Organizing and Storage

Sometimes you need to think outside of the box.

"Why am I even doing this?!" I silently asked myself.

A pro organizer shares her easy tip.

Wooden spoons, slotted spoons, rubber and metal spatulas, ladles, whisks, measuring cups, vegetable peeler, can opener… the list goes on. Like most cooks, you probably have a dozen (or more like two dozen!) tools and utensils in your kitchen. How do you store them?

We all want a kitchen that’s better organized, right? Of course right! Last February we focused kitchen essentials and organizing them well. Here are some of our favorite kitchen storage tips and advice that came up that month, from hanging a Julia Child-style pegboard, to the best magnetic spice jars, to some unexpected tools for keeping things clean and tidy!

It doubles as pretty kitchen décor!

Don't let excuses stop you.

Make the most of unused fridge space!

There is one major drawback, though.

You'll never guess the brand!

And no, one is not a knife block.

"It dries glasses quickly and without spotting. Definitely recommend."

Talk about warm and inviting!

It's so easy to do.

You'll want to try it tonight!

What’s the best way to set up a kitchen? If you’ve been cooking for any length of time, you’ve either figured this out for yourself, in your own kitchen — or you are still looking for that magic solution. This diagram might not be how your kitchen actually looks, but the way it divvies up the space is useful information for any kitchen. We’ve learned five ways from this diagram and you may apply them to your kitchen – no matter its size or shape.

Including our very own recipe saver!

Number 7 makes storage so convenient.

You'll feel like it's a huge organizational win!

You need more utensil crocks!

Wait until you see the magnetic spice jars!

A must-have for meal prep.

Plus, smart tips on how to fix them!

It's one sweet *dill*.

Don't let your knives get dull.

Including a few surprising ideas!

It's almost too easy to install.

The organized pantry is worth a peek!

You won't have to feel guilty giving them up.

The idea from the 1977 catalog is my favorite.

The inside scoop from Airbnb hosts themselves.

Editing your belongings goes a long way.

Double your storage space in five minutes flat.

It's easier than you think.

And they're pretty much invisible.

Bonus: You can arrange them however you'd like.

Instantly clean up your kitchen in style!

Including a pot lid organizer and a gorgeous storage basket.

Let's just say it rises to the occasion.

When it comes to our pantries, we can't afford to waste a single inch.

Number 3 is a favorite among Kitchn editors!

A space-saving, sink storage solution we didn't know we needed.

It's not just for storing baked goods!

Declutter before you buy!

Let’s hope not by sitting them on the counter. But seriously, what is the best way to keep little ones occupied while you dice, sauté, and open oven doors? We’re talking kids who are too young to help out in the kitchen or sit quietly in front of a DVD in another room. Want our tips? Want to share yours?I have a one-year-old, and my saviors have been the spice rack and the recycling bins.

If you cook regularly, your fridge probably looks a lot like mine: stuffed with ingredients for upcoming meals, leftovers from previous meals, and odds and ends from cooking (half an onion here, an almost-full container of chicken broth there). It’s not easy to keep a hardworking fridge like this clean and organized, but we have 5 simple tips for quickly reorganizing your fridge for more space, more efficient cooking, and even better eating habits.

I love the vintage, homey look of wire and antiqued metals. I’m not talking about foodservice-style chrome wire shelving (though that’s great for a utilitarian look, and I have a little unit in my dining room that’s currently holding an impressive array of pans and appliances). Today, I’m talking about the farmhouse-y , oxidized metal wall grids, egg baskets, shelves and racks that instantly give a lived-in feel to any kitchen.

I’m a sucker for a bit of rustic organization, especially in the kitchen, and these baskets hit the spot. Cheap, hard-wearing, and versatile, baskets are the perfect cheap organization solution.I currently have three baskets on top of my kitchen cupboards to hold tools and appliances I need but don’t use everyday, but you can also use them to hold root vegetables, pots and pans, and linens.

As you may have figured out by now, you can put pretty much anything in the IKEA RÅSKOG cart, including kitchen linens. Your clever and styled cart will look right off the showcase floor, which in turn will inspire you time and time again to tightly tie that apron, lay the tablecloth down, and reach for your favorite embroidered napkins.

Week #1 assignment in the Kitchen Cure is to clean out your fridge and pantry. That includes the freezer, and we’re considering one way to make more space: eliminating two of those ice trays above.We’re betting many of you who live in apartments use ice trays. Old refrigerators (or, as in our case, brand new ones that don’t back up to a water source) don’t have automatic ice makers, so ice trays it is.

Here’s a detail I noticed in a recent House Tour at our sister design site, Apartment Therapy: Cynthia uses a glass cylinder vase to hold her kitchen utensils, in lieu of a crock or jug. Would you do this? Here’s what I like about the setup. I’ve been debating over the idea of taking some of my utensils out of drawers in the kitchen and putting them in a container by the stove for faster access while cooking.

Start at the checkout!

No matter how organized we are in the rest of the kitchen, food storage containers always seem to pose a threat to the order, with their varying shapes and sizes, orphaned parts, and frequent relegation to the darkest and lowest corners of our cupboards. Sound familiar? Here’s how to tame the clutter.• First, pull out all of your containers and lids and lay them on a counter or table.

For the first time in several decades I’ve found myself living without a chest freezer. After the shock that I couldn’t store enough ground beef to feed a small army in case of a zombie apocalypse, I adjusted and started to store only the essentials. The hard part? My freezer is the size of a postage stamp. Here are a few tricks I’ve learned along the way.

“Honey can you hand me the bottle of window cleaner? It’s right behind the bottle of stainless steel stuff but in front of the wood polish and next to the doggy carpet spray.” Sound familiar? Having the right tools for the job is a good thing, but what happens when you have too many? Clutter! (Insert dramatic music here.) How many cleansers do you really need? Which ones are essential? What’s the bottle with the smeared label way in the back?

Cumin, coriander, cardamom. Sichuan pepper. Cinnamon sticks, cinnamon powder. Nutmeg, allspice, black pepper and ginger. Fermented black beans, red pepper flakes. These are just a few of the spices in my cupboard — all well-loved and frequently used. Storage for my heaps of spices has been a chronic challenge in my little kitchen; they’ve been squirreled away in bags, stuffed into tiny jars, spilling loose grains to drift into mounds on the floor of the cupboard.

Which common kitchen utensil do you think it is? We actually have two (maybe three) of this space-hogging tool, and as we thought about de-cluttering this week, we realized we never, ever use it. We bet you have at least one in your utensil holder, too…There are even two of them in the picture above.It’s a ladle. And we’re pretty sure almost all of you have one. Ladles are a mainstay in any utensil set, and they seem like such a no-brainer. You make soup? You need a ladle.

When is a junk drawer not a junk drawer anymore? Is a completely organized drawer full of utility items simply not allowed to be called a junk drawer? Ladies and gentlemen, this is what we all should aspire too! I present to you: the non-junk-junk-drawer. Junk drawers are top of mind, especially after yesterday’s examples of five things that don’t belong in the junk drawer I discovered this drawer while I was house-sitting for a friend.

My biggest frustration with my kitchen utensil storage is the tongs. They simply do not stay closed. They always seem to get knocked, jostled, or bumped, which inevitably triggers them to spring open, disrupting any semblance of drawer organization. Can you relate? If you keep tongs in a drawer as well, we’ve got a tip that will make storing them less frustrating.