Are you curious about what I think are some of the best kitchen organization products? I can’t wait to share some of my favorites with you!
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Anyone else feel like they’ve done an insane amount of cooking in the past 9 months or so? Why does everyone in my family feel like they need to eat constantly and why have I decided to take it upon myself to cook real meals for them every chance I get? I’m obviously a glutton for punishment!
Don’t get me wrong! A few months ago I discovered the Members Mark Southern Style Chicken Sandwiches and the Members Mark Southern Style Waffle Fries and now our freezer is never without them! Add to that Walmart selling Chick-Fil-A Sauce and Polynesian Sauce by the bottle and we’re our own little chicken restaurant some nights!
I’ve added lots of new recipes to my repertoire and I’ve found out that one of my kids has an aversion to any dish that remotely resembles a casserole or is prepared in a casserole dish! What the heck?! We call that one our own little Gordon Ramsay!
What helps me enjoy, well really tolerating, cooking is knowing that I get to do so in a fairly well-organized kitchen! I have to go on the occasional scavenger hunt trying to figure out where one of the kids stashes a kitchen utensil when they’re not putting much effort into unloading their part of the dishwasher! Other than that, I generally know exactly where everything in my kitchen is located.
In the spring, I wrote a post with my Kitchen Organization Basics, but I thought I would go a step further and share some of my favorite products that are great for taking organizing our kitchens a step further!
Versatile Bins
I’m all about creating zones in our kitchens and pantries and one of the best ways to accomplish zones is to establish some sort of boundaries. Guess what a great tool for creating boundaries is in our kitchens? BINS!
Bins come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and price points! These are a few of my favorites!
These bins are so pretty and elegant looking in a pantry. They’re also super sturdy and great for corralling food staples in the pantry, small food storage bowls, and lids, etc. The uses are endless. I also love that these come in a 12″ depth which fits perfectly on most of the wire shelving that is installed in lots of our homes!
These bins may be my favorite ever. Well, maybe that’s a stretch, but they are high quality and can be used so many different ways, in and outside of your kitchens! Think of using them as a boundary for various zones – like breakfast foods, baking doodads, lid storage, water bottles, etc. They are not only good and deep, but they’re the perfect size for your pantry shelves or your cabinets!
So listen – if someone gave me $1000, dropped me off in The Container Store, and told me I could only buy one style of bin – THIS would be it! The Multi-Purpose Bin is exactly that and never disappoints! They are super affordable, which is probably why I like them so much, and they come in so many sizes – from small to extra large!
You’re going to notice a theme here with these bins that I love – multipurpose and versatile! I love a product that serves many purposes and works in many different rooms. I’m known to “rob Peter to pay Paul,” when I’m reorganizing something in my house. I currently use a bin similar to these for organizing my rubbermaid leftover containers. Again – these come in a couple of sizes so you can use them for small items or larger items!
Drawer Storage
A couple of summers ago, I found these In-Drawer Spice Racks on a FB yard sale group and I snatched them up! I had to rearrange a few cabinets and drawers in my kitchen to make them work, but this is by far one of my favorite projects I’ve done in my own kitchen. So much easier than knocking spice bottles off the shelf trying to find the smoked paprika hidden in the back! If you have drawer space, do not hesitate to dedicate a drawer to spices!
Our drawers need boundaries and one way to create boundaries is to use drawer inserts of some kind. I like this particular one because it is expandable and can fill the bulk of your drawer space! These give definite parameters to where like items such as knives, spoons, forks, spatulas belong.
Maximize Shelf Space
The problem with shelving is we lose a lot of space above the things we normally store on a shelf, like plates, cups, and bowls. The value of added shelf space that riser shelves provide is amazing.
A general rule to maximizing space in our homes is to go up and that’s exactly what shelf risers allow us to do in our kitchen cabinets! Be sure and measure your shelves before you invest in shelf risers because not all shelf risers are the same width or depth!
Tiers….Do you know the frustration of having all of your canned goods lined up on a shelf, one behind the other and need to find the one can of Rotel for your delicious queso dip? Instead of picking up every can to find the one you’re looking for, tiered shelves give you the ability to see all of your canned items! No more playing hide and seek with your canned goods!
Want easy access to all your sauces, oils, and whatnot? Turn Tables, or Lazy Susans or Spinners, whatever you call them in your neck of the woods are a great tool for being able to put eyes on what you’re storing in your pantry. Can also be used for frequently accessed spices and other meal prep necessities.
Something many of my professional organizer buddies and I talk about a lot is the benefit of decanting items out of their boxes. Cereals. Flours. Sugars. Crackers. Goldfish. Decanting these items into clear, air tight containers helps you easily see how much you have left without shaking a box!
Cardboard boxes often take up more space than the actual contents needs in your pantry or cabinet so decanting into an appropriate sized container uses space more efficiently.
Clang. Clang. Clang. The sound of pots and pans and lids banging together always causes me to apologize to my dog. Such a loud and annoying sound, but it’s one that can be lessened by using a very simple and inexpensive pot lid organizer!
Functional Baskets
Our kitchens and pantries can be both pretty and functional. This is where pretty baskets come into play! These function as any other bin would, but definitely gives off a polished, beautiful vibe. And who doesn’t want to cook meals for their families in a beautiful kitchen with a beautiful pantry?
Often we store large, bulk items on the floors of our pantries. Think paper towels, large bags of chips, snack foods purchased in bulk, or water bottles. Using every square inch of space is vital to those of us who have small pantries or limited kitchen storage. Large baskets function well as floor storage for these large, bulky items that are necessary for everyday function but don’t quite fit anywhere else.
I hope that you find these product recommendations helpful for you as you organize your kitchen this year! I’d love to have you join my FREE Facebook Group – Realistic Solutions for Calming Chaos where I share lots of tips and go live on Tuesdays to help regular people enjoy their homes more!
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