40 Clever Kitchen Organizing Ideas You’ll Want to Try Right Now
Updated: Mar. 24, 2022
The kitchen may be the heart of the home, but it can also be the most cluttered. Use these clever kitchen organizing ideas to bring order to chaos!
Functional Décor
If you happen to have inherited your grandma’s rolling pins, knotty wooden utensils, and/or well-worn cutting boards, you have a design opportunity waiting. Consider storing these beloved kitchen wares out in the open as authentic décor elements by hanging them on available wall space. Just make sure you mount them in such a way that you can easily take them down for use.
Plastic Bag Holder
An empty rectangular tissue box makes a convenient holder for small garbage bags, plastic grocery bags and small rags. Simply thumbtack it to the inside of a cabinet door. It’s one of our favourite kitchen storage ideas.
Organize Your Fridge with a Six-Pack
Do all of your small bottles in the refrigerator door like to tip over after opening or closing the door? Fortunately, the answer to tidying those wayward bottles is just a recycling bin away. To keep all of your condiments under control, use an empty six-pack holder to hold and organize the condiments in your refrigerator door.
Here’s more great advice on how to organize your fridge.
Free Shelf Liner
Window shades make an excellent, wipe-clean shelf and drawer liners. Recycle an old shade or ask the shade department staff at a local home centre to go through their box of scraps. Heavy shades make the best liners.
Check out more thrifty ways to repurpose common household items.
Get a Cooking Caddy for Convenience
Keep condiments and spices in an easy-to-carry rack to free up countertop space. You always want salt, cooking oils and your favourite spices next to the stove because you use them every day. But they don’t have to take up valuable counter space full time. Place them all in a caddy that you can instantly stow in a cabinet after cooking. You’ll find caddies in various shapes, sizes and prices at any store that sells kitchenware.
Tension Rod Storage Hack
It can be difficult to keep spray bottles and other cleaning supplies from falling over and making a mess under your kitchen sink. To keep your cleaning supplies upright, hang them from a short tension rod inside your cabinet. Another clever idea is to slide a paper towel roll through the tension rod for easy access. This tension rod organization hack is also a great place to hang dish-drying towels and rubber cleaning gloves.
Find out more dollar store solutions for common household dilemmas.
Spice Up Your Life
Surely you’ve heard of this revolutionary thing called a spice rack. Embrace it! When it comes to kitchen storage, all those little containers of cumin, oregano, and cinnamon can quickly overwhelm and confuse you. Stacking them in a cupboard without any logical order will only lead to chaos. The solution: spice rack. If you’re extremely organized, you can transfer your spices to uniform jars and add printed labels. Depends on how often you find yourself reaching for these flavourings.
Integrate Appliances into Your Kitchen Island
Integrating appliances such as a microwave, wine fridge, or installing a dishwasher into a kitchen island can be a real space saver. Especially if you otherwise lack counter space. And you can even install a sink to create a space that allows you to mingle when doing dishes.
Find out the real reason it’s so hard to buy new appliances right now.
Use a Pool Noodle Inside a Drawer
Reader Roy Allison found a solution for keeping his silverware drawer organizer from moving around each time he opened or closed the drawer: a pool noodle! He cut the noodle to size, so that it fits snuggly between the back of the organizer and the back of the drawer.
Add a Display Shelf
A simple addition of molding along the upper cabinets adds a decorative touch as well as more storage space for displaying favourite dishes. It’s painted to match other features in the kitchen.
Find out 13 things real estate agents wouldn’t do to their own homes.
Secure Your Kitchen Towels
Hanging a dish towel from an oven or dishwasher door makes sense. The towel is in a convenient location, and the oven’s warmth quickly gets rid of dampness. However, the one drawback with hanging your towels here is that they are constantly falling off! Here’s a way to keep the towel from slipping off: Fold your towel into its desired form and attach hook-and-loop fastener in two spots, one on the front and one on the back, as shown in the photo above. Stitch in place, or use fabric iron-on hook-and-loop fastener strips and follow the directions on the packaging. Finally, hang your towel from the oven or dishwasher door and match hook-and-loop fastener ends together.
Here are 40 more clever kitchen hacks you’ll wish you knew sooner.
Jars on Jars
You can easily organize your dry goods by storing them inside jars and canisters. Not only can you create uniformity in your pantry storage this way, but you can also see at a glance where your lentils, rice, or oats are stashed. Arranging jars on open shelves can also give your kitchen a rustic, homestead-chic look.
Pullout Chopping Board
Pullout solutions are perfect for small kitchens as they allow a decent amount of extra kitchen counter space with a very small footprint. And a pull-out cutting board is perfect for food prep, cookbooks or for extra storage. Plus, when you are done, you can simply slide it back into the cabinet.
Here are more organizational tricks that will save you tons of money.
Install a Kitchen Cabinet Rollout
A shortage of storage space in kitchen cabinets would sour anyone in need of maximum stowaway room. Kitchen cabinet rollouts give additional capacity to cabinets and make it easier to find items so you can smile while you snack.
