Kitchen Organization Tips + Essentials
Kitchen Organization Tips + Essentials
How to make kitchen organization functional and pretty.
Kitchens are where form and function collide—
—and since it’s one of the places we spend the most time in our everyday lives, it’s important to find the perfect balance between the two. In our eyes, a well-organized kitchen is a beautiful kitchen. As the heart of the home, an organized kitchen can make or break the experience of cooking and eating and doing homework and paying bills and all the other things that go down on the bar stools. There is a lot that happens in the kitchen, and let’s face it, it’s easy to get unorganized quickly without the right tools and systems in place. Even more importantly, with them, it’s key to maintain.
As we enter into the season for entertaining, baking treats, and spending more and more time in our kitchens, we’re thinking about how to give them an organized refresh and hitting “reset” in the room we all tend to gather in. Here are a few of our favorite kitchen organization tips, plus we share some of the best organizational practices and essentials for creating a kitchen space that’s just as beautiful as it is functional.
Corral everyday objects on a tray for easy access
One of our favorite ways to bring form and function to the kitchen is by corralling our most-used kitchen objects on a tray for easy access. We love having olive oil, balsamic, honey, or sea salt next to the sink or stovetop. Styling fruit, garlic bulbs, or fresh herbs alongside them is a great way to add some color.
Pretty Kitchen Trays
Corral your most-used kitchen objects for easy access.
Store kitchen tools in a crock or vase
We love the look of a crock on a kitchen countertop. Storing kitchen tools in a crock, or even a wide, pretty vase, is a great way to bring form and function to your kitchen space. Not only does it add an element of texture to your countertop, but it also allows for easy access while cooking, freeing up drawer space in the process. Vintage ones bring an element of time-worn tradition to your space, while ceramic or stoneware ones feel natural and organic. Inside your crock, store the utensils you use most often (not every single tool you’ve ever bought) for easy everyday access.
image via Pinterest
Kitchen Crocks
Bring an element of texture + function to your countertops.
Utilize pretty jars to store ingredients
We love using jars and canisters to display everyday ingredients or seasonal treats that have a unique hue or shape. Whether you opt for ceramic jars or clear jars, they are the perfect way to streamline your kitchen organization and keep regularly used items close by. The key here is choosing items that are pleasing to look at. You can style them anywhere from the pantry to your kitchen countertop (if there’s enough space) to open shelving. Bonus: they’ll keep your dry ingredients fresher longer!
image via Pinterest
Jars + Canisters
Store baking ingredients in pretty jars to streamline your kitchen organization.
Baskets provide easy access
Use baskets like they’re a drawer. Choose ones with handles so you can easily slide them in and out, and place them together in sets across the bottom row of open shelving for a more uniform storage look.
Textured Storage Solutions
It’s all in the details
Be intentional about what you display
One of the most important keys to a well-organized kitchen is knowing what to keep out and tuck away. It’s all about finding a balance between things that you both often use and want to display. Consider displaying your favorite kitchen items, be it a cutting board, heirloom plates, or even pretty glass cups. Although you may not use these things as often as others, keeping them out can add to the dimension of your kitchen and free up storage space for other items you might not want to see every day.
On open shelves, pick your prettiest platters and bowls and arrange them artfully to let useful kitchen objects become art. If you’re short on storage options, think about ways you can display the rarely dinnerware you use only for special occasions.
image via Pinterest
Kitchen Accessories
Display your favorite kitchen accessories and free up storage space.
Additional things to consider
Utilize your space
Think smartly about the shape of those funky side cabinets or bottom drawers and use them to store items that are similar shapes and sizes. A tall, narrow cabinet tucked into leftover space could be the perfect spot to store upright cutting boards or sheet pans.
Rolling Cart
The workhorse of a small kitchen has got to be a rolling cart. The key word is “rolling” as it’s essential that you can push it out of the way or to the corner of the kitchen (or to a whole new room if you’re entertaining) when it isn’t being utilized.
We love this classic French White Marble Kitchen Island (that can have wheels added to it) and also this Wheeled Bar Cart.
An Essentials Shelf
If you’re taking on a kitchen remodel, think about ways to incorporate a shelf above your stove or sink in the design, this allows for easy access to everyday products when you’re in the middle of a meal. If you’re just wanting a refresh, hang a beautiful shelf between your stove and vent to store salt and pepper and oils.
Hang It Up
Consider going vertical for items that are capable of being hung—aprons, pots and pans, measuring cups, brooms and dustpans, etc. A pot rack can be beautiful if styled right and a cute set of hooks can make an empty kitchen wall feel designed.
We love this Brass Pot Rack & Iron Pot Rack
Display Recipes
We love the idea of displaying some of your favorite recipes, or the ones most commonly used. You can do this a few different ways—in a beautiful box sitting on the countertop or if it’s a handwritten heirloom recipe, frame it and think of it as art for your kitchen walls.
We love this Rounded Edge Easel that comes in black, brass and white.
We hope you enjoy the items recommended here. At A Good Home, we put a lot of thought and intention into our recommended items, only suggesting things we love and use (and think you might, as well). We also like transparency, so, full disclosure: We may collect a share of sales or other compensation if you purchase through the external links on this page.