Organizing Habits for a Tidy Kitchen

Today I am sharing some of my organizing habits for a tidy kitchen.

We moved into our current house a little over three years ago and we transformed this kitchen slowly over the last three years, into something that we truly enjoy.

See Kitchen Before and After

It is organized in a way that works for our family. Today I’m going to go through each section of my kitchen to just make sure it’s all still organized how I want it.

It’s always a good idea to rethink some areas and possibly declutter some stuff. For instance, about seven months ago we relocated the pots and pans to a more accessible area. Which really helped the flow of our kitchen.

When organizing it’s good to take some time, to go through everything and see what is truly needed and if anything needs to be moved.

What to Keep

I have three cast iron pans, one small, one extremely large, and one medium size.

Since I cannot cook everything with cast iron I have more pans as well. But I know I want to keep those three. Because we use them all the time.

After searching through the pots and pans for just a moment I can see a few I don’t need. This is why it’s always a good idea to go through your kitchen every few months and declutter.

Over five years the pans are getting a lot of wear and tear on them and the coating is coming off. This is a sign to declutter something.

I have two lids one goes with the pan I am decluttering, but then I have an extra one! How long have I had this extra lid for? Just another reason to declutter often.

Use Baskets to Stay Organized

One great organizing habit for a tidy kitchen is to use a basket to contain something. We do this for all of our smoothie machine parts. Including all the cups and lids for the machine.

This is a simple way to keep everything contained in one area. It is easy to put everything away in a basket and this way we all know where to go to find the parts.

Every once in a while I like to check the basket because I found something that does not belong in there! A funnel!

One reason to go through everything is again to find things that you might possibly be looking for and not know it’s stuck in the wrong spot.

Benefits of a Clutter-Free Kitchen

I hate when things are crowded. Over the years the best way I’ve found to stay organized is to try to have less stuff.

We only have the things that we use all the time or that we use in general.

Lately, I’ve been trying to think about my house as trying to become even more minimal just because it helps with staying organized and keeping the house clean.

Letting Go of Things in The Kitchen

Look for things that you never use in cupboards and drawers. As I was looking through our cupboard of cups I could see that we had some coasters that we had never used.

Those may be small items, but it all adds up to making a cluttered kitchen.

I also took a second to think of the last time we used a shot glass. We have 6 shot glasses that have not been used in YEARS. These are the type of items that can easily be decluttered.

My husband joked and said, “how are we going to take shots when we have a party?” and we don’t even take shots!

Organizing the Plasticware

When it comes to organizing the plasticware it is nice to put the lids on the containers. This is a great way to make sure there is a bottom for every top and vice versa.

If there are extra tops or bottoms to a plastic container then that is an easy thing to declutter.

Staying Organized

Open up each cupboard and make sure that everything is where it should be. Match similar items together.

Also, declutter duplicate items. For instance, I got a new set of pot holders but saved an old one.

Now I know I have plenty from the new set so the old one can go.

Put your most used items into the most accessible drawers. I like to keep our utensils front and center so they are easy to get to.

Organize Random Things Too

We like to save our bread bags. Our reason for saving these is instead of buying plastic baggies, we will just put sandwiches into the bread bags.

It’s just a good way to avoid buying more plastic. The bags are great for trash or if you’re out on a picnic you can put leftover food in them.

Or you can just put your trash in there to take home with you.

We save money by not buying baggies, it’s a little bit better for the environment, and it’s just being more resourceful.

The best way to store these leftover bags is to fold them in a neat pile and don’t have too many. There is always a new bread bag every week.

Put Things Away

After having my baby I had some vitamins left out so I could remember to take them. Now that I don’t need them daily I can store them away out of sight.

Having a clutter-free kitchen includes putting things away that don’t need to be out and visible.

Keep similar items together too. I was reminded of this when I found a basket of snacks that I had intended for school lunches. Because the basket was not with the other snacks it was forgotten!

Watch the video to see exactly how I went through my kitchen and what I decluttered.