How to Organise Kitchen Drawers and Cupboards

Organising your kitchen drawers and cupboards is incredibly satisfying, but finding a starting point can feel overwhelming when you’ve spent years working around your current setup. This guide provides our process and some tips to help you declutter your kitchen storage and organise it so everything is right where you need it.

Form Follows Function

It doesn’t matter how neat your storage areas look if they don’t function properly. You should aim to organise your drawers and cupboards so they function effectively for you. Items should be organised so you know where everything is and can easily access items when needed. Keep in mind that some storage solutions might not be the prettiest, but if it works for you, that’s all that matters.

Always Declutter Before Organising

It’s easy for your kitchen storage spaces to slowly fill with clutter without you even realising. It’s essential that you declutter your kitchen before starting your organisation process. Remove the contents of all your kitchen cupboards and drawers. Sort through each item and decide what you’ll keep and what you’ll get rid of. Things like cracked cutting boards, broken utensils at the bottom of the drawer, or that kitchen gadget you used once a few years ago should all be discarded or donated.

Decluttering aims to remove items you no longer need. At the end of the process, you should be left with items that you actually use often. Once you’ve reduced your belongings, you can functionally arrange the remaining items.

Clean Drawers and Cupboards

It’s the perfect time to clean your drawers and cupboards now that they are empty. Thoroughly wipe down all surfaces and let them dry before restocking. Drawers near your stove or oven might need a deeper clean as they tend to collect more grease and dirt.

Analyse Your Space

Think about each storage area and the types of items you would use the most near that space. Go through how you use your kitchen day to day and what items you use where. Identify which drawers and cupboards are easiest to access and reserve these for your most-used items. Organising your kitchen around your daily routine will make life much easier. For example, you should store your pots and pans in the drawers next to your stove. The top drawer near the stove should be reserved for cooking spoons, tongs and spatulas so they are easy to access while cooking.

Categorise and Group Similar Items

Categorising your items is the foundation of kitchen organisation because it aligns storage with movement. Below are some simple categories that you can group kitchen items into:

• Dining & Everyday Use: Includes plates, bowls, and cutlery. Position these near the dishwasher or sink to make unpacking more efficient.
• Food Preparation: Includes items that support chopping, mixing and assembling meals. Store knives, boards, mixing bowls and measuring cups together. Grouping these items shortens meal preparation time and reduces searching.
• Cooking: Includes pots, pans, lids and cooking utensils. Keeping these items together reduces cross-kitchen movement while cooking.
• Tea & Coffee: Set up a station for tea and coffee near the kettle or coffee machine. Store mugs, teacups, saucers, teaspoons, tea bags, and ground coffee all in the same place.
• Cleaning: Store dishwashing supplies and cleaning products under the sink or near it.

Keep in mind that these are very broad categories to help you get started. These groups can be broken down into more specific subcategories when it comes to finding places for these items in drawers and cupboards. For example, the cooking category can be broken down into a pots & pans group and a cooking utensils group. A well-categorised kitchen follows natural flow from sink, prep, cooking and serving. This prevents drawers and cupboards from becoming random storage spaces.

Consider Kitchen Storage Products Where Required

Purchasing kitchen organisers and containers should be one of the last steps of organising drawers and cupboards. This is because you want to make sure that the storage products you get meet your storage requirements. After mapping out where everything belongs, identify which cupboards and drawers could benefit from additional storage tools. Measure your shelves and drawers, then decide what containers will fit these dimensions.

Here are a few kitchen storage products that can help organise your drawers and cupboards:

• Cutlery Trays: Cutlery dividers are essential for keeping your forks, knives, and spoons separate.
• Small baskets and containers: Containers are perfect for storing smaller, loose items such as clips, bottle openers, and cleaning supplies.
• Shelf inserts: Adding one or more shelf inserts to a cupboard shelf can easily increase your storage space.

Need Help Organising Your Kitchen?

If you’ve been struggling with a disorganised kitchen, it might be time to call in some professional support. Contact Well Organised today to learn more about our home organising services. Our team of professional organisers will leave you knowing exactly what's in your kitchen, making every meal more enjoyable and effortless. Contact our team to find out how we can help you create a more organised kitchen.