How to Organise Your Specialty Kitchen Storage Area
After organising your everyday items, plan specialised stations to make kitchen work easier
In Part 1 of this series on organising your kitchen, I offered How to Organise Your Kitchen Cabinets, One at a Time, putting the focus on everyday dishes and glassware, barware, and vases and pitchers. If you followed at least the first seven of those steps, your cabinets are now so organised, it makes you happy every time you open their doors.
Those same steps can be applied to organising your more specialised kitchen storage areas. Read on for tips on organising your pots and pans; your coffee, tea and baking supplies; your spices and oils; your cleaning supplies and your gadget-charging stations.
Those same steps can be applied to organising your more specialised kitchen storage areas. Read on for tips on organising your pots and pans; your coffee, tea and baking supplies; your spices and oils; your cleaning supplies and your gadget-charging stations.
How to get your coffee and tea station in shape
To make it easy to get your caffeinated drinks brewing when you’re still bleary-eyed in the morning, set up a coffee and tea station.
Put your coffee beans, tea bags, filters, bean grinder, sweeteners and mugs in a cabinet over or under your coffeemaker or teakettle.
If you wish, go a step further and keep your usual breakfast needs, such as hot and cold cereals and your smoothie maker, there too.
To make it easy to get your caffeinated drinks brewing when you’re still bleary-eyed in the morning, set up a coffee and tea station.
Put your coffee beans, tea bags, filters, bean grinder, sweeteners and mugs in a cabinet over or under your coffeemaker or teakettle.
If you wish, go a step further and keep your usual breakfast needs, such as hot and cold cereals and your smoothie maker, there too.
How to organise pots, pans and other cookware
Today’s fancy kitchen cabinets have all kinds of pullouts and inserts for baking sheets, pots, pans and lids, making it easy to store and find your cookware.
Here’s how to organise pots and pans for those of us with simple cabinet doors and shelves. Stack all the long, flat pieces, like baking sheets and cutting boards, along the side of the cabinet. Nest your pans from large to small in a stack and do the same for your pots. As for those pesky lids, put them all together in a cake pan, an extra strainer or a mixing bowl in the area behind your pot and pan nests.
Today’s fancy kitchen cabinets have all kinds of pullouts and inserts for baking sheets, pots, pans and lids, making it easy to store and find your cookware.
Here’s how to organise pots and pans for those of us with simple cabinet doors and shelves. Stack all the long, flat pieces, like baking sheets and cutting boards, along the side of the cabinet. Nest your pans from large to small in a stack and do the same for your pots. As for those pesky lids, put them all together in a cake pan, an extra strainer or a mixing bowl in the area behind your pot and pan nests.
As you tackle these cabinets, you may find items like bread makers or waffle makers, excess serveware or holiday items you may use once or twice a year. These things have not earned that valuable kitchen real estate. Pack them away in a closet, basement or garage or an attic. If you don’t love an item or honestly will never use it, put it in the donation box.
Now, as author and organisational expert Emily Ley advises, if you’ve left any empty room in your cabinets, save it and let it breathe awhile. The right use will present itself eventually.
Now, as author and organisational expert Emily Ley advises, if you’ve left any empty room in your cabinets, save it and let it breathe awhile. The right use will present itself eventually.
How to organise your spices and oils
It would be dreamy to have a pullout spice rack like this one next to the range. If you’re still dreaming of kitchen storage like this, you can organise your spices in stand-alone storage racks or drawer organisers.
Take the oils, spices, salt, pepper and other seasonings you use at the stove on a regular basis and corral them in something as simple as a shoebox that’s easy to grab when you’re ready to channel your inner Julia Child. Stash it in a cabinet next to the range. If you’re not psyched about the shoebox, cover it in vinyl paper or let your kids decorate it for you (mine just says ‘herbs’ in permanent marker; I’m not that crafty!).
5 pantry solutions for kitchens
It would be dreamy to have a pullout spice rack like this one next to the range. If you’re still dreaming of kitchen storage like this, you can organise your spices in stand-alone storage racks or drawer organisers.
Take the oils, spices, salt, pepper and other seasonings you use at the stove on a regular basis and corral them in something as simple as a shoebox that’s easy to grab when you’re ready to channel your inner Julia Child. Stash it in a cabinet next to the range. If you’re not psyched about the shoebox, cover it in vinyl paper or let your kids decorate it for you (mine just says ‘herbs’ in permanent marker; I’m not that crafty!).
5 pantry solutions for kitchens
How to organise your baking station cabinet
If you love to bake and want your supplies to be easy to find and use, create a station for your mixing bowls, spoons, sifters, ingredients, rolling pins and other baking supplies in a cabinet close to the surface where you roll out dough and use the mixer. Corral the usual baking ingredients into a box or canisters. If you have a set of pretty canisters that you like to look at, leave them on the counter close to your mixer and where you work on your baked goods.
Where to stash the stand mixer
If you love to bake and want your supplies to be easy to find and use, create a station for your mixing bowls, spoons, sifters, ingredients, rolling pins and other baking supplies in a cabinet close to the surface where you roll out dough and use the mixer. Corral the usual baking ingredients into a box or canisters. If you have a set of pretty canisters that you like to look at, leave them on the counter close to your mixer and where you work on your baked goods.
