How to Organize Your Kitchen
You might cook more if your kitchen weren’t so cluttered. Okay, maybe not. But, still—wouldn’t it be nice to have an organized cooking space?
Up next in Closets, Storage, & Organizers (26 videos)
Whether you're a certified hoarder or are just messy, get things put away, organized, and under control with this Howcast series.
You Will Need
- An ability to part with things you don’t need
- Baskets
- Compartmentalized drawer organizers
- Plastic place mats
- A door-mounted caddy
- Tiered shelves
- A vase of flowers or bowl of fruit
Steps
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Step 1
Pare down
Throw out long-expired food before it poses a national health threat, and donate anything you dislike.
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If you’re unsure whether to throw out an item, ask yourself if you’d trust it to use in a recipe, or if you’d go out and buy a new one.
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Step 2
Store items
Unless you’re Martha Stewart, chances are you don’t use your big roasting pan or bread maker that often, so cover them and store them in the attic or basement.
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Step 3
Find extra space
Make use of the dead space between the tops of cabinets and the ceiling for storing infrequently used items.
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Step 4
Group items
Bring order to your cupboards by grouping like items -- coffee stuff, snack foods, condiments -- in baskets.
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Step 5
Straighten drawers
Use compartmentalized drawer organizers to sort out your cutlery and junk drawers.
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Line your shelves with inexpensive plastic place mats that can be washed and reused rather than difficult-to-remove sticky paper.
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Step 6
Install shelving
Install a multi-shelf, door-mounted caddy on a cabinet door for small items like spices.
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Step 7
Create more room
Put two-tiered organizers in cabinets that have lots of wasted space between short food items, like soup cans, and the shelf above.
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Step 8
Add a centerpiece
When you’re done organizing your kitchen, put a vase of flowers or a bowl of fruit on your countertop. Research shows it inspires us, subconsciously, to keep the area around it clean and uncluttered.
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According to one survey, a whopping 97% of homeowners wish they could renovate their kitchen.
