All across the world, kitchens are in disarray. Always wanted a minimalist kitchen but can’t eliminate the clutter? You’re not alone.
In the U.S. our homes contain over 300,000 items — that’s a whole lot!
Research by the Huffington Post showed that (of those surveyed) 84% of Americans were worried about the organization and cleanliness of their home, while 55% said it was a big stressor.
Fortunately, you don’t need to overhaul your entire home to live a more organized life. In fact, with just a few easy changes, your kitchen can become more functional for daily use.
So, let's go over:Â
Organization of your kitchen appliances depends on the following factors:
Some homes are blessed with spacious kitchens. Others, like mine, are a little cramped.
If you have a small kitchen too, you’ll know that storage is precious and some things naturally end up crammed together.Â
On the other hand, large kitchens with plenty of storage space are not immune from clutter! We love to fill empty space, which can lead to more and more (unnecessary) equipment.
No matter your kitchen situation, taking stock of what you have in front of you is important.
Think about your cabinets, pantry, countertops, and where you could fit a corner cart — all of these will be key to organizing your kitchen.
Do you have specific eating habits or dietary restrictions? Are you a smoothie lover, vegan, or meat-eater?
Different appliances suit different lifestyles, and how you organize your kitchen appliances will depend on what works for you.
For example, a health guru might treasure their blender and salad spinner. A vegan might prefer their tofu press or veggie steamer. A carnivore might cling to their George Foreman grill or dehydrator.
We all have our favorites, and these need to be easily accessible in the kitchen. When organizing your appliances, don’t put these vital tools in the back corners if you know you’re going to be reaching for them often!
You might be someone who uses one appliance for everything. Or, perhaps you have a different appliance for every cooking task!
As a rule, oft-used appliances should be the most accessible. Give these appliances dedicated space on the counter, or a spot in the very top drawer.
Less used, smaller appliances can reside out of sight. That way, you won’t have to rifle through your cupboards for them too often.
If you really aren’t using them, consider selling or donating!
Appliances can add up quickly.
As a first step, I recommend gathering all of yours into one space and seeing what you’ve got. There might be a few you haven’t used in years, or some with missing/broken parts.
If there’s an appliance you no longer have a use for – but it’s still in good working condition – I’d recommend donating it to a local charity shop, giving it to a friend, or listing it on a second-hand site.
We have enough pre-loved equipment going to the landfill as is!
Test your appliances to see if they work before removing them from your kitchen. A quick fix might be the answer, which is cheaper and more sustainable than throwing the whole appliance away.
If you have broken or faulty items, you may be able to recycle their parts — search your local area for a recycling plant. Unfortunately, the rest will need to be thrown away.
Be sure to clear out your cabinets thoroughly and remove any forgotten appliances.
“Out of sight, out of mind” too often leads to random blender parts, pot lids, and tangled cords. I know my cabinets harbor all sorts of things that I probably haven’t looked at since we moved in!
The most effective thing you can do to increase cabinet space is remove everything from your cabinets, categorize them, and then either discard things you never use or put useful things in better and more accessible areas.
While you’re at it, this is also a good idea for your canned and packaged food items!
Rotate older food to the front every now and then, so you don’t forget what’s hiding in the depths (this method is called FIFO — First In First Out).
Depending on your lifestyle and eating habits, there are a few appliances you’ll be using daily. These are typically items like your toaster, coffee maker, and stove-top kettle.
Your most-used appliances need to be front and center.
If you bake a lot, your hand-held or stand mixer probably falls into this category. Or, perhaps it’s your Instant Pot or Crockpot!
These appliances don’t necessarily need to be out 24/7, but they should be relatively easy to retrieve from the cabinet.
Perhaps you have a waffle maker tucked away somewhere and make special waffles on birthdays and holidays. That’s the definition of “occasional”, so it doesn’t need to be somewhere immediately accessible.Â
Rarely-used appliances are usually for a particular purpose. It might be a s’mores maker, condiment dispenser, or crepe maker.Â
This category houses all the gadgets you almost never reach for!
I like to think of appliances as vehicles. You need to tend to them every once in a while, or else they won’t run smoothly.
Cleaning your appliances can prevent rust or stains, and tightening bolts can keep them together.
