Today I am sharing tips on how to organize your kitchen. I always think of two things when I organize … function and style. (But not necessarily in that order.)
I use our kitchen a lot. Over the holidays I cooked a lot of dinners. Of course I loved every minute of it. The only unfortunate part of all of these family dinners is that my kitchen (and butelrs pantry) took a bit of a hit.
Today I am joining an amazing friend and blogger KariAnne from Thistlewood Farms and we are sharing a full week of organizing. Be sure to click on KariAnne’s post today Simple and Easy Kitchen Organization Ideas.
We are starting with our kitchens which is a good thing. Because there are some pretty unorganized situations hiding behind those cabinet doors of mine!
How to Organize your Kitchen
There are two things I always think about when I want to organize.
They are function and style.
Evaluating the Functionality in your Kitchen
To start the organization process, I look at the room. I make a note of any areas that are under-used. Areas that aren’t “functioning” as well as they should.
#1 – For example, there is a drawer just underneath my “Bakery” sign. I open about once every three or four weeks. That drawer needs a new purpose.
#2 – Just above that drawer is our “appliance cabinet” with a toaster and Cuisinart that has been overcome with hand sanitizer and masks. Dave can barely even use the toaster anymore.
#3 – I rarely even open the three drawers in the front of our island because they are unorganized. They need cleaning.
#4 – The biggest area in our kitchen that needs help is the part of our kitchen that has never been shown in a photo. Never ever.
In this photo, it’s the wall adjacent to our large farmhouse sink on the left side. It has way too many small appliances, such as a blender, toaster oven, 20-year-old microwave, juicer, and a Sonos speaker. This area drives me crazy and needs a major overhaul. This is the after photo and it looks amazing.
Finding Areas in Need of Styling
Because of my profession, I do have to focus on styling on areas that look camera ready. So what nedds cleaning, replacing or re-styling?
#5 – The two rugs in our kitchen were 20 years old. I probably should have replaced them years ago but I hadn’t been able to find anything I liked, in a similar style, that was affordable.
Also, the area with the gazillion small appliances is also another area that needed styling. I am tired of hiding and editing it out of my photos.
Before I actually start the organizing, I walk the room, in this case, it is the kitchen, with two different colored post-it notes. In this case, I used light pink for function and dark pink for style.
I place a post-it note on any cabinet, drawer, or area that needs help with either the function or style of the area.
I found two more areas.
#6 – The Lazy Susan cabinet is over run with Tupperware. I ignore that cabinet too because I am convinced my Tupperware multiplies at night while scaring all of the lids away. Does anyone else have that problem?
#7 – We have a drawer that used to hold Tupperware lids (that didn’t disappear at night) that now hold about 15 water containers. Since I refuse to buy the kind of water bottles that have water inside them, we have accumulated way too many bottles. At least half of them need to find a new home.
At this point, seven projects seemed like enough.
I am going to share some of my progress to show you how to organize your kitchen in a fun and easy way.
Organize the Kitchen
#1 and #2 – Repurposing the Catch All Drawer and Organize the Small Appliance Cabinet
Okay, here is the before photo. Yes, the hand sanitizer and masks were exploding. It’s sad but real life.
I bought my husband a new toaster for Christmas so this was a perfect solution.
The drawer underneath the appliance cabinet now holds all of our health and safety items. This includes hand sanitizer, masks, plastic gloves, and a thermometer.
Does anyone else have a drawer like this?
#4 – Wall Adjacent to the Farmhouse Sink
I forgot to take a “before” photo but I managed to crop a peek of twaht this looked like from another photo.
You can see everything piled up over to the left. What you cant see is the area that usually holds junk. But that’s a good thing.
This is what it looks like now.
I actually threw away the microwave. It’s twenty years old and way past its prime. I might replace it but would love to learn how to get by without one. We shall see. The blue screen is my friend Alexa.
Another item I moved from this area is our Sonos speaker. I found the perfect space for it.
Can you see it hiding behind the wire locker basket? I had forgotten that we had a plug hiding back there!
There it is!
This is such an improvement. And the music sounds just fine with the onions in front of the speaker.
Style the Kitchen
You have already seen the pink items styled in our kitchen. I don’t really use this counter space so I love using it to make my kitchen more festive.
I got new rugs!
This has been a long time coming and I am so happy I finally found some rugs that I love. They are hand hooked premium wool and just like my older ones. They also have every color I think I may ever need in my kitchen!
I ordered two Safavieh Chelsea Collection rugs in two different sizes, 2’9″ x 4’9″, and 2’6″ x 4′.
I think they were very reasonably priced.
Don’t they look awesome?
I hope these kitchen organization tips are helpful. Remember to take little steps and focus on fixing things that aren’t working. You don’t have to do this all in one day!
Don’t forget to head on over to Kari Anne’s blog post at Thistlewood Farms as she shares simple and easy tips on how to organize her kitchen!
Look at this amazing photo of her kitchen.
Tomorrow KariAnne and I will be sharing how tips on how to organize a butlers pantry. (When you see my “before” photos you will know that I had a lot of work to do.)
Pin the image below to your decor boards on Pinterest (just click the Pin button in the top left corner). You can also follow along with me on Pinterest!
For more real-time updates, follow me on Instagram @My100YearOldHome
32 Responses
Good inspiration and you have inspired me to overhaul my kitchen storage drawers. I totally empathise with the storage container lid problem . Tupperware and zip loc, where do they go. I think they are in the same place as about 36, at last count, socks !!!!
Ha, right Angela, lids and socks, where do they go? 😂 It feels so good to have gotten in and reorganized it all! Have a great day!
