Cheap to Chic: Kitchen Organization Solutions for Every Budget
Getting your kitchen pantry and refrigerator organized can seem like a daunting task. With over 20 years of experience working in professional kitchens, I know how important functional and clean organization is and I have a few simple solutions that you can incorporate into your home kitchen. Whether you’re working with small budget or ready to invest in some longer lasting items to organize your kitchen, I have solutions for you. So let’s get started! All of the products on this list—on both ends of the price spectrum—are products that I use both personally and professionally to organize my kitchens. So by all means, you can choose one organization method or, like me, use a combination.
Kitchen Organization: Containers
Let’s begin our organization journey with finding the right containers to store your fresh and dry goods. The three things to keep in mind when organizing are 1. durability (for the sake of our environment and your time you want to store your food items in a container that you can reuse and have multipurpose uses); 2. transparence (seeing what you have is key to keeping organized), and 3. stackable (being able to stack your containers keeps them organized and visible and importantly is a huge space saver. You can build up instead of out when maximizing pantry and refrigerator space).
Clear Deli Containers
The simplest solution to organize your pantry staples and refrigerator items, are these inexpensive, reusable, and stackable deli containers. When organizing you want to use clear containers so that it’s easy to identify and grab the ingredients that you need. Deli containers are also a great way to pack and separate food items in kids lunch bags. Be sure to buy BPA free.
Set of 44 mixed sizes: $17.91 at Amazon
Set of 70 mixed sizes: $27.93 at Amazon
Mason Jars
Glass mason jars are a good way to get your kitchen organized. Again, the glass allows you to quickly identify the item being stored. They are stackable and reusable, and will last you a long time. If you have young children at home I would stick to the deli containers and/or Oxo pop containers to avoid any breaks. The plus side to mason jars is that you can use for canning jams, pickles, preserves, etc. The small jars also make for a great presentation to give homemade food gifts.
16 oz 6 pack: $22.99 at Amazon
8 oz 15 pack: $23.99 at Amazon
4 oz 16 pack: $22.99 at Amazon
OXO Good Grips POP Containers
These air tight containers keep your stored food goods fresh. The streamlined design is chic and not only keeps your pantry organized, but also looking great. There are a variety of sizes and the larger options are great for storing high volumes of flour, sugar, and rice. They have an edge on deli containers because they will not stain, and on mason jars because they don’t break easily. While you’ll invest more money upfront, it will be a long lasting investment.
5-Piece $49.95 at Amazon
8-Piece Baker’s Set $59.95 at Amazon
10-Piece $136.14 at Amazon
20-Piece $179.35 at Amazon
Kitchen Organization: Labeling
Now that you have the right containers to organize your pantry and refrigerator, let’s talk about labeling. Whether you’re storing fresh food items or dry goods you’ll want to include the date of storage. This will help you to keep things fresh and replenished when needed. Of course you should also label what the item is to avoid any confusion. I make a lot of sauces and dressings. It’s so convenient to quickly read the label of what is what, rather than having to open, smell, and taste to figure it out.
Painter Tape + Sharpie
By far the most inexpensive and effective way to label any type of kitchen container is to use painter tape and a sharpie. Easy to stick on and peel off of plastic or glass, I keep a sharpie and masking tape in a top kitchen drawer.
Tape: $3.75 at Amazon
Sharpies: $4.30 at Amazon
Brother Professional Label Maker
You will get a lot of use out of investing in this classic label maker. Obviously, I use this to create labels for items in the kitchen but you can also use it in your home office, tool shed, craft room, and garage. You can personalize by choosing your font, the font size, and even the ribbon color. It’s a great way to get organized and label your food storage containers.
Kitchen Organization: Maximizing Space
Whether you have a studio apartment sized kitchen or a spacious chef’s kitchen you’ll want to organize to maximize your space. A decluttered kitchen cabinet or drawer makes multitasking cooking in the kitchen simpler and much more enjoyable. Here are a few ways I like to keep organized.
Cookware Organizer
I like this organizer, or something similar, because it easily fits into your kitchen cabinets, or if needed can sit on your counter top. The rack is adjustable so you can create the perfect fit for your pots and pans. Easy to grab and return to its place a cookware rack lets you avoid digging around the stacks for the right cookware.
$39.99 at Amazon
Spice Rack Organizer
A good spice rack is so important to your pantry organization. I like something that is free standing and has steps or tiers. Again, a good visual on what you have and where it is makes restocking and your cooking experience much easier.
Tiered Spice Rack: $21.99 at Amazon
Steps Spice Rack: $18.97 at Amazon
Cutting Board Rack
A rack for your cutting boards is functional in more ways than one. It’s a space and time saver but it also keeps your boards separate. Remember, have dedicated cutting boards for fish, vegetables, fruit, chicken, and red meat and keep them separated to avoid any cross contamination. This rack can be kept in a kitchen cabinet or on your counter top.
Cooking Utensil Drawer Organizer
I’ve never been a fan of cooking utensils sitting in a jar on your counter top. The utensils get tangled and can be tricky to find. A better option for organizing your kitchen is to invest in an expandable kitchen utensil organizer for your drawers.
Multipurpose Bottle Holder
This vertical standing bottle holder is great to have on hand for a few purposes. You can use the shelves to store wine bottles or water bottles in your kitchen cabinet. You can also pop these in the refrigerator to store cold beverages. I especially like it for glass bottles to keep them safely stored.
