This list of my favorite kitchen organization accessories helps to keep pots, lids, storage containers, spices, and more neatly stacked and stored!
Who doesn’t have a goal to maximize space and minimize clutter in their kitchen? While you can toss tupperware in drawers or stack baking dishes until they might tip over, a few handy dandy accessories will help keep your kitchen assortment as neat as possible. Some of you might have a tiny apartment kitchen where every inch counts and others might have a dreamy walk-in pantry that is overflowing with packages of Goldfish and avalanches of baby pouches. Here are some of my favorite kitchen organization accessories – some of which you might already have in other rooms!
My Favorite Kitchen Organization Accessories
1. Baskets and bins
The world’s most popular way to corral items is a good basket. Ideal for small items like cloth napkins, baby pouches in your pantry, lids, tupperware and more. We store our extra tupperware high up above our pantry in a big basket that is lightweight and easy to get down. Plastic bins are also great because they are see-through and easy to clean if your condiments or fridge snacks spill inside. And if you want to get fancy with your water bottle storage, this stacker is quite neat! (Mine never fit vertically in my cabinets!) If you don’t want to buy new ones, you probably have some baskets and bins you can repurpose in your house for the kitchen.
Woven basket | Clear plastic bin | White pantry bins | Water bottle stacker
2. Risers + Dividers
The best way to increase your cabinet storage is through risers. We use them to add an extra mini shelf in our glassware cabinet and again in the pantry to maximize the height of our canned good storage. You can also buy specific risers just for stacking frying pans which makes it easier to grab just the size you need. For your deeper drawers, dividers can really help to keep items from shifting. I’ve seen people use deep drawers in an island for plates and bowls so kids can reach them. Drawer dividers help guide where to return clean dishes.
Shelf risers | Pan risers | Drawer dividers
3. Spice Storage
I’ve had this set of spice jars from Crate and Barrel for years. I love that I can pop the top off quickly and either sprinkle or scoop without having to deal with those plastic tops that are impossible to get your nails off when you need a teaspoon! I’ve also seen these cool spice holders that save space. I love that they look like a jar! For your bigger foods, decanting into containers not only looks better but helps you see how much you have as well. Mason jars work well for this too! You can use chalkboard labels or write on them with a washable marker.
Spice jars | Flat spice zipper bag | Pantry labels
4. Sheet Pan Rack
A horizontal sheet pan rack is a must have. Unless you have a flat and wide drawer specifically for baking sheets, I can’t think of a better way to store cutting boards and sheet pans! Note you don’t have to use a rack designed just for this – an office file divider can work too!
5. Use one kind of food storage container
For years I had a mix of all different kinds and sizes – cheap plastic that people had left at my house and a few glass. They drove me nuts! I finally invested in a good set of glass containers and my drawers have thanked me.
Glass storage containers | Glass meal-prep containers | Glass mixed sizes
6. For the countertops
A good vintage wooden cheese box is great for our salt, pepper, and butter. I have a bunch of these my grandmother gave me, and they are perfect for the depth of our pantry shelves. I also LOVE a knife rack (like this pretty wooden one) so you don’t use any counter real estate on a block. (One day I would love a drawer with knife storage built in even more!) And finally, get a pretty sponge holder so you don’t have to see your sponge when you walk in the kitchen. Pretty linens and a nice dish soap dispenser complete your counters with a grown-up feel.
Cheese boxes on Etsy | Knife rack | Sponge holder | Pretty linens | Vintage soap dispensers
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I made this handy widget to see everything neatly at the bottom.
Denise says
It’s a little more overwhelming, but I recommend totally reorganizing your kitchen. When we moved into our house 19 years ago, the goal was to just get unpacked and settled. I lived with the kitchen like that for 18 years! Last year, with the kids gone, I wondered for the umpteenth time why the oils and spices were in one corner set of cabinets when I prepped in another? So I laid out a new plan (who doesn’t love a good plan!) and went to work. I pulled everything out, cleaned, and then reorganized. Some things had to change from the plan, bits of inspiration changed other things. In the end, I got a functional, clean and organized kitchen that is a lot easier to use, and easier to keep clean. I’m lucky enough to have a lot of room. My best tip is to designate a drawer for only your most-used items. I ended up with three drawers and one is things I use every day (measuring spoons, shears), another is things used at least a few times a week (spatulas and large spoons), and third is specialty items. I can’t tell you what a difference it’s made to be able to find things quickly and not dig through drawers!
Kath Younger says
I love this!!
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says
Your kitchen looks so organised! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Laura says
Lazy susans are one of my favorite kitchen storage organizers! I feel like I can get so much more on a shelf and I don’t have to move one item to get to another. For example, in my pantry I have a lazy susan with different bottles of oils and vinegars. I just give it a little spin and grab what I need instead of trying to keep from knocking over another bottle, moving something to get to it, etc. I also have a “double decker” lazy susan for canned goods (which fits a surprising amount!), and two more smaller ones in my spice cabinet that I use for spice bottles that are too tall for my tiered spice rack but that I want to keep closer to my prep area than the pantry (also great for using the very top shelf because I can spin it and easily reach what I need without getting a step stool to see / dig around).
(I’m slightly embarrassed by how much I had to say about lazy susans. I never knew I was so passionate about the topic. Haha!)
Kath Younger says
Haha!! I love the two in my pantry!
Louise RD says
Excellent post- I love organization tips, esp for the kitchen. Yours looks like it functions like a well-oiled machine – kudos!