Organizing the Kitchen

by Susan Lott

When organizing the kitchen, you must first be willing to work with your current space. My current kitchen is large and remarkably well designed, but my previous kitchen was the size of a postage stamp containing two undersize drawers and four very awkward cupboards. Even better than that, several years ago I was a missionary in Japan, where countertops don't exist at all.

The above kitchen is on the large end of typical for Japanese apartments. That's the hot water tank on the wall with a separate hose because there is no hot water out of the tap. The thing on the left that looks like a VCR is the stove; there's no oven. You'll notice that there is a small space next to the sink. That is not counter space, the dish drainer goes there because next to nobody has a dishwasher. For reference, the kitchen sink only came up to my mid-thigh (I'm 5'9”). Tiniest kitchens ever.

As I learned to function in small spaces like the Japanese kitchen, I realized that the best way to stay organized is to become a minimalist. Americans, myself included, generally have way too much stuff, most of which we never or rarely use. Now that I have more space, that doesn't mean I can just buy more stuff or abandon good organizational principles. Work with what space you have, whether small or large, and make your space work for you.

A Professional Organizing the Kitchen of her brother - I love how Abbey Claire works with a tiny kitchen.

Steps for organizing the kitchen

The most important principles I can recommend for organizing the kitchen are similar to what is pointed out in the above video:

1.De-Junk

It's like I own an apartment complex of kitchen cupboards. Any item that doesn't pay it's "rent" - i.e., being used at least once a month – will be evicted and donated to our local DI.

There are a few exceptions to the rule, but I absolutely do not keep things unless I use them at least once a year. The smaller your kitchen, the more “expensive” your rent will have to be. While organizing your kitchen, replace or repair broken items, and eliminate duplicate items. Be honest with yourself. Will I ever use layer cake pans or a frosting tube set? No, I really don't enjoy cake decorating anyway, so out they go! On the other hand I do love cookbooks, so I have a separate bookshelf to house my collection – but I limit myself to 30 books.

2.Store things where you use them

Don't be afraid to change your setup, even if you've done it the same way for 30 years. You can always change things back if the new way doesn't work. I use spices a lot, so a wall-mount spice rack above the stove (containing my 12 most-used spices) makes sense for me. I keep my chef's knife and cutting board together. A crock of daily-use cooking utensils means less time looking for my kitchen shears.

3.Free your cupboard/countertop space

If I don't use a small appliance at least three times weekly, it gets put in a cupboard. Yes, my toaster and blender are in a cupboard above the wall outlets. Another of my favorite strategies is to use smaller jars to store things that I buy in bulk. I don't want bulk-size containers crowding my space, so I simply store the big cans in the pantry, and use a smaller container for use on cupboards and shelves.

4.Tidy/clean one cupboard a week to maintain organization

On my designated kitchen cleaning day, I clean out one drawer or cupboard in that room. I only have about 12 cupboards in my kitchen, so I know things will get cleaned out about every three months at least. You can choose which cupboard really needs to be cleaned each week, meaning that the most used cupboards will be cleaned more often than rarely used spaces. Simply take everything out, de-junk if necessary, wipe off shelves, replace items, and you're done for the week.

If you find yourself in need of organizational shelves, containers, etc., IKEA specializes in storage items for tiny spaces.

Find a great checklist for organizing the kitchen at realsimple.com.

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