Kitchen Organization Tips (ideas & favorite products!)

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Kitchen organization tips, ideas, and my favorite products for using every single inch in your kitchen and pantry!

Kitchen organization tips, ideas, and my favorite products for using every single inch in your kitchen and pantry! artsychicksrule.com

Hello friends!

I told you I was sharing a different kind of post today and this is it.

All about kitchen organization…and how I have maximized our small spaces.

You might have seen my little snippet of some of this on my Instagram stories last week. I shared a bit of my new kitchen organization. Well, I got quite a few of you who messaged me asking about it and for links to the things I used. So I thought I’d write a blog post and share them all here in one place.

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Kitchen Organization Ideas (and my favorite products)

Oh, how I would love a huge walk-in pantry with shelves and counters. (actually, that’s one of the main things I want in our next house, lol)
BUT since I don’t have that in this house, we have maximized as best we could.

As I mentioned, we are currently “looking” for another house…slow as it goes. (EDITED 1/23…still looking!lol) And once we decided to start looking again, I got in gear and started going through and purging all closets, cabinets, etc, OH MY GOSH, what a breath of fresh air that’s been!
I can not even tell you. I’m not sure why I didn’t do it sooner.
It will certainly make it easier to move once we find “the perfect house”…which has so far been elusive. (yes, I’m picky because we don’t dislike this house, we love it but want/need some different things that this one doesn’t have…for example, a first-floor master, space for me to work on projects — besides my kitchen island and so on, larger garage, etc.)

Anyway, I had purged and organized every single closet, and cabinet in this house … except the pantry and kitchen spaces. So I decided they needed some help too.
Unfortunately, none of those “organizing” projects were really blog-worthy, just closets, cabinets, bath cabinets, etc. But boy, did it feel good to get done!!
And I didn’t even think about blogging about the kitchen organization either since I was just doing it for us.
So I have no “before” photos to share.

We only have this one small pantry closet…

Pantry shelves with storage containers

Gosh, I wish I had the “before” but let me explain.
I had none of these containers just boxes and stuff everywhere.

Basically, I could never find what I was looking for. OR I didn’t even know what to look for because I couldn’t see it.
It was buried in the back, etc.

I had one plastic wire wrack for those sandwich bags, foil, saran wrap, etc, on each side. (where the wall is blank by the door openings) I always hated that.
It was hard to utilize and just looked like a mess. So I thought, why not use that space for that stuff on the ceiling instead??
I’ll just put the wire wracks there and free up space on the sides. (it is the slanted ceiling where on the other side are our stairs going up)

This metal plastic grocery bag holder was also on the side down lower, in the way. We moved it up here completely out of the way but still handy to grab a bag when needed.

Metal bin for plastic grocery bags

Oh my, SO much better!

Pantry closet with pantry sign

Remember that pantry sign I painted years ago? It used to hang on the outside above the door but I took it down when we remodeled the kitchen.
I thought it would be cute to open the door and see that, lol, so I hung it up in the empty space above the wire bins.

I love having the cereal out of the big, different-sized boxes and in those containers.
And getting rid of all the different pasta boxes, rice bags, etc…win!
Cracker boxes everywhere…no more.

These containers are the bomb…and made in the USA which I love.

I’ll have all the products I used linked at the bottom of the page.

Down below I have a wire basket on the floor with extra paper bags and plastic trash bags.
To the right is our recycle bin.

Pantry closet with recycle bin

I didn’t want to put each kind of nut in a separate container so I just wrangled them all together and put them into one. (beside the crackers on the bottom shelf)

I actually did the same with these items below.

Kitchen food storage - rice and other small bags inside one container

It still keeps them nice and tidy. AND easy to find.

My husband put a little light up there years ago but we never use it. It’d be nice if it came on automatically when the door opened but we aren’t that fancy. haha
It was a good thought but I guess not really needed.

Pantry closet showing light inside

To the left, on the door, we have these metal bins.
They are GREAT for using every single inch of space.

I reorganized this too. It was a bit of a free-for-all.
No more! 

