How To Organize Kitchen Cabinets

Organizing kitchen cabinets is not difficult. It takes a little creativity, a lot of determination and a small budget to organize your kitchen cabinets with the best of them.

Just like any kitchen cabinet project, it helps to see what others are doing to solve what seems to be a never-ending problem. See what clever individuals are doing to organize their kitchen cabinets with the nine clever and inexpensive ideas below.

1. Declutter & Throw Away

The first step in any kitchen organizing or storage initiative is to always declutter, throw away and clean. Many of us have those old pans that we have not seen the stove in years, old water bottles we never touch or spices that expired in 2010.

Before you organize your kitchen cabinets, go through all your cabinets and throw out what you don’t need.

2. Look Behind Cabinet Doors

One of the easiest ways to organize your kitchen cabinets is by installing racks, cabinet door mount holders, command hooks or adhesive towel holders. There are plenty of everyday kitchen tools and accessories you can hang on the back of your cabinet doors. Some items include:

• Hand Towels
• Lids
• Paper Towels
• Measuring Cups
• Sponges
• Spices
• Aluminum Foil

See a few examples below.

Pocket Organizer

See how to make a pocket organizer yourself.

Magazine Holder

Lid Rack

Only $12.99 on Amazon.

Command Hooks

Small kitchen items were made to be placed behind cabinet doors. As such, inexpensive command hooks are perfect for handling measuring cups, hand towels and more.

Corkboards

If you don’t like hooks, go with a corkboard like the one above.

Spice Racks

Most of us store spices on the counter, but as I said, behind cabinet doors is perfect for little items around the kitchen. Why not install a magnetic spice rack?

3. Install A Lazy Susan

Those corner cabinets are never easy to organize, that is without a Lazy Susan. Corner cabinets were not designed like other kitchen cabinets. While they do provide as much storage as many, the accessibility of them leaves a lot of room for imagination.

Lazy Susans allow you to make the most of that dead space hiding in the back of your corner cabinet. Some kitchens may not be able to fit a Lazy Susan, but any kitchen designer or kitchen remodeling pro can certainly lend a helping hand.

4. Build Tupperware Dividers

Coming from someone who saves every Tupperware he has ever received, I know what it’s like to battle the endless cabinet of Tupperware. There’s nothing more irritating than searching for Tupperware and being unable to easily grab the most appropriate one.

Start off by determining a drawer or cabinet specifically for Tupperware. You can include plates and bowls as well, but if your kitchen has the space, I recommend a separate cabinet. Then, shop for storage holders and dividers that can separate the cabinets for you. In fact, as pictured above, you could even buy small pieces of wood and install them yourself.

Either way, you will never lose the Tupperware battle ever again.

5. Install Pan Dividers

We all need them, but pots and pans take up a majority of our cabinet space. Hopefully you were able to throw away some of your more seasoned pots and pans, but regardless, you are probably left with a good chunk of them.

If you do own more than five pots and pans, go out and purchase pan dividers. There are plenty of options at The Home Depot, some more advanced than others.

6. Hang Pots with Screw Hooks

For those who own more pots than pans, try installing screw hooks on top of the inside of your cabinet. All you need are a few hooks, screws and a screwdriver. In fact, even if you rent, chances are, the next tenant will also enjoy this welcomed addition.

7. Organize Your Plates with A Pegboard

Even though plates are rarely the most unorganized facet of your kitchen cabinets, it still pays to keep them as organized as can be. In that case, look no further than installing a pegboard.

Yes, pegboards are more functional in drawers than cabinets, but either way, it keeps your kitchen cleaner and provides easy access to the next plate or bowl in the rotation.

Bonus

8. Consider Slender Pullouts

While pullouts themselves will not help you organize your kitchen cabinets, they do provide much less of a strain on your back. Fortunately, pullouts are perfect for that wasted space between the refrigerator and stove (see above). If you don’t have that much space, a custom cutlery pullout should be calling your name.

9. Add A Freestanding Cabinet

If you have the space, many homeowners install a freestanding cabinet/pantry in their kitchen. I understand that you need quite a bit of space to add a freestanding cabinet/pantry, but one would undoubtedly provide ample space and greatly improve your kitchen storage.

Conclusion

Organizing your kitchen cabinets is not difficult or expensive. Try a few of the simple ideas above and let us know what you think. If we missed one of two, let us know in the comments section below or reach out on Twitter @Improvenet.