A well-ordered kitchen doesn’t happen by accident. You need to be willing to make changes and break bad habits in order to cultivate the neat, organized cooking space that you’ve always wanted. That’s why we’ve put together this list of easy kitchen organization tips and tricks for you!

If you’re ready to embrace some healthy changes, these ideas will help you create a space you want to spend time. You’ll want to spend more time cooking for friends and family and who knows… maybe they’ll take some organization inspiration from your kitchen.

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Use Kitchen Risers

Kitchen risers will give you twice the amount of usable space in cabinets and cupboards. They’re basically portable shelves that don’t have to be assembled or installed, and some even come with individual partitions to help you separate plates, bowls and cutlery. Now that’s efficiency!

There will be no more stacking plates from big to small and fumbling over large dishes or hoping that it doesn’t all come crashing down when you try to get one thing. You can organize what goes into your cabinets by placing your most-used items on the bottom shelves and keeping the bigger, heavier items like pots and pans in a cabinet below the countertop for easy access. 

Check out this sturdy metal set of two, which works on your counter or in your cupboards.

Hang It Up

If you’re anything like most people, there’s a lot of wall space you aren’t using in your kitchen. But think of all the ways you could be taking advantage of your vertical space!

• Hooks for aprons and oven mitts
• Shelves for jars, jugs, cans, bottles, and baskets
• A dry-erase board for recipes and reminders
• A pegboard for hanging cooking utensils

Label Everything

Ever open up a jar or container in your fridge where you try to guess what it is? Or maybe your spices are stuffed in a drawer and you have to smell each one to remember what they are? If so, this will be one of your favourite kitchen organization tips. Labels will make your kitchen much more organized and best of all, you’ll be able to find what you need right away!

There are plenty of options for labels, too. You can find different label templates online that you can fill out and print off. If you want to get a little fancier, you can also buy a label maker. You just enter in the name of each item and in seconds it will print off an adhesive label. Or you can buy pre-made labels like this pre-printed set of 135 cursive stickers too!

Create a “Filing Cabinet” For Your Baking Sheets And Tins

It’s no fun trying to pull the baking sheet you need from under a stack of others, and the warming drawer under the stove isn’t really designed for storage anyways. Pick a cabinet next to the oven and store them vertically in there instead of piling them on top of each other. A tension rod is perfect for separating similar bakeware and will give you convenient slots to take from and put back with ease.

Put Your Cooking Utensils in Containers

It’s all too easy to lose your spatula in a drawer full of spoons, tongs, and whisks. A better storage option is putting them all in plain sight on top of the counter. This makes it easy to find – no one likes digging around in a drawer to find that one slotted spoon!

If you have a lot of utensils, you can have separate containers too, like one for spatulas, another for your wooden spoons, and one just for measuring spoons. Not only will this look neat and tidy, but it will also encourage you to put everything back in the right spot when you’re done. Check out this large metal holder or if you like a more farmhouse look, this wooden double compartment holder is super cute.

Spin It Right Round, Baby, Right Round

A Lazy Susan is one of the best organizational tools in the kitchen. Instead of packing and stacking food so tightly into your cupboards that you can’t even make out their brand names, a Lazy Susan will let you spin them until you can find what you need. It may only be a round peg in a square hole, but it sure works well. This 12-inch non-skid design is a perfect addition to your pantry or spice cupboard.

Squeeze Storage Racks Into Unlikely Places

Does your refrigerator have a few inches between the wall and the side? Slide a pull-out shelf rack into the gap that you can hide when not in use. Are there big, sturdy doors on your cupboards? Hang a few hooks on their interior walls to take advantage of that empty space.

Put Some Time Into the Pantry

For many people, the pantry becomes a catch-all for the food and kitchen items that don’t seem to fit into your other cupboards. But it doesn’t have to be this way…

• Get a can organizer to save space when storing your canned goods
• Airtight clear storage containers with labels let you see what you have and what you need with a quick glance
• Utilize door space with an over-the-door organizer
• Stacking sliding drawer sets and under-the-shelf baskets take advantage of tall shelves

Hide Items That You Never Use

It’s perfectly understandable if you have a sentimental attachment to the blender that you got for your first wedding anniversary. However, if you haven’t touched the machine in years, it’s not doing anything on your countertop but taking up space. Hide your rarely-used items in closets and cupboards to decrease the amount of clutter in your kitchen.

Say goodbye to cluttered kitchens filled with junk. These kitchen organization tips might seem simple, but if you use them diligently and intelligently, you’ll be amazed at how much you’ll love your kitchen.

Want some more great organization ideas for the other spaces in your home? Check out these articles covering the bathroom, kitchen, and primary bedroom. You’re sure to find some helpful ideas for a cleaner and happier home!

Originally published Sep 7, 2017; updated Apr 23, 2023

Author: Sereena S.

Mom of two, wife to one, and a dog lover. Although cats can be okay too, but only sometimes...