9 Ways To Organize Your Kitchen Better In 2024
Anyone who cooks regularly knows that what makes it easy or hard isn’t just about the food itself: it’s about the way the kitchen is organized. You don’t want to be searching in the back of the cupboard for a fish spatula you swear you had when the salmon’s already started searing. Keeping the things you need at the ready and organizing your kitchen could be what makes you an even better cook in 2024. Plus, you might enjoy cooking even more.
Invest in a spice organizer
Some people swear by a lazy Susan that you can turn to seek out the cinnamon, while others prefer a spice rack shaped like a staircase. Others prefer a mounted spice organizer that makes it easy to see everything at once. It doesn’t really matter which route you take as long as your spices are organized. Not only does it make your life easier and faster to find that jar of garam masala, it prevents waste, too.
Keep a stack of towels handy
A stack of clean, folded dishcloths and microfiber cloths that’s near where you do the majority of your chopping, stirring, and dishwashing could be the defining element of the clean and organized kitchen. Hear us out: Spills, splatters, and other kitchen accidents are normal. Do you know what makes them go away much faster? A towel that’s easy to grab. Choosing ones you can launder rather than throw away is a more sustainable option. If you’re dedicated to paper towels, it’s worth looking into the reusable kind.
Stack your pan lids
No one likes a drawer with miscellaneous lids clacking together. Instead, buy a pan lid organizer (it looks like a file organizer) that allows you to stack your pan lids vertically.
Become a labeler
Sick of throwing out that mystery jar in the back of your fridge? Want to stop being harassed by family members who want to know what’s for lunch? The answer is adding a permanent marker and a roll of masking tape to your kitchen. Use them to label and date just about anything in your kitchen. If you like to set aside time for meal prep, consider adding a labeling step once everything is cooked. Anything stored in your freezer is calling out for a label, too.
Group similar ingredients together
If you make certain recipes regularly, consider investing in bins to group the ingredients in your pantry. Same goes for the fridge: If you’ve taken the time to prep food for the week, store related ingredients on a rimmed baking sheet inside the refrigerator. That way, you can pull everything out at once to assemble a meal.
Make a dedicated condiment station next to your stovetop
There are certain things that you’re going to need to use all the time while cooking. For many people, that’s salt and pepper grinders, olive oil, vegetable oil, and vinegar. Some might keep chili flakes to hand, while others want their most used spices at the ready. It doesn’t really matter what goes there as long as it’s the things you reach for most and doesn’t get too crowded. Put them on a small lazy Susan or any container that corrals (a small wooden tray with a lip is handy so that the bottles and other things stay in place). It can be helpful to keep a kitchen timer here, too, because the organized cook is the one who sets a timer no matter what.
Keep your knives handy
Rather than storing knives in a drawer, where they not only take up valuable space, they can get dull or accidentally cut someone, opt for a standing knife block, instead.
Hang your pots and pans
Besides the fact that HexClad pans are pretty enough to display in your kitchen, there’s a convenience factor to hanging pots and pans. Either mount them on a peg board or invest in a hanging rack that descends from the ceiling.
Make open shelving work for you
Rather than store knick knacks and artwork that can gather dust and grime in the kitchen, store your most used ingredients in clear containers on open shelves. If you’re worried about things knocking over, opt for non-breakable containers. This is a good place to store tools you want to use more but might forget about, like a mortar and pestle or spiralizer.