You can replace parts instead of the whole appliance, and extend its life by doing so. This is more sustainable and cheaper than tossing an appliance as soon as it has an issue.
Look after your appliances and they will last longer! Always keep your receipts and make note of the warranty period, just in case.
If you’re anything like me, mornings are a bit of a struggle – so having a set corner of the kitchen to prepare breakfast is ideal!
Why not create a breakfast hub in a corner of the kitchen? You can keep your toaster and coffee machine together and make it a feature rather than an afterthought.
Plus: if you live with other people, they can each get in and out of the corner more efficiently to sort out their morning routine – reducing overall kitchen traffic!
A Lazy Susan is a circular tray that spins, creating easier accessibility. Additionally, it can help make your space look more organized!
These can be put on countertops, in cupboards, and used on the dining table for serving food.
Some corner cabinets are designed to rotate or pull out so you can access everything, right to the back.
So, why not add a Lazy Susan? It can be a great idea to put smaller appliances (such as a spice grinder, or hand blender) on your Lazy Susan so that you can have easy access to all of them.
And of course, Lazy Susans are also great for food items and sauce bottles!
Make things easy for yourself by designating cabinets for different categories of appliances.
For example, this could be a baking cabinet where you keep your bread maker, stand-mixer, and all of your associated tools and accessories.
Or, it could be an “Easy dinner meals” cupboard where you store your slow cooker, rice cooker, and pressure cooker.
You get the drift! This way, you’ll know exactly where everything goes and how to find it.
Having a gorgeous coffee bar at home is an absolute dream for many. Why not gather all of your creamers, syrups, and more in one place around your coffee maker and set up a designated coffee hub in your kitchen?
You can even create a cute area to add your mugs so that making your morning cuppa joe can be as aesthetic as possible.
There’s nothing worse than trying to prepare food in a cluttered space without sufficient counter space.
Consider your proximity to the stove, oven, microwave, fridge, freezer, and power outlets.
Where is the counter space that absolutely needs to be clear for food prep? What appliances are you going to need for this specific meal?
By clearing away the appliances you don’t need on a regular basis, you can free up your available food prep areas as well as make cleaning up a whole lot easier!
Personally, I like to start with a clean kitchen before I begin food prep – and that also means putting everything away that’s taking up valuable counter space! Then, I can concentrate on getting everything ready, cooked, and served.
While it’s tempting to fill every available nook and cranny in your kitchen with things, consider dedicating part of it to storage if you have a lot of appliances that need to be stowed away.
For example, there may be chunks of empty space around or alongside your cupboards that could hold a few smaller appliances.
Or, for more storage: why not install a quick set of shelves, or pop a storage bin on top of your fridge?
One thing I have in my kitchen is a pegboard wall, Ă la Julia Child! That way I have all of my most-used utensils available immediately to hand.
Make full use of those awkward, bulky spaces which aren’t easily accessible every day but would make an ideal space for storing lesser-used appliances.
This tip is for home bakers especially!
Stand mixers are powerful, but they take up a lot of precious counter space. So why not elevate your mixer on a pop-up shelf? Build up, not out.
You can have a custom pop-up storage solution built especially for your stand mixer, which lives in a cabinet until you want to use it.
Not only will your mixer then have its own dedicated “counter” space, but you can also use the cabinet where it lives as storage space for related baking items.
If a custom pop-up solution isn’t possible in your current kitchen, you can also find slide-out countertop platforms that your appliances can sit on.
This makes it easy for you to pull the appliance out when you need it, and slide it to the back of your countertop when you don’t.
Cabinets which have doors that can flip up and open down can be extremely helpful for hiding appliances such as microwaves or toasters.
It isn’t hard to install a different cabinet door, and this could be a really great solution for those smaller appliances that you need but that just don’t fit with the vibe of your kitchen.
Just be sure that, wherever these appliances live, there’s an outlet that you can plug them into as well!
There never seems to be enough storage space in the kitchen. It slows down cooking, makes things hard to access, and is generally frustrating for homemakers.
It’s often not our fault — some kitchens are designed with storage in mind, while others just aren’t. Regardless, there are things we can do to maximize existing space.
Remember to:
With these easy organization tips, a clutter-free kitchen is on the horizon for you and your kitchen. Some may require a bit of creativity, but they’re well worth it in the short and long term.
Happy organizing!