The top has our sweeteners and flavorings.
The next shelf is odds and ends…and the next 2 shelves are our spices.

pantry closet door shelves for condiments

I had all different sized, shaped spices, etc, and could never find what I was looking for.
So frustrating. I would pull 5 out, and move 3 to find the one I needed.

Now they are super easy to see.

Pantry closet door shelves for spices

In alphabetical order too. lol

AND even better, they actually came with all of these labels. (they have just about every spice label you can dream up…plus blank ones and a white chalk pen so you can fill out your own if you like)
You can put the labels on the front or on the top of the jars.

shelves on pantry door with spice bottles

I LOVE it.

The next shelves are our oils/vinegar, oil sprays, etc.

pantry door shelf with vinegar bottles and oils

Extra condiments, extra empty bottles, and below that are spices we don’t use as often.

Extra jars and spices, sea salt and more

The bottom shelf has our extra sea salt, pepper, and other condiments/supplies.

And you might have noticed all those clips on the side there. Those are our clips for bags, etc.
Out of the way, but handy when needed.

full view of pantry with door open and all shelving

You might be wondering where the rest of my pantry-type items are, like cans, etc.
Well, I have another “pantry”…in the laundry room.

This wall of cabinets that are on the right there.
We installed upper wall cabinets on this entire wall after we moved in. I knew I needed more pantry space than the little closet held.
And we don’t have a lot of closet space in this house as-is, so the extra cabinets were needed.

Laundry room with wall of cabinets for extra pantry space

It’s just across from the kitchen so not a big deal as far as keeping items in there.

The ONLY before photo I took because this one was an afterthought. I hadn’t planned to change it.

baking flours before photo

But decided it needed a little help too.

Now, I should mention that you can label your containers if you wish. I’ll link some of those too.
But I didn’t feel the need to as I know what all these are.

One thing I did do, on some of these and some of the things in my main pantry is to cut out whatever I wanted/needed from the packaging and placing it inside the container.
(for example, cooking directions, expiry date, etc)

baking flours after photo organized with food storage containers

I did the same “wrangling in” of a few smaller items as I did in the other pantry.
I put them inside in such a way so that you can easily see from the outside what is in.

large food storage container to hold small bags of flour together

see through food storage containers for small food items

That one and the one beside it (picture below) are my “baking cabinets”.

baking cabinet with cookie making items

And extra tea too.

Here are my canned and jarred foods.

cabinet with cans of beans, chicken broth and salsa

Soups and tumblers. I actually just organized those too. They were a mess with the lids sitting on top falling all over.
I put the basket there to wrangle all the lids in one place.

Yetis, tumblers, lids and soup cans

The last two cabinets on the bottom are miscellaneous things.

old towels, food containers for cooking

Plastic cutlery, plates, old towels/rags, and aluminum cookware for making food to take for others.

Plastic containers for taking food out to others, etc. Extra supplies, plates.

cabinet with plasticware food storage and cleaning supplies

And another favorite kitchen organization idea…

medicine and vitamin cabinet with bottles on lazy susan

Oh my gosh… a game changer. 
I was always searching for the vitamin bottle that I couldn’t find, haha!
I put these little lazy Susan-type trays in and wow, so much better.
(the silver thingy is for my matcha green tea making…I keep it in this cabinet…I’ll link it)

It’s amazing how much a few small changes like this can make.
SO much more organized, SO much easier to find what you are looking for.
And SO much less wasted food potential. (pushed to the back and never seen again, goes out of date, etc)

Kitchen Organization Items In This Post

 

I hope this post has been helpful to you!
It sure feels good to be so organized in this house. Makes everyday life more enjoyable, for sure.
Especially since we are spending so much time in our homes these days.

EDITED on 1/23 to say, that 2 years later, everything is still organized like this. It stuck! ha! But really, having the right “tools” certainly helps. The containers, the lazy susans, the spice jars…all a definite win-win!! 

PIN it to save it!