Pressed for time? Check out 30Â things you can organize in under 30 minutes.
File Folders Kitchen Organization Hack
File folders can be used for more than just organizing papers and magazines in your office. They can also be used for organization in your kitchen. We filled file folders up with the clutter that normally barricades the cabinet under the kitchen sink. Place all of your kitchen cleaning supplies into file folders, putting the most frequently used items towards the front.
Find out how to clean absolutely everything in your kitchen, according to Charles the Butler of CTV’s The Marilyn Denis Show.
Kitchen Window Plant Perch
Do you like having fresh herbs at your fingertips? Keeping them on your counter takes up valuable space and doesn’t expose them to enough light. Try this easy storage idea: Install a wire shelf between the upper cabinets flanking your kitchen window. You can set your plants where they’ll get plenty of light without blocking the view. This also makes watering easy and keeps them readily available for snipping. Make sure to install the shelf high enough so you don’t bump into it when you’re working at the sink.
Here are more inspired indoor gardening tips that will keep you growing year-round.
DIY Coffee Pod Organizer
Coffee pods can be a disaster to keep organized. Use simple t-molding as an ideal organization system for your coffee pods (Keurig, Nespresso or any other type of coffee pod).
Still using a traditional coffeemaker? Consider these clever uses for coffee cans before you toss them in the recycling bin.
Expand the Counter with a Kitchen Cart
A rolling kitchen cart is the next best thing to adding cabinets and countertop space. The top provides extra work space when you’re preparing that big Thanksgiving dinner. And the shelves below hold items that would otherwise consume countertop space. If you plan to use a cart for food preparation, choose one with a tough top like butcher block, stainless steel or plastic laminate. Some cart tops are glossy finished wood—beautiful, but not very durable. Carts come in a variety of wood finishes, so there’s a good chance you can match your existing cabinets. Or you can go for an eclectic look with a shiny metal or painted cart.
Instant Kitchen Cabinet Organizer
A metal file organizer is perfect for storing baking sheets, cutting boards and pan lids. You can pick one up for a buck at a dollar store. To keep the organizer from sliding around, use rubber shelf liner or attach hook-and-loop tape to the cabinet base and the bottom of the organizer.
Find out 18 things professional organizers never buy.
It’s Time to Toss Those Takeout Menus
Though your takeout bag comes with a menu or two, the reality is, you end up stuffing all that wasted paper in a drawer. Then before you know it, menu after menu, it’s hard for you to close your kitchen drawer. Toss those suckers in the recycling bin and stick to looking up menus online.
C-Clamp Paper Towel Rack
Create an instant paper towel dispenser for your garage or workshop with two C-clamps. Position and clamp them a roll’s width apart in a convenient spot, hold up the roll and push in the handles to hold it. Buy slick-looking C-clamps and install them in the kitchen, then fib to visitors about your chic designer hardware.
Here are more thrifty shed storage ideas to organize your space at last.
Wine Stash
What, no wine rack? No problem! You can just as easily store your wine collection in a deep kitchen drawer, if there’s one that’s vacant. Just be sure to alternate the direction of the bottle so that they nest well together. If you’re feeling ambitious, you could try making your own roll-out drawers to house your wine supply within a more spacious cupboard instead.
Easy-to-Build Knife Block
Display your kitchen cutlery in style with this handsome DIY knife block. It’s fast, easy and fun to build, and includes a 6-in.-wide storage box for a knife sharpener.
To build one, you only need a 3/4-in. x 8-in. x 4-ft. hardwood board and a 6-in. x 6-1/2-in. piece of 1/4-in. hardwood plywood to match.
Begin by cutting off a 10-in. length of the board and setting it aside. Rip the remaining 38-in. board to 6 in. wide and cut five evenly spaced saw kerfs 5/8 in. deep along one face. Crosscut the slotted board into four 9-in. pieces and glue them into a block, being careful not to slop glue into the saw kerfs (you can clean them out with a knife before the glue dries). Saw a 15-degree angle on one end and screw the plywood piece under the angled end of the block.
Cut the 6-1/2-in. x 3-in. lid from the leftover board, and slice the remaining piece into 1/4-in.-thick pieces for the sides and end of the box. Glue them around the plywood floor. Cut a rabbet on three sides of the lid so it fits snugly on the box and drill a 5/8-in. hole for a finger pull. Then just add a finish and you’re set for years of happy carving!
Feeling crafty? Here are 10 more indoor DIY projects you can tackle right away.
In-Wall Pantry
In almost every room of your house, you can find tons of storage space hidden between the two sheets of drywall. Simple stud-space cabinets like the one we show here are great for capturing some of this wasted space.
Check out more clever home organizing hacks you need to try today.
Space-Saving Nonstick Stackable Cookware Set
This stackable storage solution will free up some valuable space in your cabinets. Some cookware sets stack and nest in any order, feature a flat, tempered-glass cover to save even more space, and are made of durable anodized aluminum and are metal-utensil safe, so you can bet it can withstand your cooking trials and tribulations.
