These Kitchen Cabinet Organization Ideas Will Make Life So Much Easier
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When it comes to organization, our minds naturally go to places like our closets, basements, and garages—the clutter’s all out in plain sight, after all. But what about organizing your pantry or your kitchen cabinets, where you might forget about the messiness as soon as you close the doors? Even though your kitchen essentials tend to be “out of sight, out of mind,” organizing your cabinets will really make your days easier.
While you may have taken time to beautify the outside of the cabinets (perhaps you were inspired by the dark green cabinets Ree Drummond included in her test kitchen!), it’s important to address the inside of the cabinets, too. If your pots, pans, plates, and lids are in a state of disarray, the idea of organizing them might feel overwhelming. But rest assured, it can be done—maybe even in one afternoon! Luckily, nowadays, there are so many kitchen storage and organizing products, from risers to bins to slide-out drawers and more. You can also work your DIY magic to come up with your own organization systems. Think: creating labels or even making your own spice rack. No matter what you're looking for, you’re sure to be inspired by these easy ideas for organizing your kitchen cabinets.
Install Pull-Out Trash Cans
Say goodbye to unsightly trash and recycling bins and hello to a more organized kitchen with this convenient and space-saving solution. They're easy to install and will make a big difference in your day-to-day!
Store Rarely-Used Items Above Your Cabinets
You'll maximize your storage potential by cleverly utilizing the space above cabinets for rarely used kitchen ware. Plus, items like cake stands and wine glasses can double as décor!
Create a Pantry Drawer with Containers
Running out of space in your pantry? Transform a cabinet drawer into a pantry haven using plastic containers to neatly organize and categorize your dry gods and other essentials.
Use Bins to Organize Your Cleaning Supplies
The cabinet under your sink can be a chaotic place. Transform that area into a neat-as-a-pin cleaning station by using bins to organize your sponges, sprays, and other cleaning supplies.
Install an Under-Cabinet Wine Glass Rack
Create a stylish solution for displaying and accessing your stemware by installing under-the-cabinet storage. You'll be that much closer to pouring yourself a glass of wine!
SHOP UNDER-CABINET WINE GLASS RACKS
Install a Pull-Out Cutting Board
Cutting boards can take up a lot of awkward space in your cabinets. Optimize your kitchen space by installing a pull-out cutting board for a convenient prep area that disappears when not in use.
Organize Your Kitchen Towels and Table Linens
Table linens and kitchen towels deserve some drawer love, too. Dedicating one of your kitchen drawers to linens will ensure that everything you need for day-to-day tasks as well as entertaining is within arm's reach.
Create a Kids Section
If you have children, consider organizing their utensils and dishes separately from your own. You can even put them in a lower cabinet to give your little ones easy access to their tools.
Group Similar Items Together
If you're using a kitchen cabinet as a pantry, grouping similar items together will save you not only space but time as well since you'll be able to locate everything precisely when you need it. A place for everything, and everything in its place!
Organize with Cute Canisters
Bring charm to your cabinets with adorable labeled canisters for tea, coffee, sugar, and more. Not only will it add a touch of cuteness, but it will also keep your essentials neatly organized, making hectic mornings a breeze.
Invest in a Hutch
Introduce a hutch to your kitchen, and watch your storage space soar. With shelves and cabinets galore, it's a stylish way to expand storage and make even more room in your cabinets.
Remove Cabinet Doors to Create Open Shelving
Ditch your cabinet doors and embrace open shelving for a modern, airy feel. It not only opens up your space visually but also turns your dishes and cups into décor and makes them more easily accessible at the same time.
Buy Stackable Mugs
Are mismatched mugs making your cabinets feel chaotic? Invest in a set of stackable mugs to simplify your space and effortlessly streamline your morning routine.
Arrange with Plate Holders
Say goodbye to plate pile-ups in your cabinets. A plate organizer is your ticket to a neater kitchen, allowing you to easily stack and select plates.
Use Stackable Containers
Make the most of your space by using stackable containers to organize pantry goods in your cabinets. These space-savvy wonders will also make finding ingredients and other items easier than ever.
Install Sliding Baskets
Sliding baskets are the things you didn’t know you needed in your kitchen cabinets. They make viewing items a cinch since they slide out easily, and you’ll create even more spots for storage in the process.
Create Your Own Labels
With the help of a Cricut Maker, you can create some handy labels, perfect for organizing that often messy cabinet under the sink. Now everything will be in its proper place!
Get the tutorial at Organized-ish.
Use a Utensil Drawer Organizer
If you have a habit of randomly dropping your kitchen utensils into a drawer, we’re betting it’s probably pretty hard to find what you need at a moment’s notice. Instead, purchase a utensil drawer organizer—bonus points if all your utensils are beautiful and color-coordinated.
Learn more at The Pink Dream.
Utilize Pull-Out Shelves
Are things continually getting lost all the way in the back of your cabinets? It sounds like you need some pull-out shelving, which you can install yourself, or you can hire a contractor to put them in.
Learn more at Hallstrom Home.
Look Beyond Your Cabinets
While your kitchen cabinets are naturally your go-to storage spots in your kitchen, if everything is feeling a bit cramped, look for other places in your kitchen where you can store items. For instance, baking ingredients can be displayed in pretty jars on your countertop and knives can be placed on a magnetic strip.
