How do you organise your kitchen?

[MrsJackAubrey]

I'm fed up with having a badly organised chaotic (and therefore permanently messy) kitchen.

Where do you keep your pans? in a drawer?? Do you use pan-lid separators?

Where do you keep your herbs and spices? Mine take up two drawers' full in jars etc and we have at the last count 6 boxes of basil and 4 of mixed herbs ffs

What about potatoes and onions - in a drawer?

Are those Argos-y wire drawer trolleys as crap as I imagine? What's the score under your sink? Where do you keep your dishwasher tablets?

Shoes? when not ON the kitchen floor where do they go?

I could go on, but I am desparate for any top tips as there is nothing I can do DP will allow me to do! to change the layout, but there must be some easy improvements I can make when he isn't looking.

Shoes are in a box in a cupboard under worktop by the back door. This cupboard also houses the toolbox, pegs, bird food etc. In the drawer above I keep instruction manuals, elastic bands, string cooker bulbs and other assorted bits and pieces.

Cupboard under sink is where all cleaning sprays and bin bags are kept. Dishwasher tabs live by the bin and the car shampoo in the next cupboard along.

Pans are in a drawer with lids beside them, herbs in a wall cupboard and I use frozen potatoes and onions

Pans are in a drawer with their respective lids on. Herbs and spices are in a slim cupboard with similar ingredients such as oils and vinegars. The main ones are hung up on the wall though (IKEA spice rack). Root veg are in a drawer in the same cupboard actually.

I don't have Argos wire drawer trolleys, but I have IKEA ones and love them. Under the sink are the bins. Dishwasher tablets are in the cupboard full of cleaning stuff.

Shoes do not live in the kitchen.

I have three things out on the side - chopping board, microwave and hand wash.

I agree that ruthless is the way to go. Saying that I have two deep drawers full of baking dishes and a deep fat fryer that don't get used.

Ok, you asked for it . I have a tiny but organised kitchen.
I third or fourth ruthless. Start with your worktops. I have nothing on mine which means two seconds to clean. I do this by having a stove kettle and grill instead of toaster. Maybe too extreme for most people I really can't be arsed moving things to wipe but you get my drift.
Bread makers, chip pans, toastie makers, etc etc all need to GO if you don't use them weekly, you won't miss them.
Pans in a cupboard stacked into each other, the lids on their sides in a cheap ikea slim box all together. Takes one second to find the right lid.
One small box containing herbs and spices in a cupboard, the ones I use a lot like basil and Rosemary, I keep live plants which look prettier and taste nicer.
Potatoes and onions I buy loose in small quantities and keep in the veg drawer in fridge.
Cleaning products mainly in a cupboard with tea towels and cloths, over the place I keep my broom and mop. Washing up liquid and sponge I keep under the sink on a tray (literally nothing is left out!) I also keep olive oil, vinegar and the open bottle of wine there for ease of access!
Shoes - not in kitchen. But a shoe rack for hall?

I will come back tomorrow for tips with advice

I've decided to try and clear all the clutter off my work surfaces but have half-kondoed my kitchen already and it's still in ok shape. Spices and herbs in plastic boxes in a wall cupboard, for example, so I can easily remove the box go find what I need. Tupperware is now stored with lids on, thanks to a thread on here actually! Pans also stacked with lids on upside down. I'm sure there is tons more stufg I could get rid of (thinking of self catering accommodation on holiday which has everything you actually need, but none of the clutter you don't!)

I put 3M hooks on the inside of the pan cupboard. I can then stack the pans to take up less room, and I realised that I hardly ever use the lids!
I used to keep all cleaning stuff in a wall cupboard when the DC were small, and all their plastic cups/ dishes in a giant Tupperware under the sink so they could get it themselves

Things need to be near where you need them to be, utensils near the stove, dishwasher near the sink, cutting board near the surface where you cut, cups stored near the kettle, which is near the tea bags, etc. Don't keep stuff you don't use - OR - put the stuff you don't use into one cupboard, pack it tight, tape it closed and dispose of the contents next year. Very little goes on the counter tops (we have a spice drawer) so that the space is clean and available whenever you need it.

Fwiw, we have garden shoes and they do live in the kitchen, but by the back door - they also serve as door jams when we want to keep the door open! HOWever it is not a show dumping ground. We have 3 pairs of garden shoes, no more. Don't keep junk!