Where to stash the stand mixer
How to organise your cookbooks
Remember that empty space that earlier I told you to save? If it’s near your baking area, use that space to keep your recipe library handy. If you have an open shelf or a glass-front cabinet, cookbooks are wonderful items to display there.
Remember that empty space that earlier I told you to save? If it’s near your baking area, use that space to keep your recipe library handy. If you have an open shelf or a glass-front cabinet, cookbooks are wonderful items to display there.
How to organise your devices and where to charge them
Phones, tablets and chargers aren’t necessarily cabinet clutterers, but they are kitchen counter clutterers. And having expensive electronics in a spot that could potentially get splattered by water or mashed potatoes is less than ideal. Many people are installing ventilated device drawers outfitted with an outlet for charging.
Phones, tablets and chargers aren’t necessarily cabinet clutterers, but they are kitchen counter clutterers. And having expensive electronics in a spot that could potentially get splattered by water or mashed potatoes is less than ideal. Many people are installing ventilated device drawers outfitted with an outlet for charging.
A cabinet in the kitchen can be a good home for portable electronic devices, as well as keys and small bags. Some plug-in chargers can service several devices through one outlet.
How to organise your kitchen cleaning supplies
If you have limited kitchen space for storing cleaning supplies, prioritise the supplies you use to clean your counters and sink. These should be close at hand in the kitchen, as this is the most important space to keep hygienic.
While this photo shows a a nice pullout, you can get the same effect with a couple of waterproof bins.
If you have limited kitchen space for storing cleaning supplies, prioritise the supplies you use to clean your counters and sink. These should be close at hand in the kitchen, as this is the most important space to keep hygienic.
While this photo shows a a nice pullout, you can get the same effect with a couple of waterproof bins.
A caddy with a handle is a worthwhile investment: You won’t have to bend over far to grab the handle and bring your supplies where you want to use them. In the kitchen seen here, a caddy is built into the pullout hardware.
And if you keep your supplies somewhere else, it’s easy to grab a caddy full of kitchen cleaning supplies and carry them into the kitchen all at once.
And if you keep your supplies somewhere else, it’s easy to grab a caddy full of kitchen cleaning supplies and carry them into the kitchen all at once.
How to organise the area under the sink
You’ve made some nice, pretty cabinets and worked up a sweat. You’ve got this. It’s time to tackle a toughie: that dreaded space under the sink. This one winds up the most jumbled in my house. Things that don’t belong there, like paint cans and old sponges that should never be used again, end up in there. Break this task into steps:
Assess
Think about what really belongs down here: dish soap, sink drainers, hand soap refills, an extra scrubber sponge, steel wool, perhaps extra paper towels.
Consider shelves
If you want some extra help, purchase an undersink shelf system like the one pictured here. If you reuse plastic bags, a grocery bag dispenser like the one seen here is a great idea.
You’ve made some nice, pretty cabinets and worked up a sweat. You’ve got this. It’s time to tackle a toughie: that dreaded space under the sink. This one winds up the most jumbled in my house. Things that don’t belong there, like paint cans and old sponges that should never be used again, end up in there. Break this task into steps:
Assess
Think about what really belongs down here: dish soap, sink drainers, hand soap refills, an extra scrubber sponge, steel wool, perhaps extra paper towels.
Consider shelves
If you want some extra help, purchase an undersink shelf system like the one pictured here. If you reuse plastic bags, a grocery bag dispenser like the one seen here is a great idea.
Organise and restock
The little stuff needs to be corralled, or you’ll never find that dish drainer when you need it. I used a square glass vase from the florist that was going to waste to contain the drainers, sponges and scrubber brush.
Stack trash bag boxes to one side and neatly organise extra paper towels on the other. The back of the cabinet is for less-used items, like dish and hand soap refills. The front of the cabinet is for dish soap and dishwasher detergent so they’re easy to access.
By now you are probably getting so good at paring down, you may even wind up with room for that kitchen cleaning supplies caddy.
The little stuff needs to be corralled, or you’ll never find that dish drainer when you need it. I used a square glass vase from the florist that was going to waste to contain the drainers, sponges and scrubber brush.
Stack trash bag boxes to one side and neatly organise extra paper towels on the other. The back of the cabinet is for less-used items, like dish and hand soap refills. The front of the cabinet is for dish soap and dishwasher detergent so they’re easy to access.
By now you are probably getting so good at paring down, you may even wind up with room for that kitchen cleaning supplies caddy.
A full pullout drawer is another good solution for getting to the things that are stashed way in the back of your cabinet under the sink.
TELL US
Have you set up any special stations that have eased your kitchen work? Please share them in the Comments.
TELL US
Have you set up any special stations that have eased your kitchen work? Please share them in the Comments.
In Part 1, I wrote about storing your everyday china and glassware close to the dishwasher to make it easier put it all away as you unload. You can apply that same idea to other kitchen storage areas.
Questions to ask yourself to help you get started: