Get It Done: Organize Your Kitchen Cabinets
You deserve better than precarious piles of pots and toppling towers of lids. Give cabinet chaos the boot with these organizing strategies
This week we are continuing the recon part of the kitchen organizing assignment. Your assignment for now:
- Check out Part 1: Organize Your Kitchen Drawers.
- Read and bookmark this story and let the ideas marinate.
- When you're cooking and cleaning, take notes as you observe the good and the bad about your kitchen cabinets.
- Take inventory, write the contents of each cabinet on a sticky note, and stick the note right on the cabinet doors.
- Think about what could make your cabinets better and ask questions. What should you move to a more convenient spot? Do you need any organizers to help keep things neat?
- Collect never-used items for donation as you go, and pitch or recycle the broken stuff.
Rev-A-Shelf In-Cabinet Chrome Cabinet Organizer
Browse. This one is fun, and you can do it from the sofa: Peruse kitchen cabinet organizers.
Consider a drawer-cabinet combo. Your intervention could be installing shelves that combine the best attributes of drawers and cabinets, like these deep shelves that slide out like drawers, or installing a lazy Susan in the corner.
See more ideas for corners of the kitchen
See more ideas for corners of the kitchen
Smart organizers can also help you clear counter space by providing convenient spots for small appliances in your cabinets.
Put a spin on the corner cabinet. The Lazy Susan has been a popular option for hundreds of years. Originally, it was just a rotating tray placed on a tabletop; later the idea moved to corner cabinets, making items easier to reach with a quick spin. Historians still can't agree on who the original Susan was.
Two-Tier Cookware Organizer
Make your cabinets work harder. Rather than reaching blindly into the depths of your bottom cabinets, try racks that organize and roll out for easy access. Your knees will thank you.
Magazine Rack
Corral the lids. This clever Houzzer uses a magazine rack to keep lids organized. It also makes good use of the sides of the cabinets.
Consider putting cabinet items on display. If sentimental pieces of china and serveware you don't use but love are taking up valuable cabinet space, place them where you can enjoy them every day. Check out ideas for how to arrange them and how to hang a plate.
This display idea also applies to taking the pots out of the cabinets and hanging them from a pot rack or on a pegboard.
Pots can also hang against the wall on rails.
Consider replacing upper cabinets with open shelves. If you've made a major purge, you may find you have enough space to replace some upper cabinets with floating shelves. First browse Houzz to see if this look will work for you.
If you want to give open shelves a whirl, check out this guide on how to do it for less than $40.
Organize your china. If you are losing an upper cabinet or two, check out all the new drawer organizers that will keep china from chipping and breaking.
Joseph Joseph Nest Bowl Set, Multicolor
Now that you have some ideas for how you'll be reorganizing, start clearing.
• Clear a large space on the counter or kitchen island.
• Empty all the cabinets.
• Group like things together
• Throw anything that looks sketchily dirty in the dishwasher.
• Throw away anything that's broken; put anything you don't use that is in good shape in a donation box.
• Give all the empty cabinets a thorough wipe-down.
• Add your organizers, new slide-outs and fresh contact paper, and put everything back in the way you've envisioned.
• Clear a large space on the counter or kitchen island.
• Empty all the cabinets.
• Group like things together
• Throw anything that looks sketchily dirty in the dishwasher.
• Throw away anything that's broken; put anything you don't use that is in good shape in a donation box.
• Give all the empty cabinets a thorough wipe-down.
• Add your organizers, new slide-outs and fresh contact paper, and put everything back in the way you've envisioned.
Slide Out Lid and Pan Organizer
So, the next time you open a drawer or cabinet, take a few extra seconds to check out what’s going on in there and scribble it on your sticky notes. Whether you’re aiming for some fresh contact paper or a pot organizer, or you’re ready to call the cabinetmaker, the assessing and planning you have simmering on the back burner now will help you attack the kitchen after the holidays.
Next: See more kitchen drawer organizers
Next: See more kitchen drawer organizers
Time: 2 to 3 hours
Materials needed: Cleaner, dust rags or paper towels, contact paper, sticky notes (such as Post-its), pen, donation box. Additional organizers are optional. This ideabook also includes ideas for some mini renovations that require more materials and time.
Tip: Take a before shot of your messiest cabinet so that you can feel extra satisfied when this is all over.