When you’re the chef of the house, the kitchen can become cluttered and overwhelming, especially if you have a small space. If you’re looking for smart and efficient ways to store your essentials. Browse through our roundup of unique kitchen organization ideas. We’re sharing clever ways to make use of your cooking area, including a few DIYs and useful installations.
From finding the best racks to store your spices and ingredients to the best drawers and countertop ideas to corral utensils, our list will help you tackle everyday cooking items and appliances you can never find a place for. And as an organization tip, Nicole Papantoniou, Director of Good Housekeeping’s Kitchen Appliances & Culinary Innovation Lab, suggests grouping items together to make them easier to find and store. “The most accessible things should be the things you use most often,” she says. “Use high cabinets and hard-to-reach places for things you rarely use.” For instance, if you’re not a huge baker, keep those baking essentials above your fridge.
Ready to get organized? Say goodbye to the messy drawers and pantries (check out our best kitchen cabinet drawer organizers and clever pantry organizing tips for more ideas) and say hello to the clean, sleek and glamorous kitchen you designed when your family first moved in.
1. Add Bins to Your Bottom Drawers

Reserve your bottom kitchen drawers for jars and cans. Use 16″-deep bins to keep them organized and label each bin so you know where to find what you need quickly.
2. Or Try a Tall Pull-Out Pantry Drawer

Keep unsightly but frequently used cans, bottles, and other staples within reach with this sleek pull-out pantry setup from Diamond Cabinets.
3. Utilize Your Island’s Storage

Your kitchen island can be a great place to store most essentials at least the heavier ones. Purchase an island with hidden cabinets on both sides to place your pots, pans, linens and single-use items.
4. Create a Slide-Out Prep Station

Here’s a clever solution for a kitchen short on counter space: Build a butcher block board into a drawer like designer Jenn Feldman did here. With a hole right over the trash can, it’s easy to dump peels and pits as you go, using a scrapper-chopper.
5. Designate a Drawer for Dishes

Keep your dishes protected and in place with adjustable plate holders, perfect for deeper drawers. Opt for holders with carrying handles, so you can lift them out of the drawer when it’s time to set the table.
6. Install Bracketed Shelves

If there’s an open space you haven’t yet designed, install bracketed shelves for a practical look. They’re not as bulky as cabinets and they’ll make great storage for your colorful and cute glassware.
7. Create a Command Station

Stick chalkboard contact paper and adhesive pockets to the inside of one of your cabinets, so that everyone in your household knows where to look to find the grocery list, coupons, recipes and WiFi password. Add a plastic pouch to store coupons and receipts!
8. Mount a Double-Duty Shelf

Here, one shelf gives you two smart ways to store your kitchen essentials: Stick seasonal platters and pretty dishes on the top shelf for all to see, and hang cutting boards and oven mitts on the lower hooks.
9. Arrange Utensils on a Pegboard Wall

When pegboards are painted in a bold accent color, they become a functional focal point. Screw in a range of angled, straight and curved hooks to hang mugs, measuring cups and other cookware.
10. Keep Pots and Pans Nearby

It makes the most sense to keep your pots, pans and cooking utensils right near the oven. Attach a magnetic knife bar to the left of your stovetop and a rod to hold your most-used pots and pans to the right (or vice versa).