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44 Smart Kitchen Cabinet Organization Ideas

kitchen organization ideas

Aaron Colussi

Not everyone can have a massive kitchen with tons of storage space and a separate pantry. Since gutting your space and starting anew may not be a possibility, find easy ways to make use of the small kitchen that you do have. Get all the inspiration you need by taking a look at these clever kitchen organization ideas. With a few simple DIYs and organizing products from Amazon, you'll take charge of your space, tackling messy drawers, cabinets and shelves.

Before you put these organizing tips to work, take a look at your kitchen to see what you need help with most: your overflowing spice racks, cluttered drawers and cabinets, messy pantry, to name a few. It may be easiest to tackle one area at a time, starting with organizing everyday essentials (pots and pans, for example) before working your way to more tedious tasks, like decanting spices and baking supplies into matching glass containers. Little by little, you'll notice that in addition to looking neat and clutter-free, your kitchen will be more fit to cook, bake and entertain in — a tell-tale sign that you did it right.

kitchen cabinet with organizers

Erika LaPresto

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Create a Command Station

Stick chalkboard contact paper and adhesive pockets to the inside of one of your cabinets, so that everyone in your household knows where to look to find the grocery list, coupons, recipes and WiFi password.

kitchen organization ideas  hanging cutting boards

Lucy Call

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Mount a Double-Duty Shelf

Here, one shelf gives you two smart ways to store your kitchen essentials: Stick seasonal platters and pretty dishes on the top shelf for all to see, and hang cutting boards and oven mitts on the lower hooks.

kitchen organization ideas

Aaron Colussi

3 of 30

Arrange Baskets High and Low

Fill the lower baskets with anything safe for your kids to grab hold of and reserve the higher shelves for gadgets, spare linens and your secret chocolate stash.

RELATED: The Best Storage Bins You Can Buy

organized kitchen drawers compartmentalize

Trevor Tondro

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Make the Most of Your Drawers

Find ways to make your drawers work for you. Carve out spaces to hold your most-used utensils, baking supplies and spices. In this case, an ice cream-obsessed family dedicated an entire drawer to their sundae-making essentials.

kitchen with open shelving, open shelfs

Thomas Loof for Country Living

5 of 30

Fill up Clear Canisters

When done right, your pantry staples can make an eye-catching display. Transfer all of your nuts, cereals, pastas and baking ingredients into glass jars, marking each and every one with a custom chalkboard label.

knife drawer

Mike Garten

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Add a Built-in Storage Block

Build a knife block into a narrow drawer to keep your knives sharp and secure — and your hands safe.

pegboard kitchen organizer

Annie Schlechter

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Arrange Utensils on a Pegboard Wall

When pegboards are painted in a bold accent color, they become a functional focal point. Screw in a range of angled, straight and curved hooks to hang mugs, measuring cups and other cookware.

plate drawer organizer

Mike Garten

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Designate a Drawer for Dishes

Keep your dishes protected and in place with adjustable plate holders, perfect for deeper drawers. Opt for holders with carrying handles, so you can lift them out of the drawer when it's time to set the table.

SHOP DISH HOLDERS

kitchen with character by texas designer grace mitchell of hgtv's one of a kind sliding pantry doors

Courtesy of Grace Mitchell

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Use Sliding Doors to Conceal Mess

If you opted for an open shelving system, consider installing a sliding door, like this farmhouse-inspired barn door, to easily conceal the inevitable mess.

circa 1800s farmhouse home of jennifer and dave dawson in cashiers, north carolina appalachia kitchen

Ali Harper

10 of 30

Keep Pots and Pans Nearby

It makes the most sense to keep your pots, pans and cooking utensils right near the oven. Attach a magnetic knife bar to the left of your stovetop and a rod to hold your most-used pots and pans to the right (or vice versa).

1870s barn house renovated by jenni yolo milwaukee, wisconsin butler's pantry

Kim Cornelison

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Get Creative With Shelf Storage

Even if you don't have a separate pantry, you can incorporate these organization ideas into your kitchen. Take the wine glass storage, for example: Mount a hanging wine rack under a cabinet to save space and prevent glasses from knocking into one another.

SHOP HANGING WINE RACKS

bamboo utensil organizers

Mike Garten

12 of 30

Give Everything a Place

Fora seamless look, use dividers that match your drawer's interiors, often made out of different variations of bamboo.

