What are the essential tools and equipment every cook needs in the kitchen? Whether you're setting up a kitchen for the first time or else looking to pare back down to the basics, our Essentials Guides are here to help. We've already shared our guides to essential prep tools and utensils, cooking tools, cookware, baking pans, and small electric appliances. Today we look at the cleaning tools and solutions needed to keep all those things in good shape! More

Small kitchen cooks unite! We know that many of you have small kitchens (many of the Kitchn writers and editors do, too!), so we often write about small kitchen concerns. There's a lot of helpful information already in our archives, so I thought it was high time to round up 15 of our best posts on the subject, from the #1 multi-tasking tool you should have in your small kitchen to great ideas gleaned from the annual Small, Cool Kitchens Contest. Read on for tips, solutions, advice, and the best products for small kitchens: More

Last week I was in Portland and got to visit one of my favorite stores, Canoe, for the first time. Since I was on vacation, I splurged and bought myself a Health Ceramic mug ($34). Like many of my other favorite home and kitchen stores (Brook Farm General Store, Kaufmann Mercantile, Herriott Grace, to name a few), I found myself eyeing far more than I could afford to buy at that time. Which has me wondering: how do you determine whether or not a kitchen tool or accessory is worth the price? How important is the item's aesthetic appeal and backstory? More

I love this cheery little pantry, which illustrates some cute printable labels from Better Homes and Gardens. What I really love, though, even more than the labels, are the calendar and shopping list on the back of the door! More

Most cooks appreciate every scrap of storage space allotted to their kitchen, big or small, urban or suburban. Some of us let the kitchen spill out into other spaces in the home (remember how David Lebovitz keeps his ice cream maker under the bed?). I recaptured an inefficient coat closet and turned it into a cheery little pantry — one of my all-time most useful kitchen projects! Packing all your kitchen goods together in a pantry like this can really streamline your organizing and post-grocery shopping routine. Here are ten more inspiring examples of pantries, each with a takeaway for small spaces. More

The IKEA Expedit bookcase may be one of the most popular affordable bookcases out there. (When you actually start looking for it, you see it everywhere. Trust me.) Its ubiquity also means it's rife for reinterpretation, as seen in this kitchen/dining storage hack! More

While we love the eye candy our weekly Cook's Kitchen Tours give us, our favorite element has to be all the creative storage solutions! Whether it's finding a clever way to make use of every last inch of space, or developing a way to keep appliances and utensils neat and organized, we live for those aha! moments when we see something we know we can implement in our own kitchen. Here are 15 smart storage solutions from our Kitchen Tour archives:

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It is essential to be organized in the kitchen. Cooking can be stressful enough as it is. Who needs the extra frustration of shuffling through cabinets searching for the next ingredient? My wife and I solved our own storage dilemma once and for all by converting all of our lower kitchen cabinets — originally outfitted as cabinets with regular doors — into cupboards made of drawers. Now finding things couldn't be easier. More

We love seeing our readers' kitchen solutions for storage and organization. This photo and email from a reader named Brent was especially inspiring. He and his wife organized nearly everything in their kitchen on one wire shelving unit — read a little more about it here... More

We get this question a lot: what kinds of pots, tools, and gadgets are essential in the kitchen? This seems like an overwhelming topic, especially if you're a newbie cook just setting up your first real post-college kitchen. Thankfully, The Kitchn has a few guides to help you on your way. (Also helpful to pro cooks who want to pare down!) If you missed 'em, here are the five guides we've offered so far... with more to come! More