When your kitchen becomes cluttered and hard to navigate, it’s time to set up some kitchen organization methods to keep messes to a minimum. From food storage ideas to simply getting rid of junk, you can use several organization tips to make cooking for you and your family easier without an avalanche of Tupperware coming down on you every other day.
Allow our team at Saf Keep Storage to show you several premier kitchen organization hacks and tips to give yourself a little more wiggle room in your everyday life.
Kitchen Organization Ideas to Consider Before You Start Organizing
Like other organizational processes, such as spring cleaning, proper kitchen organization begins by coming up with a plan for attack. After taking a deep breath, look around your kitchen and consider areas for improvement. These areas could include a jumbled pantry or a cluttered fridge.
After you have highlighted potential improvement points, it’s time to decide where to begin. If your refrigerator needs more attention than your pantry, take care of that first.
How to Organize Your Kitchen
Once you’ve developed a proper organization plan and a vision for your kitchen, it’s time to begin! Here are nine steps to make kitchen organization as seamless as possible.
1. Clear Everything Out
The best way to approach kitchen decluttering is to consider your space a blank slate. That’s why the first step in kitchen organization is to clear out everything—and when we say everything, we mean it.
Take everything off the shelves and out of your drawers. Find a designated area outside the kitchen to temporarily store your items. One consideration is setting them on a coffee table or dining room table in the living room, away from the kitchen.
2. Clean Up Any Messes
Once you have cleared out your kitchen, you can more easily clean every nook and cranny you can find.
Wipe away any spills and grime around your kitchen. Once the shine comes through, make sure to use dry towels and cloths to wipe away excess moisture. This process prevents moisture from accumulating and forming mold.
3. Discard Any Unwanted Items
After your kitchen is clean and shiny, you can focus on the items you set aside and begin decluttering. The best first step to a decluttered kitchen is to discard unwanted items. These items may vary from leftover food to unused supplies. When you’ve settled on what must be disposed of, use an odor-resistant trash bag.
4. Consider Items for Donation
Not every item you don’t want needs to be thrown away. To promote more sustainable kitchen decluttering, consider any items that would benefit from a new home through donations. Some items ideal for donation are excess shelving, racks, and containers. Place any items you want to donate in a separate, if not differently colored, bag and send them to a donation center or thrift store.
5. Group Similar Items Together
Once you have sifted through the unwanted items and are left with all you want to keep, the next best step is to group similar items. A good tip for grouping foods is to consider the food pyramid. Dairy items like cheese and milk should be near each other in the fridge. In the pantry, canned foods like sauce and beans can be lined up together using can organizers or adjustable pantry shelves.
Ideal kitchen organization is not limited to grouping similar food items. It’s also key to keep your non-food kitchen items together, such as the following:
- Utensils
- Pots
- Pans
- Tupperware
- Smaller appliances
- Plates
- Bowls
- Knifes
6. Place Items Back Strategically
Do you have all your items grouped? Now it’s time to find a home for each group! Throughout your kitchen, create designated homes for each group of items in your pantry, cabinets, and fridge. From coffee stations and a row of cereal boxes to a refrigerator drawer flourishing with vegetables, there’s no shortage of ways to keep your grouped items together while creating a foolproof organizational system in your home.
7. Consider Storage Outside of the Pantry and Fridge
Don’t limit your kitchen storage system to just within your kitchen. You can also store Tupperware and other dry foods away in areas outside the kitchen.
If your loved one has a gluten allergy and you need a place to store your bread and other wheat-based goods, convert a closet for those wheat-based foods and designate containers in a closet away from your loved one’s gluten-free food and containers.
8. Use Kitchen Organization Tools
When organizing your food and supplies, use organizational tools to make the process as simple as possible. One such tool to use is kitchen labels for bottles and containers. You can also use designated labels for areas where certain groups of items go.
9. Utilize Clear Storage Containers
Are you tired of constantly opening containers to see what’s inside and find the item you need? That’s where clear storage containers come in handy. Instead of opening countless lids and leaving a box open, you can look into each container or apply labels to find the specific ingredient or supply you want.
Kitchen Organization Tips to Keep Your Space Clean Long Term
Even when you finally get your kitchen the way you want it, you’ll want to avoid falling back on old habits and start accumulating new clutter. Thankfully, there are simple steps you can take to prevent a jumbled mess from making its home in your kitchen and home or apartment at large.
Clean Your Kitchen Regularly
One of the most prominent ways to keep your kitchen organized throughout the year is to clean it frequently. Cleaning your kitchen includes routine tasks, from wiping down counters and cleaning your floors to more irregular and specialized tasks, such as cleaning your refrigerator and reorganizing your pantry.
Designate a time each week to clean your kitchen so it becomes a part of your regular schedule. Keep a checklist or schedule of when you need to accomplish specific tasks around the kitchen and house.
Use Storage Outside of Your Kitchen
For seldom used specialty items like that Santa waffle iron or ice cream maker you used one summer, utilize self storage to free up space. The best storage unit will allow you to clear out even more items from your kitchen without kicking any needed items to the curb.
Do you want additional protection on certain temperature-sensitive items like electrical appliances? Consider renting a climate-controlled storage unit that keeps your belongings in a stable environment regardless of the weather outside.
Store Your Kitchen Supplies with Saf Keep Storage
Are you looking for premier self storage to help keep your kitchen clean for the long haul? Turn to Saf Keep Storage for premier residential storage in the western United States. We pride ourselves in providing a wide selection of storage unit sizes and types across state-of-the-art storage facilities, each with a long line of amenities and features included.
Ready to clear and clean out your kitchen? Contact our team or find your nearest Saf Keep Storage facility online to rent your ideal storage unit today!
