Tales of a Clean: Kitchen Organization

Sometimes when we move into a house, we tend to quickly unpack without giving too much thought into where we are putting what. Then life happens and nothing moves from their half-thought-out homes and we live in a constant state of disarray. 

That doesn’t have to be the case. We’re not going to lie to you and say that it’s an easy task, but I promise you it is so worth it in the end. We recently completed a house clean where we organized an entire kitchen. Here’s how that went: 

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It took 4 of us a whole day, but we got the client’s kitchen into good working order. Most importantly, there are now systems in place that will help her keep organized. As a recap from this article, the steps for organizing are:

1. Gather your tools. This includes planning and buying organizational tools where required.
2. Take everything out. Seriously. Everything.
3. Clean it thoroughly,
4. Put it all back together.

One of the most important parts of this organization was the planning. We took each item type and mapped out where it should live. We had measurements and pictures of every drawer and cupboard (this is SO important to do). We scoured the internet looking for the best organization tool for each little space, also using a lot of what the client had on hand.

1. Bag organizers (USA) (Canada)  
2. Water bottle holders (USA) (Canada) 
3. Peg organizer (USA) (Canada) 
4. Spice rack (USA) (Canada) and spice jars with labels (USA) (Canada) 
5. Can rack (USA) (Canada) 
6. Pull out drawer organizer (USA) (Canada) 
7. Set of 8 containers (USA) (Canada) 
8. Food storage containers (USA) (Canada) 
9. Drawer Organizer Set (USA) (Canada)
10. Expandable Cutlery Organizer (USA) (Canada)

These were some of our favorite tools for this organization. We really had to divide and conquer to make the biggest impact on this kitchen. 

• It took one of us the whole day to move her spices into matching spice jars and label everything. At the start of the day, her spices were taking up a whole deep drawer and she had to dig to find what she needed. But now her spices all fit in one shallow drawer and are so easy to find and look so charming. Any overflow is now organized within bins in the pantry.
• Another favorite tool on this job was the stainless steel pull-out drawer organizers. They are easy to install, come in multiple widths, and turn deep, hard to reach cabinets into easy to access drawers. Perfect for pots and pans in this case. 
• The water bottle holders were such a hit that Sarah and I have both since purchased them for our own homes. No more precarious piles of water bottles that explode when you look at them wrong. 
• Don’t be afraid to adjust the height of shelving within cupboards. We shifted one up and then used the peg organizer to stand her baking sheets and cutting boards in a cupboard. Easy to grab, right when you need them.
• The food storage bins and containers really helped the member of the family who is gluten free. We were able to separate and label her food, making it easier to find, and protecting it from cross-contamination.

Expandable Cutlery Organizer (USA) (Canada)

Bag organizers (USA) (Canada)

So much more organized.
The takeaway here is that while it’s a lot of work initially, organizing your kitchen is SO worth the time and effort. In the end you will earn back that time in your meal prep, knowing exactly where everything is. To learn more about kitchen cleaning and organizing, check out this section of our blog. Be sure to try out the search feature here to find exactly what you are looking for. 

For a list of our favorite products, click here.

– Becky @GoCleanCo