How To Organize Kitchen Drawers
What do you see when you open your kitchen drawers? Are items and utensils lined up in neat rows, or do you fear the unknown when you reach inside? While cabinets and countertops are often orderly, kitchen drawers tend to be overlooked during home organization projects. However, that can lead to clutter and a waste of valuable space, especially if you have a small kitchen.
Learn how to organize kitchen drawers so that they’re functional and tidy, rather than chaotic boxes of cooking utensils.
Get Rid of the Junk Drawer
The first step in organizing kitchen drawers is to eliminate your junk drawer. After all, your kitchen already has a space dedicated to garbage: It’s called the trash can. Toss out all those packets of hot sauce and ketchup that you know you’ll never open, and throw away the sunglasses that are missing a lens. Reclaim this space! There are plenty of things you can do with it, such as storing items that you’ll actually use.Streamline Your Storage
When thinking about how to organize drawers, you want to consider the proximity of the items housed within to the area of the kitchen where they’ll be used. For example, knives or cutting boards should be kept under or near the part of the counter where most of your slicing and dicing takes place, while spices should be close to the stovetop. Additionally, group like items together when organizing kitchen drawers. You could keep plasticware lids in one drawer, foil and parchment paper in another and so forth.Corral Cutlery with Dividers
If you don’t have a good silverware divider, you definitely need to get one. Rooting through a drawer filled with utensils and hoping you’ll find a salad fork is no way to live. And don’t stop there. Giving items a place of their own is crucial when you’re organizing kitchen drawers. Diagonal drawer dividers work wonders in keeping long or awkwardly shaped items orderly, and there are plenty of DIY instructions for creating these online. Here again, you want to keep similar items alongside one another. You can have a compartment for baking spatulas, another for measuring cups and yet another for your zester, muddler and citrus press.Stock Up on Storage Bins or Organizers
If you’re lucky enough to have deep drawers in your kitchen, you’ll need to invest in some storage and organization tools to make the most of the square footage. Installing racks inside of drawers can help you divvy up space for plates or for pots, pans and their corresponding lids. You could also use plastic containers to make the most of your deeper drawers. Tall square or rectangular bins that are the same sizes would help you maximize your storage potential. Use them to hold baking ingredients, pastas, rice, cereals and more. Don’t forget to label the tops so that you know what each bin holds.If you’re still in the zone after organizing kitchen drawers, there are many other areas of the home that are prone to catching clutter. Keep the order flowing in your house by checking out these tips for keeping your fridge tidy and making your bedside table more conducive to a good night’s sleep.
