Life is hard enough. So why not make life in the kitchen as easy as possible? We’re full of kitchen organization ideas, and today we’re sharing 5 that have made life easier for us. (One reason being that they’re 5 of our most-used areas!)
PS: We’ve also put together this unique tool to help you organize your kitchen fast + smart!
KITCHEN ORGANIZATION IDEAS
#5: Upright Stove Utensil Drawer
First, let’s talk about the two vertical drawers we created on either side of our stove.
drawer divider | serving tray | cheese board | serving board | Kitchen Organization & Design Guide
These vertical drawers were both born out of the simple fact that
I did not want to store my stove utensils out on the counter.
Why?
Because we couldn’t relocate our stove, it left us with little counter space on each side. So my plan was to keep that precious counter space AS CLEAR AS POSSIBLE!
Therefore, I had to conceive a way to fit my stove utensils into a drawer near it, and I did not want a regular horizontal drawer in which I had to rummage around to find the tool I needed.
Thus, our idea for a vertical drawer was born!
drawer divider | 21 Clever Kitchen Organization & Hidden Storage Ideas!
We broke it up into both larger and narrower compartments for the different tools, and each one has a specific place. We have organized, designated spots for
- Wooden spoons (large)
- Wooden spoons (small)
- Metal spoons
- Wooden spatulas
- Whisks
- Tongs
drawer divider | wooden spatulas | whisks | tongs
So when Matt or I am cooking up a storm, we can easily pull open the drawer and immediately grab exactly what we need!
drawer divider | wooden spatulas | whisks | tongs
Pssst! Need our immediate kitchen help and frustrated that we’re booked with clients? Organize your kitchen fast + smart RIGHT NOW with our help delivered to your inbox!
Here’s a quick video showing one of our many vertical organized drawers in action!
It’s such a simple thing but it gets used constantly and so efficiently and
THAT MAKES US SO HAPPY!
Now, let’s look to the left side of the stove. I now needed to design another vertical drawer to the left so that there’d be that symmetry on either side of the stove. What else do we use when cooking at the stove (and that could be stored well vertically)? That answer comes next…
KITCHEN ORGANIZATION IDEAS
#2: Spice Drawers
Now, because we designed this whole drawer on the outside to visually match drawer #1,
these are not your usual spice drawers.
spice drawer | spice jars | Join our Insider’s List and get our FREE Design Guide!
See why we did it this way and how each “level” slides back (saving your back!) in our spice drawer post!
PS: You can get your own spice drawer like this with our spice drawer plans!
KITCHEN ORGANIZATION IDEAS
#3: Tea Drawer Organization
See our full post on our life-changing tea drawer DIY dividers!
Some of our best tea recommendations (and one coffee one sneaked in there!) for you are:
fennel | licorice | peppermint | ginger | earl grey | english breakfast | dandelion root | throat coat | my favorite Swiss water process coffee!
KITCHEN ORGANIZATION IDEAS
#4: Tray Organization
We mentioned this in our cabinet storage post, so I won’t go into too much detail except to say that we use these so often that it’s sooooooooooo nice to have all our trays so simply arranged and easily available.
stainless pans we love | FREE: Grab our Design Mini-guide HERE!
KITCHEN ORGANIZATION IDEAS
#5: Kitchen Drawer Organization
Instead of buying pre-made drawer organizers, we made our own!
These are all arranged on and attached to a thin board below. So it’s all removable if we ever need to do any deeper cleaning.
drawer divider | garlic press | measuring cups | pizza cutter | can opener | Kitchen Organization & Design Bundle
Why don’t I like the premade drawer organizers?
- They rarely (if ever) fit your drawer like a glove.
- Thus, they shift and move around every time you open your drawer.
- I find this annoying.
- I try to minimize all annoyances when within my power to do so.
- Drawer organization is easily within my power; thus this annoyance was identified and eliminated ASAP.
Do I sound like an efficient hit man (or woman) of poorly-designed kitchen organizational materials? That’s A-OK with me!
Start yours here!
➜ We wrote 3 kitchen guides to help you with your own kitchen! Download our Kitchen Design Bundle! (2-in-1!)
Next…
To see more kitchen updates, go to The Complete List of all our kitchen design & organization posts HERE, or click one of the below!
- The 3 storage ideas every kitchen needs.
- Why we installed kitchen drawers over cabinets.
- Tea Drawer Organization: Our #1 Tea Trick!
- Why we ripped out our new kitchen.
- 3 ways we made our kitchen look bigger!
Or, see all our home projects here!
Jess, do you recommend drawers for everyday glasses? I don’t have many upper cabinets in my kitchen. Thanks so much!
Hi Lisa! Depending on how it fits into your kitchen design and organization strategies (we created this to help walk step-by-step through everything! https://thebrainandthebrawn.com/product/kitchen-design-bundle/), that may work! It would also depend on the style, weight, placement, and other factors of the glasses, so difficult to make any blanket statements. 🙂
Cheers!
Jessica
What do you store in the drawer under the spice drawer and the one under the utensil drawer? Ordering these plans for our renovation. Love your ideas.
Hi Theresa! They’ve served as storage for different things over the various stages and needs of life—our Kitchen Organization Guide shows the process of how to determine perfect placement for each item in your kitchen!😄
– Jess
Jess,
Your ideas are inspirational and I plan to purchase some some of your plans and ideas for my current new build this week. What do you use the drawer that is under the utensil drawer? I have one island. Would it be bad design to only have two deep drawers x two in the middle and have smaller drawers and their two drawers underneath them? the srawers lines would not match up. Should I go for it, or try to keep them the same?
Thank you,
Gabriella
Hi Gabriella! I’ve used the drawer under the utensil drawer for a variety of things over the years–such as when my girls were crawlers & toddlers, I kept their “cooking toys” in there so they could easily reach and play while Mama cooked! 🙂 Congrats on your new build! It looks like you’re needing some help in kitchen design, which is a BIG task–we offer 1-hour consultations if you’d like personalized help with any issues you’re running into!
More details on that HERE and HERE!
Cheers!
Jess & Matt
But where are the instructions?
Instructions for what?
Hi,u people are just mind blowing,thanks alot for guiding especially about custum counters ,i m hopefull for pain free work in the kitchen…👍
Thank you, Sadaf! We’re so glad you found that article helpful as well! 🙂
So many great custom ideas, did you just retro fit your drawers with all dividers etc or is each drawer custom made from start to finish?
Thanks Jen! After the drawers were finished, we added dividers.
Love your ideas. We are in construction stage. Do you do custom kitchen design. Maybe work with us to get the most organization from our small kitchen??
Thank you so much Colene and yes, that is EXACTLY what we do! 🙂
You can book a free consult here with us to discuss: https://thebrainandthebrawn.com/book-a-consultation (more information on our design services is here: https://thebrainandthebrawn.com/design-services).
Jess