SHOP DRAWER DIVIDERS

kitchen organization ideas  towel bar over sink

Aluxum/ Getty Images

13 of 30

Hang a Towel Bar Over the Sink

Nail a metal bar to the blank wall above your sink and use it to store whatever you need to keep within arm's reach: soup spoons, cheese graters, spices and so much more.

kitchen drawer for bakeware

Mike Garten

14 of 30

Use Inserts to Maximize Space

You lose so much space when you stack platters and casserole dishes on top of one another. Reclaim precious kitchen drawer space with a set of plastic or wood customizable drawer dividers.

small kitchen storage

Amy Bartlam. Design: Jenn Feldman Designs

15 of 30

Create a Slide-Out Prep Station

Here's a clever solution for a kitchen short on counter space: Build a butcher block board into a drawer like designer Jenn Feldman did here. With a hole right over the trash can, it's easy to dump peels and pits as you go, using a scrapper-chopper.

small kitchen storage

Sugar & Cloth and Jeffrey Phillip

16 of 30

Turn One Shelf Into Two

With wire shelf risers, you can multiply vertical storage space, giving you even more room to store all of your dishware. See? Just because you're short on space doesn't mean you have to compromise your love of cute mugs and dishes.

SHOP STACKABLE SHELVES

small kitchen storage

Alison Gootee/Studio D

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Organize Your Pantry Like a Store

Give your pantry a supermarket makeover by following the "first in, first out" rule. Basically, put the newest boxes and containers behind what's already open. Keep things organized with bins, labels and clear storage containers.

SHOP PANTRY DOOR RACKS

small kitchen storage

Sugar & Cloth and Jeffrey Phillip

18 of 30

Add "Drawers" to Deep Cabinets

Store your table linens — placemats, cloth napkins or even the table runner you only use on Christmas — in durable plastic pins. The best part? They pull out, so you won't have to dig for anything in the way back.

Watchtower Interiors food storage drawer

Watchtower Interiors

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Ditch Countertop Produce Bowls

Pack a deep drawer full of removable bins (like in this custom cabinet from Watchtower Interiors). If you use them to sort produce that doesn't need to be refrigerated, you'll never lose precious counter space to a fruit or veggie bowl again.

small kitchen storage

Sugar & Cloth and Jeffrey Phillip

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Store Pans Sideways

It seems like no matter how hard we try to keep our pots and pans organized, they're always a jumbled — and noisy — mess. Stack pans, cutting boards, lids and baking sheets horizontally to limit future frustration.

SHOP PAN AND LID RACK

small kitchen storage

Sugar & Cloth and Jeffrey Phillip

21 of 30

Group Items by Color

You color-coordinate your clothes, so why wouldn't you carry this organizing trick to the other rooms in your house? By grouping items by color, you can reap the benefits of open shelving (flexibility) without the downside (visible clutter).

small kitchen storage

Tidbits

22 of 30

Look Above Your Range

When you store your pots and cooking utensils above your stovetop, everything you need is always at-hand.

See more at Tidbits »

small kitchen storage

Sugar & Cloth and Jeffrey Phillip

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Divide Kitchen Tools

Drawer dividers aren't just for forks, knives and spoons. You can also adjust them to accommodate large, small and oddly shaped utensils.

kitchen organization ideas  can storage

Classy Clutter

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kitchen organization ideas  shelves

A Beautiful Mess

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Stack Baskets up High

Easy-to-grab bins are great for corralling any extras on the top shelf. Just be careful about placing heavy items in theses bins since it may be harder to grab.

See more at A Beautiful Mess »

kitchen organization ideas  island cart

Mom 4 Real

26 of 30

Choose an Open Island

From the front, this looks like your average island — but from the back it's storage central for everything you want (cookbooks, especially), but never seem to have enough space for.

See more at Mom 4 Real »

kitchen organization ideas  storage bench

Simplified Bee

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Build a Bench With Storage

A breakfast nook bench takes up less space than dining chairs, and works double-duty with storage under the seats.

See more at Simplified Bee »

kitchen organization ideas   cabinet door interior

Tidbits From the Tremaynes

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Use the Inside of Your Cabinet Doors

Hang your most-frequently-used cooking utensils (like measuring cups and spoons, if you're a baker) on the back of a cabinet door instead of cramming them into already-full drawers.

See more at Tidbits From the Tremaynes »

kitchen organization ideas  sponge holder

Domestically Speaking

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kitchen organization ideas  cutting board hanger

Far Above Rubies

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Fill up the Sides

The sides of your cabinets can hold heavy, clunky items that are annoying to store, including colanders or cutting boards.

See more at Far Above Rubies »

44 Smart Kitchen Cabinet Organization Ideas

Source: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/organizing/tips/g1397/small-kitchen-storage/