6 Tips for a Cleaner, More Organized Kitchen

One of the areas that can have the most dramatic effect on how your house looks is your kitchen.  Even if your kitchen is hidden away from the eyes of people visiting, it is still probably somewhere that you need to go at least three times a day, if not more.

A messy or disorganized kitchen can lead to the feeling of a messy or disorganized house.  At my house, where we have an open concept, and the kitchen is always in plain sight, it can also have the adverse effect.  When my kitchen looks nice and organized, the whole house feels a little more put together.

6 Tips for a Cleaner, More Organized Kitchen

Keep Counters Clear and Clean

This is important whether you have very little counter space or an overabundance of it.  Clutter should be kept off the counter as much as possible.  As a bonus, It will make your house feel larger.

Papers and projects aren’t the only counter clutter, however.  It can be easy to line the walls of our counters with small appliances.  This can be okay if you use the appliances often, but do you really need to have the crock pot on your counter if you only use it a couple of times a month?

Seek Out Kitchen Gadgets with Multiple Uses

Kitchens can get cluttered very easily by fun gadgets and small appliances.  I understand, as I’ve been known to get geeky about kitchen gadgets.  However, if you’re going to buy a gadget, try to pick one that you will be able to have multiple uses for.

For example, a George Foreman grill could be used for not only grilling meat, but also for paninis and grilled sandwiches.  This is probably a better choice than a quesadilla maker, especially when you could make those on the stove top and save yourself some space.

Of course, it is important to note that if you have a single purpose item that you use very often, then it might warrant making it an exception to this rule.

Consider Uniformity for Food Storage

When I used to use plastic containers for my leftovers, I had a cabinet full of lids and bottoms that I had to search through often.  Sometimes, there wouldn’t even be a matching lid anymore.  It took up a lot of room and was frustrating.

I decided to invest in two sets of Pyrex containers that were all leftover types of sizes.  They have color coded lids that I somehow never seem to lose anymore.  While I will admit that it didn’t save me space, it saved me time and sanity which are both precious commodities in the kitchen.

Regular Refrigerator Clean Out

Keep a regular time in your week when you clean out your refrigerator, freezer, and pantry.  We do this at our house on the night before trash day while we are gathering trash up around the house.

Since we do it weekly, we never end up having to spend too much time doing it.  Another plus is that we are rarely surprised by moldy leftovers.

Although not in the refrigerator, another thing along these lines would be to take a cue from the supermarket and rotate canned goods that are going to expire sooner to the front of your pantry.

Lesser Used Items Behind More Frequently Used Items

Sometimes, we find ourselves holding on to less frequently used items because they do get used, just not often.  Use the space in your cabinets in the wisest way by making sure that you are storing more frequently used items in front of the lesser used items.

Consider Storing Some Things Outside the Kitchen

There may be times when you have things that you do use and love, but they don’t fit well into your kitchen.  It might be time to find a place outside of your kitchen to store them in order to make your actual kitchen better organized.  As long as you remember where you keep the items, then it can really help the flow of your kitchen.

For example, my electric roasting pan would take up most of a cabinet in my kitchen and would force me to keep more things on my counter.  However, I have decided to wrap it up each time I use it and store it at the bottom of my pantry, which is just outside of our kitchen.

Another example would be our punch bowl and our Tupperware for transporting a cake.  Both of these find their homes in large baskets in a top shelf of my laundry room.

What are some tips that you have for keeping your kitchen cleaner and more organized?

You might also enjoy:

• Fridge Clutter: Organize Your Fridge
• Menu Planning Inspiration
• How to Organize Loose Recipes
• Organizing Kitchen Towels

photo sources: LizMarie_AK, Kathleen Franklin