Storing kitchen utensils can be a challenge! You want your spoons and spatula’s within reach of your stove, but you don’t want them to take over your valuable drawer space. And how about that ladle that keeps jamming your drawer? Kitchen utensil organization is not easy. But, I’ve got you!
7 ultra efficient tips to organize kitchen utensils:
- First things first: declutter
- Categorize your kitchen utensils by usage (food prep vs cooking)
- Store kitchen utensils near where they will be used (food prep zone vs cooking zone)
- A utensil holder is always a good idea
- Repurpose pitchers you already have
- Consider a kitchen rail
- Store your knives correctly
Luckily, these 7 tips should shine some light on how to get your kitchen utensils under control for good!
This post is all about Kitchen Utensil Organization!
1. First things first: declutter
Like any good organization project, organizing kitchen utensils starts with decluttering.
To be optimally efficient in your kitchen, you need to get rid of everything you don’t need. Stuff that you don’t need is simply in the way!
Get rid of any duplicate, broken, or neglected utensils!!
2. Categorize your kitchen utensils by usage (food prep vs cooking)
This is my personal favourite tip, which will make cooking in your kitchen a lot more efficient.
Go through your utensils and categorize them according to their usage. The two biggest kitchen utensil categories are food prep and cooking.
Kitchen utensils used during food prep:
- knives
- whisk
- baster
- garlic press
- grater
- microplane
- lemon squeezer
- mandoline
- measuring spoons
- measuring cups
- melon baller
- peeler
- sieve
- can opener
- etc.
Kitchen utensils used during cooking:
- spatula
- tongs
- wooden spoons
- ladle
- slotted spoon
- pasta spoon
- oven glove
- potato masher
- potato ricer
- etc
3. Store kitchen utensils near where they will be used (food prep zone vs cooking zone)
Once you have categorized your utensils into food prep and cooking categories, you should store them in their respective zones.
Store your prep utensils in the prep zone, where you will be doing your prep work and your cooking utensils in the cooking zone, where you will be doing the cooking.
Related post: How To Organize Your Kitchen For Optimal Efficiency
Note that there are also a few kitchen utensils, which you don’t use for prep or cooking, but for serving food or drinks. This includes utensils such as a pizza cutter or a bottle opener. These should ideally be stored with your silverware or serving ware.
4. A utensil holder is always a good idea
Yes!!
There are two main reasons to love a utensil holder.
Firstly, most utensils are very bulky. This makes them very difficult to store neatly in a drawer. And if you do want to store them in a drawer neatly, you will need a lot of drawer space. Most of us, unfortunately don’t have enough kitchen drawer space. In a utensil holder, you can store a lot of utensils without giving up precious drawer real estate.
Secondly, you can place your utensil holder near where you will be using your utensils. A utensil holder filled with utensils you use while cooking, can be stored next to your stove for efficient cooking. You could even have a utensil holder filled with utensils you use for food prep, close to where you prep food!
And I promise, utensil holders are not just practical. It is possible to make them look cute too.
My favourite utensil holder:
5. Repurpose pitchers you already have
A utensil holder is literally just a vessel that holds your utensils. There are so many vessels that could serve this purpose… think ceramic vases, jars, or pitchers.
I love using a pitcher as a utensil holder! They have an interesting shape and you might have one hanging out in your kitchen, which you have never used. They are also easy to find in thrift stores.
My favourite pitcher that works great as a utensil holder:
6. Consider a kitchen rail
A kitchen rail, is another great space-saving solution to organize kitchen utensils.
It allows you to hang any kitchen utensils, such as oven gloves, pot holders, colanders, sieves, graters, scissors, etc without taking up counter, drawer, or cabinet space!
Implement this tip:
7. Store your knives correctly
Having a good set of knives is essential in any kitchen! But, did you know, you can’t just store your kitchen knives in a drawer amongst other utensils? This is not only dangerous, but it will also turn your blades dull in no time.
As a rule of thumb, the sharper edge of the knife’s blade should not rub against the storage unit while inserting or removing the knife. To keep your knives in good condition, there are three methods you can use to store them: in a knife block on the kitchen counter, on a wall-mounted magnetic strip, or in a drawer inserted knife organizer.
To keep pets and children safe, my personal preference goes to the drawer inserted knife organizer!
My favourite knife organizer drawer insert:
Did you find this post helpful? Don’t forget to let me know, by leaving a comment below.
This post was all about Kitchen Utensil Organization!
Learn More About Kitchen Organization:
- How To Organize Spices In A Cabinet
- 9 Absolute Best Tips To Organize A Small But Deep Pantry
- How To Organize Your Kitchen For Optimal Efficiency