Reorganising Your Kitchen Cupboards to Maximise Space
The kitchen is one of the most functional rooms in the home and houses an array of items from food to appliances, utensils to cookbooks and everything in between.
With all of us spending more time at home recently, it’s likely that your organisation has fallen by the wayside as more people are coming and going through the day.
If clutter and chaos are contributing extra stress to your life, making a weekend project out of reorganising your kitchen cupboards may help to restore some much needed calm to your home.
Here’s how to tackle your kitchen reorganisation project to maximise storage and space.
Step one: Declutter your cupboards
Before you can reorganise your pantry and cabinets, it’s time to get rid of everything you no longer need or want.
Just as you would your wardrobe, remove everything from your cupboards and determine whether it’s something you want to keep; if not, decide whether it has potential for a second life and could be donated, or whether it can be recycled.
Step two: Deep clean your kitchen
Chances are, those back corners of your deep cupboards or top shelves of your pantry rarely get a good clean.
Take this opportunity to thoroughly wipe down your kitchen cupboards and get rid of any dust, grime or food stains.
Now you can move forward with your reorganisation knowing you have a truly clean slate to work from.
Step three: Categorise your items
With all of your cupboard contents out in the open, take the opportunity to review your items and group them by category before putting everything away.
An easy distinction is separating pantry items from everything else. You can then sub-categorise from there, based on how you use your kitchen and which items you normally use for the same purpose.
When you’re assigning items to a new home, also consider how you can store things closest to where they’ll be used. For example, if you do most of your seasoning while cooking rather than when preparing a meal, it might actually make more sense to keep your herbs and spices near the stove. If you only have champagne on special occasions, these glasses probably don’t need to be on the same shelf as your daily coffee mugs.
Step four: Restock your kitchen
Now that everything’s ready to go back away, it’s time to restock your kitchen cupboards.
The pantry
Consider installing racks on the inside of your pantry doors to give yourself some additional storage. This is a great home for spices, sauces, wraps and storage bags.
Baskets and stackable containers can also help to keep your pantry clutter-free. Where possible, decant ingredients into containers to avoid wasted space.
Upper cabinets
If you have cupboards above your dishwasher, this is the optimal home for glasses and dishes as it makes putting them away much easier.
For taller cupboards, consider adding racks to hang stemmed glasses so that you can reclaim the space underneath.
Any storage above the stove is a handy place to store your plastic containers, for convenient packaging of leftovers post-cook.
Those hard-to-reach cabinets, such as those above the fridge, make a great home for cookbooks that you don’t reach for every day.
Under bench cupboards
Any small to medium-sized appliances that you don’t use every day can be kept in larger cupboards for easy access. Anything bulkier should never be stored above shoulder height, to make sure you can lift it without risk of injury.
Pots and pans can be nested in your under-bench cupboards or drawers to save space. Alternatively, install a rack to store pans and lids upright and keep them from becoming cluttered.
For awkward corner cupboards, consider installing a pull-out system that makes those hard-to-reach corners more accessible.
Once your kitchen has been reorganised, it should be much easier to keep it that way! Consider implementing a labelling system so that everyone in the household knows where to put things away after they’ve used them.
If you’re still finding yourself wishing for extra space in the kitchen, we’re here to help! Get in touch with us to book a free consultation and learn more about how our custom joinery solutions could help increase your storage.
Looking for more inspiration? Download our renovation eBook for your complete guide to kitchen design tips and trends.
