How to organise your kitchen

Key Steps:

• Cleaning equipment, cleaning products, laundry detergent, dishwashing tablets, and medicines should always be stored separately to food. Always store these products in the containers or packages they come in – do not repackage them.

• The space under the sink is a great place for storing cleaning products or for storing the bin, but should be protected with a childproof lock to keep little ones safe.

• Kitchen cupboards and drawers also need to be kept clean, as well as organised! A multi-purpose cleaner like Cif Anti-Bacterial Spray, along with a cloth can be used to wipe the insides of cupboards. Just remember to follow the instructions on any cleaning product you use.

There’s no greater test to see whether your kitchen is as organised as it should be than asking a friend or family member to prepare and cook a meal at your home for the first time. If your kitchen is organised logically it shouldn’t be too difficult for someone else to find the salt, for example, or a colander to drain water from a saucepan of pasta. But if they end up spending more time hunting for utensils or ingredients than they do cooking, you’ll know you should probably have a rethink of how to organise your kitchen! Here is some advice on how to organise your kitchen quickly and easily.

Sometimes the easiest way to organise a kitchen is to put things away promptly after using them!

How to Organise My Kitchen Cupboards

When you’re whipping up a quick meal, the last thing you want is to spend hours scrabbling around in the back of cupboards trying to locate ingredients. Worse still, you end up pulling out ingredients you’d forgotten you had, and they’re past their use-by-date – now you have to throw them out!

Instead, keep your food cupboards tidy by:

• Avoiding buying more than you need of any one ingredient, and use a packet up before buying a refill.

• Using jars to keep ingredients airtight, or close opened packets with clips or clothes pegs.

• Dedicating at least one cupboard close to the cooker for dry, canned or preserved foods.

• Using the top shelves of the food cupboards for rarely used ingredients (be sure to go through these on a regular basis to check they are still in-date).

• Buying stepped organisers or shelves-within-shelves to place in cupboards – this way, you can elevate products at the back to eye-level, making it much easier to find them.

• Organising foods or ingredients into different categories – baking, sweet, savoury, condiments, and so on – and dedicating a shelf to each.

• Dedicating a separate cupboard or airtight jars on the work surface – near the kettle – to hot drink ingredients like tea and coffee.

• Making sure spices and seasonings are kept at close hand, either out on the counter or in a rack where you can see them.

• Keeping all perishable food stuffs and opened jars, including jams and condiments, in the fridge.

• Storing hardier vegetables like potatoes and carrots (that don’t need to be kept in the fridge) in baskets on shelves.

If you’re short on cupboard space and wondering how to organise kitchen utensils or crockery, consider:

• Storing crockery in a dining room or living room cabinet instead of kitchen cupboards.

• Hanging pans by the handle on wall hooks or racks suspended from the ceiling.

• Stacking pans inside each other (protect non-stick pans by inserting a serviette or circle of fabric between each).

• Storing little-used kitchen gadgets, baking tins, plastic tubs, or serving dishes on top of cupboards.

• Using a large jar, magnetic strip, or hooks to store the utensils you use most – like tin openers, kitchen scissors, wooden spoons and corkscrews – within reach. This is a great way to organise your kitchen utensils.

• Store baking and roasting trays under, by, or in the oven.

How to Organise Kitchen Drawers

Stuffed or overburdened kitchen drawers are a nightmare to manage! Solve these problems once and for all by:

• Removing all clutter and items unrelated to cooking and the kitchen and redistributing them throughout the rest of the house.

• Keeping your top or main drawer for everyday cutlery only and use a cutlery tray or tidy to make sure your forks, knives, dessert spoons, teaspoons and tablespoons are kept neat and easily accessible.

• Dedicating a separate drawer to sharp knives and other small utensils (be sure to use a safety lock if there are children in the house), or storing these in a knife block or magnetic tidy on the kitchen work top.

• Using extra drawers to store plastic wrap, tin foil, baking parchment, freezer bags, and other small items like cupcake cases together.

• Storing tea towels and aprons in an airing or dining room cupboard if you don’t have room in the kitchen.

Now you've got your kitchen organisation in tip-top shape, keep on top of the cleaning with our regular kitchen cleaning checklist.