Your organizing tips are great but the rug you have in front of your sink is gorgeous. I have to ask where you bought it. It reminds me of a crewel tapestry. Thanks. Lily
Lily, I am loving these rugs, and I got them on Amazon! Here is the link if you want to check them out! https://amzn.to/3sJdSS3. Have a great day!
Your new rugs are BEAUTIFUL but would not be very practical for me. The rug in front of my sink needs washing too often. How do you plan to keep your “wool” rug clean… Especially with so much White?
Sheryl, the manufacturer recommends spot cleaning and you can wash in the washing machine on cold and hang dry.
This was my question too!
I love the tips: style and function! My post-its are going to run out, lol. Thank you so much for this post and for keeping it “real”.
You are so welcome Dahlia! I really do try to keep it real, there is no such thing as perfect! Have a great day!
Funny you mention the kitchen rugs. I was thinking how much I liked them in your photos! I too am looking for new kitchen rugs and it’s been really hard to find something I do like that can be machine washed and fit the spaces. Might be a good feature for your blog? I do need to replace mine soon!
Here is the link to the rugs that I bought on Amazon Deborah https://amzn.to/3sJdSS3 I love them so much!
Thank you! Who would have guessed Amazon. 🙂
Deborah,
I too wash my kitchen rugs. I love the 100% cotton rugs from Dash and Albert. I have a long runner in front of the stove area and a smaller one at the kitchen sink. Just give a good shake outside and drop them in the washer..cold water to prevent fading and you can dry them or hang them over a rack for a day to prevent shrinkage. They have a website online.
I really like your new rugs.
Kay
Thank you so much Kay! Here is the link to the rugs on Amazon if you want to check them out: https://amzn.to/3sJdSS3. Have a great day!
Good morning Leslie, I’ve been like a mad woman too, cleaning all my cabinets and drawers throughout my townhouse. And for the last year I have been trying to find a rug for my kitchen I have a very small kitchen but I did like the choice of rugs that you had purchased could you tell me what company so I can check that out. Thank you so much and have a great day. Cheryl
It feels so good to get everything cleaned out, doesn’t it Cheryl? I got the rugs on Amazon. Multiple sizes. You can check them out here: https://amzn.to/3sJdSS3. Have a great day!
Your new rugs look great with the color of your cabinets. Thanks for showing us pictures of your problem areas. It’s nice to know that real life happens even in the perfect looking home of a decorating blogger.
Oh Sharon, I definitely have problem areas, just like everyone else! I love the new rugs, so glad you do too!
In all my kitchens I’ve only put drawers in the lower cabinets. These drawers are usually big too. I put flour, sugar etc in canisters in one of those drawers where I bake. Pull out the drawer pop off the tops, measure it out, pop on the lids, shut the drawer and I’m done.
I make sure my storage of often used items is set up so I can stand by the dishwasher and put 80% of my stuff away without taking a step. We’ve just completed another remodel and my dishes are now in a drawer. Love it, so much easier on my sore shoulder. That took a lot of arguing with my husband who thought it would be harder on our backs.
You have to have zones. Pots, pans, pancake turners, hot pads etc next to the stove. Zig zagging across the kitchen doing a cardio workout doesn’t make cooking fun.
I’m not a naturally organized person, I’ve just learned that the easier I make things, the more I enjoy it.
Wow Jean, you have so many great ideas!
Hi Leslie,
I read your post about using your home in movies and South Pasadena caught my eye! I grew up there- across the street from the library. It was always fun watching shows and movies being filmed. I think I know your street too. Curious too who your husband is… I graduated in ‘81. I don’t expect you to share all here. Just wanted to say hi to someone from home!
One of the best things I ever did was throw away ALL plastic containers, except for Three very large casserole size ones. I found different sizes of glass containers with pop on lids at Marshall’s and bought 7 of them. I swore I would never have more leftovers than those would handle. Best thing I ever did. Organizing is on the top of my list for January👍
Thank you, Leslie! I ordered the rug in front of your sink right away. I have been looking for months for a replacement rug for this area. I will send a pic when I get it!
Oh my gosh Rebecca, I am so happy that you got a rug. I am loving mine so much! Thank you for reaching out and for following along!
I noticed the new rugs even before you mentioned it later in the post. They are beautiful.
Thank you so much Amy. They make sure a huge difference! I got them at Amazon, here’s the link if you want to check them out: https://amzn.to/3bVcJR1. Have a great day!
Hi Leslie. I just joined your blog. I’m so excited! I love your home. I love all your posts and all your beautiful, creative ideas. Your pantry is amazing. So cozy!!!! I’m a plate lover myself. Christmas dishes, Easter dishes, Thanksgiving dishes, and just because dishes. Looking forward to more posts and your blog.
Welcome Carmela! I am so happy that you found my blog and are now following so that you don’t miss anything! Thank you for reaching out to me, I am so glad you are here!
Leslie, love what you’ve done as I too am an organization freak. Lol. I keep my plastics all in a deep drawer nested inside of each other. The lids are put into one of those things you put on your desk with different slots for letters, kind of filed, and placed in the same deep drawer. I am very curious though, as to how you use your lazy Susan cabinet. This is my problem area. Thank you for sharing your beautiful home with us.
Wow, amazing. I am such a farmhouse girl myself. Could it be because I grew up on a farm? Who knows, right? All I know is that I love any and all things, ‘farmhouse!’ You kitchen is beautiful, so many things i love about it. Thanks for sharing
Thank you Ivory. We remodeled this kitchen 21 years ago and still today, I wouldn’t change a thing!