The kitchen is at the heart of most of our homes. And it’s a space that has to work very hard. Each member of the household goes through that space multiple times a day, and probably even spends a few hours there to cook or enjoy their snacks and meals. With all these people using all the different kitchen appliances, utensils and ingredients - and probably not putting them back in the right place! - who has never complained about not finding that specific thing they need?
A well-organised and decluttered kitchen provides your whole family with a sense of calm: no more shouting “where did you put my favourite mug?” around the house. Or not being able to find your blow torch at the crucial moment for your favourite soufflé. Not to mention that the right kitchen storage solutions will make cooking easier and more efficient, preventing you from wasting time looking for the utensils or ingredients you need.
Before we can get to the fun part with designing new storage solutions, we need to first evaluate what your kitchen currently contains. Step 1 is to declutter anything that is unnecessary and evaluate what your needs are when it comes to applicances.
Get rid of out-of-date food
The first thing to do when decluttering your kitchen is to go through every cupboard you have and get rid of out-of-date food. To avoid waste, you may be able to add certain items to your compost pile and transform your expired flour into fertiliser.
Prioritise the equipment you actually use
The second step is to take a moment to consider what tasks you undertake most frequently. Which are the pieces of equipment that you use daily and those that you never use?
The equipment that you use can then be stored in the most accessible places where it will be easier to take them and put them away (at the front of your cupboards for example or on the counter for things like toasters and kettles).
The items that are only used once in a while can be stored at the back of your cupboards or in another storage space such as a cellar or garage. And for the equipment that is never used, consider giving them away or selling them. This will allow you to quickly free up some space.
Look over your spares
The last step is to have a look at your spare items. There’s nothing wrong with having a couple of spares; you may frequently have some friends over for example which means you need a few extra plates. But you probably have way too many extra mugs or plates that you never use but that you keep in case you need to throw a big dinner or lunch. If those occasions are quite rare, consider selling or giving away the extras, and borrowing items if and when you need.
Step 2: Evaluate the storage space available in your kitchen
After having decluttered your kitchen, the room is starting to feel a bit more zen. You can now start re-organising your cupboards and items to improve your current storage space.
Give your cupboards an upgrade
Ask yourself if you are making the most of your existing cupboards? Take a good look at your cupboards. For some of them, you might notice that there are quite big gaps between the shelves using up space that could have storage potential. To make sure that no height is lost, consider adding additional shelves to your cupboards. You’ll find yourself with additional storage space, without having to spend too much money.
Arrange your food conveniently
After spending an hour grocery shopping, it can be tempting to just store your food on top of other items, or just push old condiments to the rear of the shelf. This will lead your shelves to be disorganised and make it harder for you to see which foods you already have.
This exposes you to a number of problems:
- Not seeing you already have an item and buying it again, making you waste food and spend money unnecessarily.
- Wasting too much time looking for ingredients when you are trying to cook a delicious meal
To help prevent this, ideally you would position all your food in such a way that it will make it immediately visible. Obviously, it can be quite difficult to store all your food at the very front of your shelves, but by using some baskets for example you could gather the same types of food together, making it easier for you to reach them and quickly see what you have in store.
Store items logically
Another thing that can make your kitchen so much more organised, is storing items logically by thinking “what goes with what?”. For instance, you might want to store saucepans near the oven so that they are easily within reach when you start cooking. Or even your crockery near your dishwasher to make emptying more efficient. You can also keep mugs near the kettle and store tea bags and sugar within reach, ensuring that making tea for the hordes will be much more enjoyable.
Step 3: Consider investing in some clever kitchen storage solutions
If you are looking to really take your kitchen to the next level, there are some clever kitchen storage solutions that will help you maximise your space.
Organise your under sink
Your under sink is probably the place you keep all your cleaning products. Just as for kitchen supplies, it is great to have all your cleaning supplies at your fingertips and well-organised.
By adding baskets and boxes you will be able to keep everything neat and gather cleaning products together according to their type or their usage. You can also add some hooks to your cabinet so that you can hang gloves, brushes or rags.
Use your walls
Don’t underestimate the potential of walls to help you add storage in your kitchen. By adding a few small items you would be surprised how much space you can save and how your kitchen can become instantly more practical. For instance, you can hang your knives by using some magnetic knife racks. Or add a hanging drying rack and save space around your sink.
Don’t forget about your bins
It is convenient to have your bin at hand when cooking, but they are so very aesthetically pleasing (unless you go for one of these beauties of course!). Not to mention that a bin (plus recycling) can take up some precious space in your kitchen. To avoid this, hide your bins in a cabinet. And as having different bins for recycling can be cumbersome, you can opt for stackable bins which will help you save some extra space, make sorting easier all while hiding them in your cabinet.
Take your cupboards to the next level
We’ve already mentioned adding extra shelves to your cupboards, but here are a few extra steps you can do to make the most of them:
- Adding hooks at the bottom of your cupboard or shelf to hand your mugs, or wine glasses.
- Using the back of your cupboard doors to hang measure spoons and spoons.
- Adding racks to your shelves to hold and organise small jars and spices.
- Adding further racks to store plates or saucepan lids and find them in seconds.
- Using wire boxes to easily group items together.
Rethink your food storage
Organising your food storage is key to enjoying your culinary tasks. For instance, you could use some clear jars which will allow you to immediately see where you are storing the condiments you need, but also how much is left and if you should be buying more soon.
But good food storage is also essential to preserving food and preventing waste. Some vegetables such as potatoes or root vegetables, don’t need to be kept in the fridge. Still, they need to be stored properly to prolong their life. Using vegetable storage drawers can be life-saving and actually make your kitchen look cleaner.
When it comes to your storing food in your fridge, there are few tricks that will improve food hygiene and conservation:
- Store herbs in water to keep them fresh for a couple of weeks.
- Use gadgets to store half-cut vegetables to prevent them from drying out (e.g. a lemon saver)
- A salad crisper drawer will allow your vegetables to get just the right amount of humidity they need.
Warning: if you follow all the steps above and optimise your kitchen storage solutions, you will probably fall in love with your kitchen all over again. May lead to extra cooking time. And yet another Ottolenghi cookbook.
