How to Declutter and Organize Your Kitchen

Is your kitchen cluttered? Is it unorganized? Overwhelmed with how to declutter and organize your kitchen?

There’s nothing worse than being in the middle of cooking yet unable to find something that you need for the dish you’re cooking! Or you open a cabinet to get a glass and out tumbles 5 other things you don’t need.

Today I’m going to walk you through exactly that – decluttering and organizing your kitchen!

kitchen

(New to Paisley + Sparrow? Check out my original 30 Day Decluttering and Organizing Challenge post for all the details.)

Your kitchen can be super overwhelming to organize but taking it one area at a time can help remove the stress. If you’re following along with the 30 day declutter challenge, we have this week broken out into 5 areas:

  1. kitchen drawers
  2. kitchen cabinets
  3. kitchen pantry,
  4. fridge/freezer


Day 5, if you need it can be used as a catch up day for any other areas in your kitchen that you missed!

How to Organize Your Kitchen

How to organize your kitchen

This post contains affiliate links.

I pretty much always start out the exact same way when I’m organizing an area. Here’s the process:

  • First remove everything from the area (not the entire kitchen but each space your organizing).
  • Second clean out the freshly cleared out space.
  • Third, go through each item to see if it fits into the keep, donate/sell, fix or throw away category.
  • Fourth, put everything back in an organized way (more on this below).

Let’s talk through each area.

(Also head to this post for 13 of my favorite kitchen product to organize your kitchen!)

Kitchen Drawers

Kitchen drawer organizer

My number one tip for drawers are to use drawer organizers! They’re not just for silverware. 😉 When you’re organizing your drawers using organizers, don’t worry as much about putting like items together if they don’t fit the area.

For example, if you have 2 spatulas but one is big and the other is is short you can split them up. (This always messes with my OCD because I want everything together but it is a much better way of organizing!)

Here’s a few of my favorite drawer organizers.

kitchen drawer organizers
  1. Bamboo drawer extender from Amazon
  2. Mix and match plastic organizers from Amazon
  3. Mix and match bamboo organizers from Bath and Body Works
  4. Adjustable drawer organizer from Amazon
  5. OXO expandable organizer from Amazon
  6. Adjustable drawer organizers from Amazon (I have these for a shallow but deep drawer in my kitchen!)

Kitchen Cabinents

When it comes to your kitchen cabinets, the most important thing is that you can access everything that’s in there and that things that you use on a daily basis are easily accessible while things that are more seasonal are at harder to get to places.

This is when you need to get really honest with yourself. Do you really need 20 cereal bowls? Is having 50 coffee cups really necessary? If you haven’t used it in the past year, you should consider getting rid of it (the one exception is family heirlooms, of course!).

Always ensure what you use daily (cups, mugs, plates, etc) is easy to get to. If you find yourself having to pull out a step stool to put away daily items, reconsider where they are kept!

Kitchen Pantry

I have a full post with 7 ways to organize your kitchen pantry that you definitely should check out. Some of the key takeaways for your pantry is to decant whenever possible and use labels!

One thing I’ve learned is if I’m going to decant pasta (or anything else that needs to be cooked) I write the cooking instructions on the container using a white board marker. That way you’ll never have mushy pasta (been there, done that!) and you can easily wipe it off when you put something new in there.

Decant your past and use a white board marker to write what's in it and how to cook it (so you don't forget!)

I always decant my cereal because then it helps keep it fresh. I bought a few of these organizer containers from Amazon as well as these for cereal.

One of the best things I have in my pantry are these containers from Amazon for all areas of my house but I love them for things like pouches and snacks for the kids. I keep snacks that I don’t mind that the kids can reach at their level (things like pouches, apple sauce, prunes, mango, etc.).

How to Organize Your Fridge + Freezer

The best thing to do here is to organize like with like. Have part of your fridge for drinks. Use a shelf on the door for condiments. The more you can put like with like the easier it will be to find things!

