How do you organise your kitchen?

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I’m in my 20s and have my own home for the first time. Prior to this I was sharing with others so am used to having all my things shoved in a cupboard!

I have a good sized kitchen now with lots of cabinets. Have been given some gifts, bought new and also kept my old things. I don’t know how best to organise everything eg what goes inside the cupboards and where. Do you have a method to organise yours?

I accumulated a lot of kitchen “stuff”. EG multiple dinner sets, dozens of different types of glasses, oven racks/baking items like bowls, cookie cutters. Rarely used things for dinner parties/occasions like a long charticurie board. Cleaning supplies. A ridiculous amount of mugs. Recipe books. Seasoning/spices. Coffee/tea/hot chocolate peripherals. Random electrical things like a panini grill, nutribullet, hand mixer. Pots & pans. Vitamins/supplements, protein powder. The usual dry food items etc.

Happy to pinch ideas if anyone is willing to share!

Put things in the cupboard closet to where you'll use them. Eg pans by cooker. Cutlery in top drawer. Put things you don't use often in the harder to reach cupboards.

Make sure you know where your stop cock/ fuse box is and make an easy path to it. Eg don't put your loose small spice bottles in front of it as you'll only need to get to it in an emergency, so the less stuff you have to move the better. I've had both stop cock and fuse box in bottom cupboards.

I have a shelf over my microwave that has hooks on the side. I keep all my most used kitchen items on there - salt, oil, scales, toaster, meat thermometer, measuring jug, sieve and kitchen paper on the shelf and then spatula, ladle, spoon, tongs and rice scoop hung on the hooks. The microwave is right next to the job so it's very convenient.

www.amazon.co.uk/Multibao-Expandable-Microwave-Storage-Kitchen/dp/B0CV5NLVZB/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?crid=3SXUCT9DH2244&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.GpYPyl5Q7khU2NIQ2TNRoSxLJMZZQKetOhzoG0kD108ZOW6FDbHsiHfWzFDV05M7cSxzgNP8X5U7MWt81PU2ane4UfByBjgDRrtMfdFvlL1qOqZG6JtTpQze-KiO4zX_BFUR0xvi3Hb6RLEazBe6aBkxYKg4-qkMBWwfM7trTeWO97Ws6NYJ6rZ5j5Vn2SW6XI1ouxXRumG_n7CBwg5h8A.VELPDPT5LraEf8e6TSQUXGeRkz_zXCxRnb8-eNMA-UE&dib_tag=se&keywords=microwave+shelf&qid=1722767980&sprefix=microwave+shel%2Caps%2C266&sr=8-4

We have just renovated, whole new kitchen and this is how I've currently got it organised.
-Higher shelves which need a little step to get to, I put appliances I don't use very often
-Tea/coffee and the associated mugs etc are in the cupboard above the kettle
-I have a corner, 2 step pull out thing. In the inner part, which I don't use often, I've got flour, icing sugar, cupcake tins and other baking things I don't use often
-Pasta/Italian type things are all in 1 cupboard
-Asian/Sth east Asian ingredients in another
-1 top drawer I have all my spices in their jars and in alphabetical order. Yes, this might be OTT, but it makes it much easier to find the herb/spice I need
-1 lower draw is my spare drawer. I know when I get something out of it to then use in my regular cupboard or fridge, then I add it to my shipping list to be replaced. I have apple sauce, mint sauce, gravy mix, mustard etc in there
-I keep pots/pans close the oven and hob

I have most used things easily accessible for all cupboards. Eg least used pans at the back and most used at the front.
Least used items on the top shelves.
Spices, herbs, oils and vinegars, stock cubes and any packet mixes are in one cupboard. Another has tins, pasta and rice. I'd have them in the same cupboard when we redo the kitchen.
Utensils in a drawer and pots on the worktop next to the hob.
When we moved here I put everything away and then put post it notes on the doors so everyone could find what they wanted. Things have moved a bit over the years, and if I did a complete change around of the cup, I did the notes again.
I am hoping with our new kitchen we will just have base unit's with drawers in so everything is even more accessible.

It sounds like you need to declutter.

Thanks for the ideas everyone!

hmm my main blocker so far is as I’m short, the cupboards on the wall are pretty much out of reach lol. I’d need to get a stool to reach the top shelf, or the back of the bottom shelves. So it’s a hard one as everything in there is slightly inaccessible. Makes me not want to put things like pots and pans there.

yes possibly could declutter but a lot of it is new! Probably have been on a bit of a home splurge. I have quite a few of those whittard tea/hot chocolate and it’s definitely a pain to store them all. I might get those turning trays

Anything used more often than weekly is in cupboards or drawers close to the oven and sink area and can be got put without having to stand on something to reach or move something else out of the way.

Anything used once or twice a year (eg Christmas cake tin, jam making equipment, Christmas cookie cutters) is at the back and more difficult to access.

Mugs, tea, coffee and other hot drink stuff in cupboard near the kettle.

How many glasses and mugs do you really need? Either declutter now or keep an eye on it and do it in a few months' time.

Are you really going to use things like
The charcuterie board? Fine if you are but equally could go if you're not.

Have things close to their point of use, it makes things easier to put away.

My cutlery drawer is next to the dishwasher so I don't have to move my feet to put them away. Spices next to the hob. Tea/ Coffee in the awkward corner cupboard (I don't drink them- bought in for visitors only!)

