Quick And Easy Kitchen Organization Ideas, Including Some Simple DIY!

Kitchens can be so difficult to keep organized! Multiple family members use them multiple times a day, and as with any heavy use area it can be a real challenge to keep them clean and tidy. But not to worry, I have some great ideas for keeping your kitchen looking and functioning its best. The good news is, none of them will cost you more than a few dollars, if anything at all!  

Before and After: A Kitchen Pantry Gets an Organized DIY Makeover!

Do you have a standard pantry setup that just isn’t working for you? Maybe you need to get more functionality out of the space, or maybe you want to make it prettier. Whatever the case, you’re sure to draw inspiration from my mom’s pantry makeover! 

 

When my parents moved into their new build, they finished their kitchen pantry off quickly. They didn’t have the time or budget to add any customization. There were some simple wire shelves on the right for storage of food items and small appliances, and a few hooks on the left for cleaning tools. That was it. My mom knew the space could be organized better to maximize the wall areas and offer even more storage. After purchasing a few inexpensive supplies like shelving, shelf brackets, and plywood and getting to work on some DIYs, my mom and dad completely customized their walk-in pantry.

This organized kitchen pantry now has custom drawers on the bottom, shelves all the way around, and room for food, pots, pans, appliances, baking supplies, and more! The drawers are easy to pull out, and simple dollar store baskets on the upper shelves conceal other items. There’s even enough room for a coffee station! No space is unused, including the corners of the pantry. The shelves there house less-used appliances and serving ware. This DIY organized pantry makeover cost under $450 dollars! Which just goes to show that when you do things yourself, even the prettiest of pantries is within reach of any budget.   

5 Ways to Get Your Kitchen Organized with Cricut Joy

Little changes to your kitchen can make a huge difference when it comes to keeping it tidy and streamlined! Let me show you 5 easy and fun ways to keep your kitchen organized. These projects all take 15 minutes or less to make or put into practice, so there’s no reason not to do at least one of them right now. Some of them I’m sure you’re expecting, like using your Cricut for creating spice jar labels and labels for other pantry items such as pasta, rice, and cereals. But I have a neat trick for tea towel storage (I couldn’t help sneaking a Cricut tea towel project into this one just for you), and an idea for “stations” in your kitchen that you might not have heard of yet! They are all good ideas for a tidier, more functional kitchen space. 

Organize Your Kitchen with These 6 Dollar Store Items

What if I told you that a trip to the dollar store for 6 little items would be all you need to get your kitchen organized once and for all? I’m not even kidding! Pick up these 6 items on your next dollar store shopping trip to easily organize your counters, drawers, fridge and cabinets and just see the difference they make. If you take my suggestions here, you will never hunt for a missing Tupperware lid again! This collection of storage ideas will have your kitchen cabinets and space under the sink organized in no time. Who wouldn’t want that? It really is this easy.

My Favourite Dollar Store Organization Products for the Kitchen

1. Woven plastic baskets work as drawer organizers and make everything easy to see at a glance.  You can get these in multiple colours, but I just love the white ones.
2. Patterned drawer liners make your drawers look pretty and organized, and will motivate you to keep them looking that way! These are great for cupboards, pantry storage space, your junk drawer, or any kitchen storage space, really! You get the idea. 
3. Clear plastic bins are great for holding so many things in the kitchen.  Use them in the fridge to keep foods of similar kinds together, use them to organize cleaning supplies under your sink, or for small kitchen gadgets and attachments that never seem to have a home. Very small ones could be used as a way to organize cutlery or for anything else that would otherwise get lost in a very deep drawer.  They are a great alternative to drawer dividers and other expensive storage solutions.
4. Plastic turntables are a great way to organize jams, jellies, and condiments in your fridge, or to organize your salt & pepper and cooking oils in the cupboard next to your stove! Anywhere you have the space and several similar items you are always digging through is a great place for one of these.
5. Adhesive hooks are great for organizing all kinds of little things in your kitchen. I’ve seen people use them to hang things like measuring cups and spoons inside their cupboard doors, and I’ve used one to hang my apron on the inside of my pantry door. 
6. The over-the-door caddies you can find at the dollar store work wonders for under sink organization. I’ve used one to store our dish sponges, dish brush, and dish soap. Keeping things up and off the floor of your cabinets makes your cupboards look and function so much better, and stops things from getting lost in all the dark nooks and crannies under there!

Fridge Organization Ideas

If you’re like me, your refrigerator is the central hub of your home. It gets used multiple times a day, things get moved around in it constantly, there is a constant rotation of dishes and food storage containers being used and spilled in there, not to mention that vegetable bins and racks see constant use and misuse too.  I love my fridge and I like to keep it as tidy as I can! I think it’s important to keep your fridge clean and organized for easy maintenance, because it can get out of control so quickly. So today I’m sharing some fridge organization ideas that are realistic & easy for the family to maintain! 

 

1. Keep your fridge clean! I like to use a combination of hot water and dish soap and give everything a good wipe down regularly. Removable shelves or drawers I wash in the sink a little less often. 
2. Group similar items together.  I like to store condiments in one place, meats in one drawer, and dairy products in another. Generally, the top and doors of your fridge are not as cold as the other areas. These are great spots for condiments and food that will be eaten first like leftovers and snack items. 
3. Use storage containers! This will help you to keep your fridge organized and tidy. I like clear containers like this so that I can see what’s inside. You can even label your containers so that your whole family knows where everything needs to go.  
4. And lastly, create a meal plan for each week. This will help you know exactly what you need before you even open the fridge door.

Small Pantry Organization Ideas

Do you struggle with a small pantry and keeping everything in there organized and in its own place? Until I got the small pantry in our kitchen under control, I did too! 

It was a mish-mash of packages with not much rhyme or reason as to where things went. I *kind of* had the baking supplies at the bottom and the snacks at the top of the pantry, but it looked absolutely terrible and it was so hard to find anything. 

So I got to work.  I moved one pull-out up, and then placed some baskets on the stationary support shelf beneath it to maximize this space. 

I ended up buying some IKEA 365+ plastic bins for our sugars, flours, rices & cereals, some IKEA metal mesh baskets for other loose items, and some Dollar Tree baskets for snacks and baking essentials. 

And nothing helps maintain organization better than labeling everything. I made some paper labels for my baskets and some labels with my Cricut for my jars and plastic bins.

Would you like to print off these turquoise paper pantry labels for yourself? These pantry labels (and some blank ones!) are FREE for you to download by clicking right here.

I am so happy with how this small pantry turned out! A place for everything and everything in its place!

There you go, more than enough ideas to get your kitchen feeling clean, neat, and tidy for almost no money and in very little time.  I hope you’ve found something here to help you in your quest for an organized and peaceful kitchen!

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