Kitchen organization tips, ideas, and my favorite products for using every single inch in your kitchen and pantry! artsychicksrule.com

Have a blessed and safe weekend all!!

xoxo


46 Comments

  1. Hi Nancy,

    My pantry is sort of organized, but I found some very helpful tips that I can use.

    xoxo,
    Aunt Jo

  2. WOW!!! Beautiful organization!! Being single, I write on products when I got them and/or when they expire. I do wish I had the space for a stand alone freezer. I’d like to keep my flour there.
    You did an outstanding job! Thanks also for all the links!!

  3. Looks great Nancy!! I also have wire shelves inside my pantry door and love them. Really takes care of the small stuff. My hubby started putting clips on the side, like you have done. Very handy. I keep nuts in the freezer, labeled and dated. They thaw quickly and donā€™t get rancid. Thanks for sharing this project!!

    1. Thanks, Michelle! I should probably keep mine in the freezer too. I do keep walnuts and pecans in the fridge. I’m not sure why I don’t keep the others in there though? (peanuts/cashews) I’m guessing the others go rancid quicker? I don’t remember now but that’s how I’ve done it for a while! :) xo

  4. Hey, Nancy, good job on all the organization that you shared so nicely with us!
    I do a lot of combining like-products into one container also and it really does help with limited space, and I also cut important info from original package and include inside! When I need to, I will use a 3×5 or a 4×6 index card and write contents on it along with expiration dates, tuck inside near the bottom (if it’s on a higher shelf) so I can see at a glance exactly what is included, then I don’t have to take it down and look through it to find its not what I was looking for! This works really well on opaque totes etc, just tape to the outside to read contents. I have a commercial stainless steel double sided reach-in cooler in my laundry room/back entry area (needs coolant and the leak fixed to use as intended)that makes excellent storage! I do a lot of canning from my garden produce and that’s where I store most of it. The remainder of that space contains my prepper pantry items. Hey, thanks for sharing all that you do!

  5. Ok, I am not much of a cook/baker, so I was fascinated by all the different kinds of flour! Didn’t even know all those varieties existed…and certainly don’t know their specific uses! LOL. And your “new” pantry looks great!

  6. Love organizing! Looks great! I do love containers they are convenient and wrangle all sorts of like items.

    I did spy something in your pantry – Brunswick stew!! Being a southern girl at heart now living in sunny California – I about died when I saw the cans of Brunswick stew you had – did not know they had canned stew – our BBQ place back home has it on there menu and when I go back home I get a quart just for me! Love that stuff!

  7. OH to have all that space to work with. Would love it. Good ideas and great looking space.
    And all that flour. Goodness. You have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.
    All in all great job. Thanks for sharing

    1. It’s so nice to have the extra space in the laundry room, for sure! :) I really don’t spend as much time as I’d like! (I love baking) I used to bake so much more. Thank you, Bev! xo

  8. This is motivating me to do mine. I actually do have a small walk in pantry but what a mess it is! It has some wood shelves but there is so much wasted space. I’ve thought about a wire rack system and now I’m convinced. Thanks for the motivation.

  9. Hi Nancy, I am an organizational nut as well. Donā€™t forget to include some type of a wipe off label for expiration dates when transferring things to a new container. I used my cricket to create wipe off labels that use an expo marker to put the expiration dates of things that have been transferred to new containers. You can also use the chalkboard type labels and a chalk pen to do the same thing depending on your aesthetic. Great ideas. All the best, Nancy

    1. I think it was Lowe’s for the shelves. The one on the door was there when we moved in though. I did find one very similar to that one that I linked in the “materials” list box. I LOVE the addition of that one most! Yes, they are all pretty easy to install. :) xo

  10. I love organizing the pantry. I have the exact same spice jars too! Thanks for the link to the labels. I have been wanting to relabel my dry goods containers, but couldn’t find anything that I liked. Happy organizing :D

  11. I want to utilize my door and I don’t see where you got your shelving for the spices and sauces etc. on your door. I’d love something like that for my pantry. Can you post a link?

