How to Organize the Kitchen in 30 Minutes: Quick & Easy Tips

Organizing your kitchen can seem overwhelming. Even small kitchens usually have multiple cabinets and shelves and many different potential clutter spots: food, cleaning supplies, utensils, etc. But creating a cleaner kitchen doesn’t have to be a burdensome all-day project. You can do a lot in 30 minutes. Remember that you are not wholly organizing the kitchen or cleaning everything in sight by simply taking a few simple steps in a few minutes to help yourself maintain a cleaner kitchen in the future.

You can do this without any special tools, but you may want to keep a pen and paper near you to jot down any thoughts about your future organization. For example, while you work, you might realize that drawer dividers would be a wise purchase or that you are running on dish soap. Please make a short note of anything you discover so you can remember it later.

Deciding What to Put in The Pantry

One of the most important things you can do to organize your kitchen is to decide what to put in the pantry. This will make it much easier to find what you need when you need it.

To get started, take a look at your pantry and see which items are used most often. Then, make a list of those items and put them in the pantry where they will be easy to access. You can also organize your pantry by type of food: carbs, proteins, etc. This way, you will always know where to find the food you need.

Another way to organize your kitchen is by using baskets or shelves. This is perfect if you have a lot of small items, like spices or condiments. Put these items in baskets or shelves near the stove or in the cabinet that holds your pots and pans. This way, you will only have to search one place for everything you need.

Tackle the Cabinet Under the Sink

Throw anything oozing, empty, or otherwise not worth saving, and quickly accumulate the rest.

You don’t need to be perfect in this regard or any correction you make in this half-hour. Just line up detergent bottles, tin foil boxes, and other materials in rows so you can see and access what you have.

Quickly Scan Your Closet and Pantry

Are any of the products expired? Any dented jars or otherwise terrible packaging?

Drop all of these items. Now stack what’s left in the sections (e.g., baked goods, canned goods, tea), or at least make sure it’s all straight and clear.

Organize Your Fridge or Freezer

If the fridge or freezer is in inferior condition and has not been cleaned permanently, you can leave them at another time. But they are mostly fine, and you can quickly go through them and check out anything hideous or ancient. It is not necessary to remove everything from the fridge or freezer (unless, again, they are not very dirty). Just check whatever needs to be thrown away while you organize the meal so you can get to it.

Move on to Your Dishes and Utensils

You don’t have to make any vast decisions here. Just look at something out of place or something you don’t need. (I tend to accumulate reusable plastic water bottles in awkward sizes every time I pick them up and add them to the bag going to goodwill). If you notice a broken dish, either dispose of it or remove it from the cabinet so you can fix it later.

Look Around Your Kitchen

Is there something out there, somewhere else, like a coat, draped over a chair in the hallway closet?

Is there something that’s not in the right place, like the bank you left on the counter, that it can return to the shelf? These superficial little touches can differentiate a room that looks grubby and one that looks polished.

Spot Clean

Nothing fancy – leave the dirty dishes in the sink, put the clean dishes in the drying rack, and wipe the counters and other surfaces with a cleaning spray or disinfectant cloth. A kitchen that’s freshly prepared and smells like lemon and meat water (or whatever you are) will make you feel extraordinarily perfect.

Putting Everything Where It Belongs

One of the most important things you can do to organize your kitchen is to put everything where it belongs. This is easier said than done, but by following these simple steps you can get started quickly.

First, start by sorting your pantry into categories: cereals, grains, pasta, etc. Then, place each category in its own section. Next, sort your kitchen cabinets according to what you use most often: pots and pans, plates and cups, utensils, etc. Finally, put all of your items in the sections that make sense for them.

By following these simple steps, your kitchen will be quickly and easily organized!