5 Kitchen Organisation Tips

Hey,

Today I’m going to share with you five of my most used tips to keep my kitchen organised.

1.Keep like items together.

When I'm talking about keeping like items together I do this both on both a macro scale and microscale in my kitchen.

As many of you are probably aware, we had our kitchen renovated last year. As part of the design process I took into account how I wanted to store items within my kitchen, so split items into macro categories such as food items, pots and pans, dinnerware, dog items, etc.

I then tried to work out how much space each category would need and where would be the most suitable place for them within the kitchen as a whole. Take for example our food storage, as part of the design process I made sure that our pantry was located right next to our full length fridge and freezer, meaning that pretty much all of a food items are stored in one zone of our kitchen. Thus making it easier to grab ingredients when cooking and not have to sift through several cupboards to work out where that bag of flour is.

Likewise on the other side of our kitchen we have a coffee bar, so all of the mugs, tea, coffee and anything else needed for the process of making coffee are all kept together.

I also apply this tip to micro categories in my kitchen. For example, in my pantry I have different shelves for different like items. I have a shelf for baking items, a shelf for nuts, seeds and dried fruit, I have a shelf for different types of flour and so on and so forth.

I find by doing this all across my kitchen it makes my life a lot simpler because I can go to a zone within my kitchen and find exactly what I need, when I need it. I have found it also means that if someone else is comes into my kitchen, they tend to only need to go through my drawers once to really get an idea of were things would likely be, making it simpler for them too.

2. Keep most used items closest to where you need them so they are accessible.

Secondly I like to keep the most used items closest to wear they are needed. This makes items more accessible when you're doing certain tasks in the kitchen.

For example, my range is located in the center of the main run of cabinets within my kitchen. What will I need most if using the range? Pots and pans. Therefore to one side of the range I have a couple of drawers where I store my pots and pans. On the other side of the range, my top drawer has all my herbs and spices which I may need to grab quickly to make a meal Again my upper cupboards are organised in the same way, I have the ones closest to the range storing oils, sauces and other items that I will likely need to just going to a pan as part of a recipe.

I also store my dinnerware close to the range. This means when I finish cooking and want to plate a meal up, I can do so really simply. Not having to trek across my kitchen to do so as I did in my previous kitchen to has made my life so much simpler and keeps everything I need to hand.

3. Find a home for every item in your kitchen.

You may have noticed a theme through these tips but the third tip sums up my view on the easiest way to keep a tidy kitchen … find a home for every item in your kitchen.

If you do this one tip it makes clearing away so much easier and I've found means you kitchen countertops will stay clearer at least 90% of the time!

Giving everything a clear home in your kitchen, means there’s space for it to be put back to, so you're more likely to put it away.

4. If you have drawers invest in drawer dividers.

This leads on from my third tip. I find drawers in particular are very prone to becoming a dumping site. By splitting them into sections using drawer organisers you can clearly define a home for items.

In my kitchen I use a variety or different organisers, I have cutlery drawer inserts to store cutlery, straws, pens and tablets need to remember to take. I also have expandable drawer dividers to split my cooking utensils into categories such as wooden spoons, BBQ tools, baking items. I have an in drawer knife block which helps you keep my countertops free and keeps us from slicing our hands when we grab for a knife.

All of these were fairly in expensive and save my drawers from looking a mess.

5. Use the space all the space you have by making them accessible and functional.

Over the years I've found kitchens no matter how large or small always seem to house the most items in the house.

Therefore it’s important to make the best use of the space you have by making it easy to access.

In my kitchen I’ve added corner cupboard pull out units so items don’t get lost in the abyss of the corner cupboard and I can see everything I have. I’ve also had a pull out bin unit installed in a small cupboard in my island so I could free up floor space.