Create a Mini Chalkboard
Looking for that missing recipe in your kitchen? Whether it’s for your mom’s pot roast or that perfect DIY cleaning solution for your countertops, stay organized and keep them within eyeshot by painting the inside of a cabinet or two with chalkboard paint and writing them down in chalk.
Get the tutorial at Clean & Scentsible.
Consider Glass Doors
The quickest way to get organized in your kitchen? By installing glass-front cabinets! It’ll inspire (and motivate) you to keep your kitchen must-haves looking their very best, and it’s an opportunity to add visual appeal to your space, too.
Learn more at Inspired by Charm.
Use Cabinets as Additional Pantry Storage
Is your pantry looking a bit stuffed these days? Consider using some of your kitchen cabinets as additional pantry storage. Keep similar items together and put ingredients in clear containers so you can instantly see them.
Learn more at Homemade by Carmona.
Make Use of Risers
If you can’t add more shelves to your kitchen cabinets, risers are the answer. It’s like adding another level to each cabinet shelf, and you can fit items underneath.
Maximize the Insides of Doors
The most underutilized areas in a kitchen are undoubtedly the insides of cabinet doors. If you think creatively, these spots can offer bonus storage, like this mounted spice organizer that fits on the back of a cabinet door.
Simplify with a Knife Organizer
A random pile of knives in a drawer isn’t just untidy—it’s downright unsafe, too! You don’t want to reach in and grab the wrong end of a knife, right? Simply purchase a knife organizer, like one in attractive bamboo, and every knife can be stored securely.
Learn more at In Honor of Design.
Include Bins and Containers
Bins and other helpful containers are an organizer’s best friend, especially when it comes to kitchen cabinets. If you have loose bags of ingredients, packets, bottles, and more, they’ll keep everything contained and make your cabinet look a whole lot cleaner.
Learn more at I Heart Organizing.
Hang Measuring Cups and Spoons
This might be the absolute cutest way to organize measuring cups and spoons! On the inside of a cabinet door, they’ll hang with the help of clear stick-on hooks, and a conversion chart is sure to also be useful.
Get the tutorial at Ashley Nicole Interiors.
See Things Clearly
If you want to easily see everything in your cabinets, but you’d like to neatly keep items together, look to clear containers. Labels will level up your organization game, too.
Get the tutorial at Simply Beautiful by Angela.
Create a Farmer’s Market Feel
Metal stacking bins are reminiscent of a farmer’s market, and you can bring that look to your kitchen cabinets. They’re ideal for stashing veggies like potatoes and onions.
Make Space for Appliances
Instead of using up precious countertop space with all your small kitchen appliances, store them in your cabinets instead. For example, a KitchenAid mixer can fit nicely in a tall cabinet like the one under your sink—and a pull-out shelf doesn’t hurt either.
Learn more at Seven Graces.
Use the Cabinet Above the Refrigerator
It’s a fact: no one exactly knows what to do with the tiny cabinets above the fridge! As it turns out, they’re actually perfect for baking sheets, organized with dividers and labels to boot.
Learn more at The Homes I Have Made.
Go Color-Coordinated
Sure, you can get organized with a variety of bins and containers, but to make things really look eye-pleasing in your cabinets, aim for a color palette. Here in this cabinet, matching bins in wood and black make everything look that much better.
Get the tutorial at Bigger Than the Three of Us.
Craft a Drawer Spice Rack
There are lots of ways to organize spices, but we’re partial to this one. You can make your very own drawer organizer for them, and for under $5! Plus, you can see them all at once instead of rooting around in a cabinet for the one you need.
Get the tutorial at By Brittany Goldwyn.
Pull Out Pots and Pans
Pots and pans can be awkward items to store in kitchen cabinets. Instead of piling them on top of one another, buy a kit that will convert one of your cabinets into pull-out drawers that stash pots and pans with ease—there are even convenient slots for the lids.
Put in a Lazy Susan
A Lazy Susan is an incredibly helpful addition to a kitchen cabinet. If you have a corner cabinet, purchase a kit to put in one yourself, and with a single spin, you can see everything you’re storing.
Learn more at The DIY Playbook.
Organize Lids
Ah, Tupperware lids. There’s no good way to organize them, right? Wrong! Instead of creating a flimsy pile of them in a cabinet, simply store them by size in a large, clear container. Genius!
Learn more at Servello & Co. Interiors.
Set Up a Coffee Bar
No room for a coffee bar in your kitchen, but you’d love a dedicated area for your daily caffeine fix? Think about devoting a kitchen cabinet to your java station. A large cabinet is the perfect place to store a coffee maker, mugs, mix-ins, and even a bit of coffee-inspired decor.
Learn more at Living Locurto.
Stick to ‘Less Is More’
When all else fails, you can always take a “minimalist” approach to the items you store in your kitchen cabinets. Keep the items you use religiously, but if you have duplicates or don’t really use something, it’s time to chuck it or donate it. With less stuff, your kitchen cabinets will look a lot cleaner and more organized.
Pull Out a Spice Rack
If you’re constantly shuffling around all your spice bottles to find the one you need for a recipe, look to a problem-solving, pull-out organizer instead.
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