to repeat my mistake.
2. Organize pot lids.
Image from The Krazy Coupon Lady
If you find it difficult to look for the pot lids that you need, you should give this one a try. Get the pot lids out of the cabinet and use adhesive hooks to hold them in place.
You can have as many as your cabinet door allows.
Image from Instructables
Related post: 10+ Simple Ways to Organize Pots and Pans Like a Pro
3. Mount file holders inside to store your plastic container lids.
Okay… so you’re looking for a container but can’t find its lid. And when you have finally found it, you’ve almost put out every plastic container and every lid you have in the cabinet.
Happens to me every time and it’s really annoying. Sometimes I really can’t find the lid so I just have to use a different container. I tried separating the lids from the containers, then collecting the lids and putting them in one single container. But since we have a lot of plastic containers they get jumbled and it would take me like forever, getting a container.
Knowing an organization tip like this definitely heightens my hope that I can improve. And so can you!
4. You can also use file holders to hold foils and plastic wraps.
Image from Good Housekeeping
Give your foils and plastic wrap its own place – in the cabinet door, with the help of a file holder.
5. Better yet, fix the foil and plastic rolls on the kitchen cabinet door.
Image from The Krazy Coupon Lady
If you tend to just drop the foil in some place whenever you’re done with it, only to look all over for it when you need it again, this is a better organizing idea.
The secret is just stick it on the cabinet door. Roll it when you need a wrap. Because it’s fixed in there, you can’t remove it. And that also takes away your chance of carelessly dropping it anywhere.
No more asking yourself, “where in the world did I put that again?“
6. Make a cutting board holder.
Image credit goes to Tikkido
You can have that space reserved for your cutting boards only. If you have scrap wood available, you can make it, yourself.
If you’re not fond of wood working, it’s easier to find a friend who can make it for you.
7. Hang baskets.
Image credit goes to The Krazy Coupon Lady
Seriously, I think there’s nothing you can’t do with baskets.
From organizing your shoes, crafts, in the bedroom, bathroom, and now in the kitchen, baskets sure come in handy.
You just have to choose which kind to use – plastic basket, woven basket, or wire basket like this one.
Now if you’re going to hang one in your kitchen cabinet door, a wire basket is more appropriate because it’s thin so you can easily hang it into command hooks. It’s also sturdy giving your items a nice hold.
8. Hang your measuring cups and spoons inside, along with the measurements.
You can do so using a chalkboard paint.
From Tidbits from the Tremaynes
Or just draw them.
I prefer the first one. Not because it’s more beautiful or more artistic. But just for the plain reason that I CAN’T draw.
Not won’t. It’s can’t.
I don’t want to mess up with our kitchen cabinet door.
But you know that’s just me. You might love drawing. If yes, great! Because you can turn that cabinet door in a practical work of art.
9. Use shower caddy.
From Roomclip
Who said that a shower caddy is for the bathroom only? Don’t EVER believe that.
Mount one on your kitchen cabinet door. Then use it to arrange your bottles of spices and canned goods.
10. Attach file folders to hold loose recipes.
Image credit goes to Clean &Scentsible
I often search the web for delicious recipes to try, copy them in my computer, then print them. (Don’t worry, I’ll share some soon in this blog.)
I know we have smartphones now and it’s very easy to just open it, look up to Pinterest and get the recipe that we want, but I still love it on paper sometimes. Well, I guess I’m a bit of an old school.
So for those of you who’s a bit like me, printed recipes do pile up and become paper clutter. To avoid that, attach a file folder into your cabinet door and whenever you print a recipe, put it in there. Be sure to have a folder nearby to collate them all.
11. Or use cork board for recipes.
Image credit goes to Better Homes & Gardens
Mount as many cork boards as you need on the cabinet door. Then simply pin your recipes.
I recommend pinning those that you plan to cook during the week. A week’s meal plan surely helps in determining the ingredients that you need so that you can buy all of them at once when you go to the grocery store, and you won’t forget anything.
Just replace them with new recipes that you come up with. Seeing the recipes each time you open the cabinet door is also a great way to encourage yourself in cooking more delicious meals.
12. Attach a DIY organizer.
Image credit goes to Little Adelaide Kate
If you love sewing, you can make your own organizer and attach it to the cabinet door. What I love about this is that you can pick any color you want; the clothing choice is also yours, and you can customize it any way you want.
In case you don’t have a talent for sewing, perhaps you have a friend who does. You can ask her to make one for you.
CABINET SPACE
And now the inside of the kitchen cabinets.
It’s easy to get carried away by the spacious room inside when there’s nothing in there yet. When you start arranging things you might feel that you have just the right amount of space you need.
Wait until you are almost done; when you have occupied much space already but there are still a lot of things needed to be stored.
So I’m going to say this again. If there are items in your kitchen cabinet that you no longer use, don’t store them anymore. Take them out of your kitchen at once! That will free up space that you can use for other items, those that you actually use.
Then the rest is just about organization tips and tricks to help you maximize your space, so that you have a kitchen cabinet that serves you well.
