Get Organized: Kitchen Cabinets

Our kitchen cabinets were a little bit out of control! We do tons of recipe development in the ABM kitchen, which means we often have little bits of leftover (totally random) ingredients. Our kitchen doesn't have a pantry or extra storage. Everything from pots and pans to all our non-refrigerated food items are stored under the kitchen counters. This has left the area in quite a state! Often we have to pull nearly everything out of one area if we are looking for something or need to get to something in the back. I've also found myself buying duplicate items, like an extra package of cocoa or bread flour because I didn't see that we already had some tucked behind a bunch of other items. Frustrating!

I decided to make it my goal to get our kitchen cabinets in order. If you face similar problems in your kitchen, here are five tips to get you on the right track to organizing all those random kitchen items in a small space.

1. Take Stock

What items do you have? How much space do you have to store everything? I made a list of items as well as a (super simple) diagram of our cabinets so I could remember the dimensions while I shopped for supplies.

2. Set a Budget

It's amazing how quickly organizing projects can start to cost if you're not careful. I decided to set my budget to around $75 for our kitchen cabinets. This was a pretty easy budget to keep, as I purchased most of the glass jars and plastic containers from Walmart. I used colorful duct tape to label everything. The most expensive items were the pullout cabinet organizers. I shopped around and found some inexpensive ones that fit our cabinet size at Home Depot.

3. Visual Labels

Adding labels is such an obvious solution to help you better see what's being stored where. I would also add, make sure your labels are easy to see. This is why I added all our dry ingredient labels on top of their respective glass jars, instead of the sides. I can see the labels easily when I pull the drawer out to get an item.

4. Group Items Wisely

Store things that are often used together, together. I have a small, easy-to-pull-out basket labeled "Bake Me." This container holds lots of items I often use when baking, including: salt, non-stick baking spray, vanilla extract, and baking soda. I can pull this small drawer out and set it on the counter while working on my next-baked goods adventure, and many of the items I'll need will already be there!

5. Don't Rush

It's easy to think you should get a small area like this organized in a day. And that's totally possible. But believe it or not, this project actually took me a whole week to complete. I had to plan what I needed, find and buy affordable supplies, and get everything put together and labeled. If I had devoted my whole Saturday to this, I'm sure I could have completed it. But I honestly think I did a better job and kept the project cheaper by spreading out the work. Do what works for you.

I feel so good every time I open our kitchen cabinets now. I just LOVE how easy everything is to find and how simple it is to pull items out of the sliding drawers and small containers. Getting organized is such a good feeling, no? Thanks for letting me share! xo. Emma

Credits // Author: Emma Chapman, Photography: Sarah Rhodes and Emma Chapman. Photos edited with Petal of the Fresh Collection.