Foodies

How I Organized My Kitchen Cabinets (Tips for your own)

Helga Glaesel de Blandingfebrero 7, 2012

This post is also available in ENGLISH (INGLÉS)

It can take months, or even years for messy kitchen cabinets to form before one day, you get hit in the head by a box of chicken consomme while you’re reaching for the pasta, and you decide that you can’t take it anymore. Take it from me, I know.

As someone who spends most of her time in the kitchen, you’d think my cabinets are organized. They weren’t.

I spend a lot of time in my kitchen… partly because it’s not only where I cook but where I decided to set up my – and I put this very loosely- work desk. Yup, I set my laptop on my kitchen breakfast counter. Is that what you call it?

That is my operational headquarters. It’s where I write my The Foodies’ Kitchen posts, where I do my research, chat with my friends and, while Kristen is at school, it is also where I carry out my part time job responsibilities. (We’re in the import-export business, so that’s my day job).

Anyway, back to messy cabinets. If you have a small kitchen, like I do, you need to get organized, which is what I decided to do a few weeks ago. I started to go through each cabinet, one at a time… I couldn’t go crazy, I have a lot of other things to do during my day, and also that way the task didn’t seem so daunting. I started to throw out things that were past their expiration date (when you have messy cabinets, you tend to buy things you thought you were out of… but weren’t, so things end up piling up and spoiling.)

When I was done with that, I went out to buy whatever I could find to help me organize all my ingredients, spices and sauces. I ended up with these cute little red baskets. It has made a world of difference, not only visually but it has made it easier to know what I have and what I don’t have, so it’s a money saver when it’s shopping time.

Speaking of the visual point of view, it is extremely important for me to keep my surroundings as neat and eye pleasing as I possibly can, not only around the kitchen but the rest of my apartment as well, I like to keep everything in its place, no toys or personal items lying around the living room (it’s hard!), I keep vanilla plug-ins on and if possible, have fresh flowers around. (Which are even better if my husband brings them for me… hint, hint).

This is where I cook, where I work, where I live and raise a child. Who wants to spend all their time in a place that looks like a sty? Someone once told me that keeping the clutter out of your surroundings is the first step to keeping the clutter out of your head. It is so true!

My closet is next… sigh. That one won’t be so easy.

Here are a few tips to help you get started:

Take everything out. Dust and clean the cabinet shelves. If you’re up for it, use contact paper to make your shelves pretty.
Throw out everything that is past its expiration date or that you think you won’t use anymore. Declutter!
Assess your space and try to set up a permanent place for each type of item. Spices, canned goods, grains, etc.
Buy baskets, portable shelves, a lazy susan (rotating organizer for spices), containers for your grains, etc. You know best… it’s your kitchen.
Try to go through everything at least once a month, that way you’ll keep your cabinets organized.