In my fridge I have a shelf for drinks, a shelf for dinner ingredients, one for snacks, one for leftovers. My drawers in my fridge are for vegetables, fruits, meat and cheese. Everyone has different fridges and freezers so try different things until you find a system that works best for you.

I also use these containers from Amazon for things like yogurt and small travel hummus containers that the kids take to school.

How to Organize Your Serving + Dishware

Do you have dishes that are chipped, cracked or broken? Are there serving items that you just never use? Unless there’s sentimental value that your kids would appreciate, don’t keep it just to keep it.

One thing to note is that sometimes an area doesn’t look like a total “pinterest worthy” picture at the end. One example of this is our “coffee cabinet” as I like to call this. It is definitely WAY more organized and less cluttered than it was to start but isn’t exactly picture perfect.

I purged about 15 coffee cups and organized it to have coffee mugs we use weekly and coffee filters on the bottom two, also the most accessible, shelves. The 3rd shelf is travel cups and other coffee related items like our Chemex and creamer server and the top shelf is for coffeemaker cleaners and some extra mugs we don’t use weekly. Here’s the before and after:

before and after coffee cabinet

On the other hand, you can make a cute little coffee bar area in your home! If you want some tips on making a cute DIY coffee bar at home, head here!

coffee bar at home

Decluttering and Organizing Appliances

This is where you need to get really honest with yourself. Do you have a juicer that you haven’t used in 5 years? Do you have 3 waffle makers, just in case one dies? Take inventory of what you have, what you use and the space you have.

If you have plenty of spare space to keep an appliance you use once every 3 years then go ahead and keep it if you want! And I think it’s totally reasonable to keep backups of things you use daily (we have a back up coffeemaker and coffee grinder just in case). But don’t hold on to things that you don’t actually need, use or want!

Misc (China, Leftover Containers, etc)

When you’re going through these items (china, leftover containers) make sure you have all the pieces. Every leftover container has a coordinating top, etc.

If you have fine china, do you use it? If no, why not? I’m a believer in using what you have and not waiting for a rainy day to do so! Your grandma would likely want you to use and enjoy her old china and not let it collect dust because you’re afraid to use it!

You may have other areas in your kitchen that need organizing so tackle those areas as well! We have a drawer for all of my husband’s grill supplies, a cupboard of vases and also all of our kid and baby items (bibs, burp cloths, etc.).

One final tip is to put your kid dishes in a drawer! I keep all of the kids plates, cups, bowls, etc in a bottom drawer in our kitchen. This helps the kids begin to help out with things like setting the table but it also helps them be more independent!

If the want a bowl of dried mango they’re able to go get a bowl and fill it up with mango for a snack. They both have also started helping unloading their items the dishwasher! Kids like to feel helpful so make it easy for them to do so!

There you go! Now you know how to organize your kitchen! There’s always a bit of upkeep when it comes to your kitchen because you’re constantly using up items in containers, buying more food, etc. so just know that this area will be one you’re frequently going through.

The upside is you’re starting with a clean and organized area so the upkeep won’t be hard at all! It’s just a matter of refilling containers, and putting new items in the correct place. Be sure to check out Arin’s post for even more kitchen organization tips, specifically for kids!

Don’t have the 30 Day Declutter Challenge calendar yet? Get it here!

And if you want to get on a schedule to keep your home clean, print out my weekly cleaning guide.

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Author

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  • Jen Biswas

    Jen has styled women for photo shoots, fashion shows, board meetings, work trips and most importantly, every day life! She's been hired to style many homes as well. Her aesthetic aims to make style approachable and practical, and most of all fun! She's a mom of 3 who loves frozen cookie dough, plants and a generous pour of creamer in her coffee. Her biggest joy is helping others find joy in personal style through practical tips and inspiration. She loves to share all of her styling secrets on Paisley & Sparrow! Feel free to send Jen a message or join the fun on Instagram!

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