Decorative Backsplash Rack
Backsplash racks offer easy access and stylish kitchen storage solutions. Most versions take just a few minutes to install. Backsplash racks have a few disadvantages, though. All your kitchen utensils have to look good, since they’re on display. And if you ever decide to remove the rack, you’ll be left with screw holes in the backsplash; not a big problem with drywall, but ugly and unfixable in tile.
Don’t miss these genius design tips from Brian Gluckstein—Canada’s most in-demand interior designer.
Concealed Message Centre
Don’t let shopping lists, phone messages and to-do notes clutter up counter space. Mount a dry-erase board and a plastic bin on the inside of a cabinet door with double-sided foam mounting tape. The bin will protrude into the cabinet, so be sure to position it where it won’t collide with shelves or the stuff inside. Get the board, bin and tape at a discount or office supply store.
Here are more secrets personal organizers would never tell you for free.
Better in a Basket
You come home from the grocery store with an armful of fresh fruit, but lo and behold—there’s no spare fridge or counter space available. (Psst—you should never store these foods in the fridge.) A stylish solution for this storage problem is to hang a single or tiered wire basket from the ceiling. You can store your apples, bananas, and oranges as well as potatoes, onions, and garlic here. Plus, a hanging basket adds visual interest to your kitchen.
Racks for Canned Goods
Use those leftover closet racks as cabinet organizers. Trim the racks to length with a hacksaw and then mount screws to the backside of the face frame to hold the racks in place. The backside of the rack simply rests against the back of the cabinet.
Chalk It Up
If you’re someone who likes to keep a running grocery list or piles of clipped recipes and coupons in your kitchen, then you might want to consider adding a coat of chalkboard paint to one of your walls. This idea allows you to get rid of the paper and pen clutter by utilizing wall space and chalk as your new canvas. If you’re nervous about committing to painting an entire wall, try just painting a small section of it. Or, simply hang a chalkboard for notes and other great kitchen storage ideas.
Find out 20 home organizing mistakes you’re probably making.
Install Expandable Shelves in Cabinets
Expandable or pullout shelves are an easy way to add extra room to your kitchen without changing anything else. This is a relatively small project and you can typically find a very good pullout shelf accessory for around $50—or you can make your own!
Embrace the Openness
The latest trend in kitchen storage is to embrace the openness of basic shelving. This puts your pretty dishes on display and instantly invokes a sense of coziness to your kitchen. (Discover 20 more ways to make your home feel cozier.) Note that you don’t need to fill every shelf with plates, bowls, and coffee mugs. Rather, you can integrate a little greenery here and there with potted plants and succulents.
From Office to Kitchen
You see an empty file holder, we see an opportunity for some clever kitchen storage. If you have an orphan file holder lying around, try converting it to the upright storage space where you arrange your aluminum foil, your parchment paper, your plastic bags, and more.
Find out 15 ways to squeeze more storage out of small spaces.
Mixed Materials
While the most common countertop consists of just one material, modern kitchen trends are seeing a spike in designs that feature more than one. So why not integrate your cutting board into your countertop? Looks amazing (and super-useful) to us!
Don’t miss HGTV star Bryan Baeumler’s best kitchen renovation tips.
Get Produce Off the Counter
Sometimes all that’s needed to spruce up a space is organization. This creative way to store fruits and vegetables is inexpensive and attractive. It’s also a bonus that this project will free up valuable counter space.
Find out 10 more things you should never store on the kitchen countertop.
Don’t Let the Junk Drawer Overflow
It goes without saying that a junk drawer goes from being a place for miscellaneous items, to an overflowing space that has more non-essential items in it than ones you actually want to get easy access to. Go through your junk drawer quarterly, making sure anything that’s in there is something you truly need. The rest you can toss, like extra rubber bands, plastic bags, chopsticks, business cards, and more.
Here’s more advice on what to toss, according to a professional organizer.
Pantry Cabinet in a Closet
Moving some of your bulkier or seldom-used items out of the kitchen and into a nearby pantry can free up a lot of space. Look around. You may have extra space in a nearby closet or hallway where pantry shelves would fit. A pantry could be as simple as adjustable shelves on wall standards or a more elaborate built-in cabinet. You can order closet parts like those shown here online at EasyClosets.
Looking for more inspiration? Marvel at these before-and-after transformations on these Netflix home organizing shows.
Emergency Cash Stash
You never know when you’ll need a bit of emergency cash (or maybe just some fun spending money). Inside an empty tin can is the perfect saving spot. Stash it in the back of your pantry for a rainy day.
Make sure you avoid these common kitchen organizing mistakes.
Refrigerator/Freezer Stackable Storage Bins
Clear plastic bins are great for keeping your pantry, refrigerator or freezer tidy while ensuring everything remains in sight. This will keep you from buying things when you don’t need them! Look for bins that are BPA-free and feature built-in handles.
Looking for even more kitchen organizing ideas? Don’t miss this roundup of our best-ever home organizing hacks.