1. Have clear containers for your food supplies.
I love this organization idea from The Social Home.
You can have plastic disposable containers.
Glass round containers.
And square glass containers.
You can get containers like these at the dollar store, so there’s no need to worry that you might spend a lot for these only.
Label them so that you know what is in each container. This is especially helpful for food supplies that look identical. Like flour for example, how would you know which is the cake flour and which is the rice flour? You don’t want to end up using the wrong ingredient!
2. Use wine rack to arrange water bottles.
Don’t just stack your water bottles. Make sure that you have a divider in between, so that they don’t roll on to each other, and they don’t fall over.
A wine rack is just a perfect solution for this. You just have to place the wine rack inside the cabinet, then arrange your water bottles in there.
Simple!
3. File holders can also store water bottles.
I am so convinced now that we really shouldn’t confine file holders to the four corners of our offices.
In the kitchen, they are good tools to make use of the space in the cabinet doors. And now, here is another use of file holders – as compartments inside the cabinet, to hold water bottles.
All you need to do is stack the water bottles inside the file holders. You can have as many as you need.
4. Use mesh magazine holders to store potatoes and onions.
From Mimi’s Crafty World
File holders again….
It’s just that this one is a metal mesh magazine holder.
Still a file holder, if you ask me.
You didn’t think they can be good containers for potatoes and onions, did you?
It’s okay… I didn’t know that too.
5. Arrange baking sheets and large trays in metal file holders.
From The Organized Wife
Yet another use for file holders!
Honestly, I’m thinking maybe, just maybe, if you have file holders only to use in organizing the kitchen, I think you’re good to go.
That’s how amazed I am with how these office item can be very flexible in the kitchen.
Well, of course, it’s still better to combine file holders with other organization items.
Just saying it’s one of the things you simply can not miss!
6. Hang sink caddies for extra space.
From Make Bake Celebrate
If you have extra vertical space where you think nothing can fit anymore, well, think twice.
If a sink caddy can fit in there, you might as well take advantage of the opportunity and put not just one sink caddy, but three. And those little food items can easily fit in there.
7. Hang your measuring cups and spoons inside.
From Two Twenty One
I personally prefer these little baking tools to be in the cabinet doors with the measurements, but if you’re reserving those doors for other organizing techniques, you can also hang these inside the cabinet, itself.
8. Have a pull out organizer.
From Whisper Wood Cottage
You can install a pull-out organizer for your trays and chopping boards.
What’s so good about a pull-out organizer is that you can easily take it out and get what you need. And when you’re done, you can put it back as easily as when you took it out.
9. Install a pull-out spice rack.
From HGTV
A pull-out spice rack works just like any pull-out organizer. But it’s really cool for spices because when you pull it, you get to see all your spices at once, without having to take each of them one by one.
When you need sesame seeds, simply pull out the rack, then get it. If you need three or four more spices, just grab them all.
When you’re done, put them back to their places in the rack, then push it back inside the cabinet, where it is safely hidden.
10. Pot lid rack to maximize vertical space.
From Simple Bites
Another way of arranging your pot lids so that you don’t have to unstack everything when you need one.
11. Use tension rods as dividers.
From Get Set Organize
Install tension rods vertically in your kitchen cabinet to create compartments. Then use that to store your chopping boards, large trays, large plates and other kitchen tools.
12. Use stackable mesh shelves.
Mesh shelves are excellent dividers and create more space in your cabinet.
Simply arrange your plates, cups, bowls, and other utensils in there, layer by layer.
13. Put hooks in cabinets near an entryway.
Sometimes you may enter and leave the house through the kitchen door.
To make things easier for you, put hooks inside the cabinet where you can hang your keys, umbrella, and other accessories that you normally can’t leave without.
Grab them with ease when you leave, then return them in the cabinet the moment you step inside.
14. Install a built-in dish cabinet over the sink.
Put the dishes in it right after washing. All those drips go straight to the sink.
This frees up a lot of counter space used for drying the dishes, but you might need one whole cabinet for it. If you can afford losing that space for drying purpose only, this can work just fine with you.
Now if you would rather use that space for storing your kitchen essentials, that is absolutely fine too! You can let your utensils remain at the counter for drying, then just keep them afterwards.
You can keep your kitchen cabinets organized.
Using simple items, you can maximize the space that you already have.
They don’t have to be Pinterest-worthy. So relax and stop overthinking.
Anything that makes your life easier in the kitchen, that’s the way to go.
If you’re looking for more ways to organize your kitchen, then check out:
- 51 Clever Storage Hacks to Organize Small Kitchen
- Simple Ways to Organize Pots and Pans Like a Pro
- Kitchen Appliances List: Essential & Non-Essential
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This is is some really good information about how to organize your kitchen cabinets. I liked that you showed how you can add pull out spice racks. That seems like it would help you save a lot of space in the cabinets.
Hi Penelope! I’m glad you liked the post! Yup! A pull out spice rack does save shelf space. Plus it adds fun too!