Drawer dividers are useful. I can get a lot more utensils in their drawer that way and they tangle less.

Are you a things in sight or hidden away person?

I would store stuff that’s not used frequently in a different area if you are not ready to part with it. You don’t need multiple dinner services and loads of mugs. Everything will stay much tidier and be easier to clean if you have less. Put it where you think it will work and then in a month or so you can re look and move stuff if it’s not working. Enjoy your new home!

Like you, height restricts my access to cupboards 😀.
Highly recommend turntables / lazy Susan. They make things like mugs, cups, spices, cans etc more accessible. Standard ones on shelf in overhead cupboards and large ones from Ikea for the deep base units.
Available online or sometimes TK Maxx. Try to avoid deep rims, you have to lift things out instead of off the turntable. Also good for top shelf of fridge.

Baskets (plastic inexpensive), make it easier to access next shelfs. Very useful for keeping similar ingredients together.

Put crockery near dishwasher, easier to unload.

Check dates on food items before storing.

Spare cleaning products behind currently being used.

Small appliances (processor etc) put attachments into separate baskets for each. Store in a cupboard near power points.

Hope that helps. Enjoy your new home.

Are you a things in sight or hidden away person?

Definitely important question. Actually I recommend going on the Clutterbug site and doing her quiz - she divides people up into four types based on two different scales. Can never remember which bug is which.

She basically says first, you either need to see everything so you don't forget about it, or you need things hidden away so it's visually calmer. Which one are you?

Then, when you put stuff away, are you happy to put it away carefully to preserve a precise order, or realistically, do you just prefer to throw everything in the same place in any old order and then get annoyed at yourself later?

Those two questions are useful to know because if you're a "want to see things" person and you have loads of shelves then you'll end up piling things up on the counter instead. Or if you're a "must be hidden" person and you have open storage, you'll feel like it's never properly tidy.

And if you're a "shove everything in a box" person and you have neat, intricate storage it will get in a mess easily.

But if you're a "categorise to within an inch of its life" person and your storage is more open, then it will never feel like it's organised.

I did see an amazing thing on Sort Your Life Out where they installed this magic arm thing in higher cupboards that brought all the stuff down on a pull-out shelf, so that the woman who lived there, who was quite short, could reach things without having to climb on a step all the time.

I agree!

I’m short so I have a wooden IKEA step for the high cupboards and also use a lot of clear plastic organiser boxes for things like packets and sauces - it’s much easier to reach one of them down than fumbling for the jars at the back. B&M have a brilliant range.

My kitchen is quite small so I’ve got a cupboard in the living room for things like your charcuterie board, Xmas China and other things I don’t use regularly.

Organising all this sounds like my dream job 😆

Like this with the pull down shelves?

www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Pull-Down-Storage-Trays/p/148593

I think I've seen them in several kitchen showrooms.

A key priority for me is to have food items in wall cupboards rather than floor cupboards, unless they are unopened jars/ tins. I also organise dry food (pasta/ flour/ dried fruit/ rice noodles/sugar/ tebags etc) into labelled Lock&Lock plastic boxes.

Our kitchen is organised into zones- to be fair we did build it ourselves, so could plan what we wanted.

• washing up/ wet zone- dishwashers/ sink/ washing up/ recycling (I would suggest only using undersink recycling bins for cleaned recycling rather than food waste general rubbish- use a more easily cleaned freestanding bin for messy waste). Most of our cleaning products are in the utility room, but if we didn't have one I'd put them under the sink.
• breakfast zone- toaster/ cereal/ jam etc, with butter knives and breadboards in under-counter drawers
• hot drinks area- tea/ coffee in a cupboard above the kettle, teaspoons and mugs/ cups in drawers under the kettle
• table cutlery/ crockery near the table
• prep knives/ cutlery/ boards close together
• frequently used pans in a pan drawer by the hob
• roasting tins in drawers under the oven
• baking stuff above the oven (less frequently used)

Baskets are good for storing things like tupperware/ drinks bottles/ blender attachments- The Range are good for reasonably priced kitchen stuff.

Agree with PP about drawer dividers.

You've only just moved in. Live in it for a while and work out what you want where/what you use most often.

I was lucky enough to have a whole new (expensive) kitchen fitted 4 years ago. All my lower cabinets are drawers, they contain my saucepans, casserole dishes, mixing bowls, plastic containers, cutlery etc. My top cabinets go all the way to the ceiling, so the top shelves have the things I use rarely. I have all my plates, mugs, bowls etc., glasses, odds and ends like ramekins and little terracotta dishes in those. I have full height cupboards on two walls. One is my breakfast cupboard. It contains cereals, biscuits, crispbreads, spreads like marmite, peanut butter, honey etc., tea, coffee, hot chocolate. The bottom shelf has an IKEA plastic step stool. One is my baking/dry goods cupboard. It has pasta, rice, beans, flour, sugar, cous cous, sultanas etc. with the bottom shelf containing my hand mixer, blender, food processor etc. Then I have a cupboard for my tins and bottles, and a cupboard for snacks, spices and vegetables. Right at the end of the kitchen I have a second under counter fridge with the coffee machine and kettle above, with small wall shelves for coffee pods, sugar etc. There is a cupboard next to the fridge which contain cat gubbins and recycling bags.

I have a LOT of storage and I use it all. I used to be really poor so I now keep a really good stock of food and I could last quite a long by time without shopping or starving.

Gatecrashing the thread to say this is so helpful and insightful!