    1. I have updated the post to one very similar to mine, Evelyn! Take a look in the gray “materials box” for the direct link to it. :) xo

  12. I am an organizer on steroids!!!! LOVE it. I enjoy reading about it, doing it and gazing upon it when done….lolol. When I moved here I didn’t even realize there wasn’t a pantry, until after I moved in ;(….Oh!! my!!! I have had to be creative and I think I have a good system now. I had to move over to the laundry room cabinets (right off the kitchen) too. Lazy Susans are the best space savers. Yours looks to be well organized…keep up the good work!!!! Thanks for sharing.

    1. Oh yes, girl! I love being organized like this! I don’t even know how or why I get unorganized because it drives me crazy! lol xo

  13. Love it, you just inspired me to organize ours. Meaning turning all the labels to the front, my friends tease me “sleeping with the enemy” my husband is a stickler about labels lol.

    1. Yay!! It feels so good to get things in order and organized! And haha, my husband actually mentioned that movie to me when I told him to make sure to keep all the spice labels turned right so we could read them!! lol xo

  14. WOWZA, Nancy! That’s awesome – has to feel so incredibly great to have everything organized.

    Well done – I am going to try that “like items in a big bin” idea. My hubs is a master bread maker and we have a lot of weird kinds of flours, etc. Love that idea.

    I tackled my pantry about 6 months ago but it gets bad quickly because it is so DEEP. I am five foot and have Rex from Toy Story short arms and those deep shelves drive me nuts. Now I have no cause for complaint – I mean who complains about having TOO deep of shelves in a walk-in pantry, right? BUT it is a real problem. Mind you it is a First World problem, but still gets out of control easily in there. I am motivated to work on it once we’re done painting – been working on it a week, it is slow going at our age. My hat is off to you, ma’am!!!

  15. Looks great! I love a good organization post! Our new house has some really deep shelves in the tall linen closets in the bathrooms, but most of what Iā€™m storing in there is small stuff. I have found lazy Susanā€™s and baskets I can slide out to be very helpful! The container store is a like a candy store for me, lol! My neighbor recently shared a similar spice drawer makeover using jars similar to yours, she was so excited about it! I donā€™t use a ton of different spices, but if I did, I would totally be on board with that! I do love lazy Susanā€™s in the kitchen on the second upper shelf that is harder for me to reach. Thanks for sharing!

    1. Thanks, Vicki! Lazy Susans work so well to save space, love them! Oh my gosh, you and me both, I love the container store! xoxo

  16. Hi Nancy, I love organization posts, and was happily reading through when I got to your laundry room cupboards. Suddenly, three-fourths of the screen on the left where the post appears was covered by the rotating ads, there is a turquoise line across the top which I can’t dismiss, and the right third of the screen is a big white empty space (where the ads normally appear.) Frustrating!! Something suddenly broke?? I hope you are able to fix this quickly! Makes it very hard to read!

    1. Oh no!! I am so sorry, Marilyn. I have no idea what that is but I am going to forward your message to my ads team and see if they can figure out what is going on. Thanks for letting me know! xo

  17. I love your storage ideas. My craft room has sloped walls like your pantry. I’ve been trying to organize the area,didn’t know what to do with the wasted space above.
    Your rack idea is amazing, can you tell me how you attached them to the wall.?
    Thank you for the inspiration.

    1. Oh yes, this is the perfect solution for that! I LOVE having those items up there now. So much easier to get to and out of the way at the same time. :) (they are screwed in)

  18. Outstanding job on the organization! Great tips too šŸ™‚ I love to organize and keep things organized. Thank you for sharing your great ideas šŸ™‚

  19. Looks fantastic!
    Thank you for the links, I just had to switch them over to Amazon Smile- so my chosen charity (Hope for Paws) gets their portion donated to them..

  20. Very nice for such a small space. I just wanted to add when I have things in the freezer that are in boxes, they take up so much room. I switch those to storage bags, cut the labels from the boxes and slip in with the items Iā€™m freezing and also add the expiration date. You canā€™t believe how much room this saves! I did pick up a few tips from you and it will sure help!

    1. Oh, I love that, Shirley!! What a great idea! Thank you so much for sharing that. (I hadn’t even considered doing that but it’s so smart). xoxo

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