The kitchen is the heart of the home, don’t you think? It can be the busiest place during mornings everyday and even more so on the holidays. As such, kitchens tend to be one of the most disorganized places in the home, and perhaps the dirtiest. Well, maybe next to the garage, that is. So, keep reading as here you will learn the best tips to organize your kitchen on a tiny budget.
In this article, let me show you how to get your kitchen back to the same state it was on move-in day; clean and without clutter. But fear not: in this list of tips for kitchen organization, I’m going to show you how to do just that without spending more than $10-20. Who said organization had to be expensive?
Cheap Organizing Tips & Tricks
Clean Out Your Cupboards
This step will literally cost you nothing. In any de-cluttering project, the first thing you need to do is clear out all the things you deem unnecessary; all the things that only clutter your space more and won’t serve useful anymore (hint: stuff that are gathering dust in your cupboards). This includes kitchen appliances and equipment that have been outdated or unused for a long time (12 months or more), along with all the plastic storage boxes you don’t use anymore (but are saving “just in case”).
Either throw all of these things away or donate them. When clearing out your cupboards and kitchen cabinets, have two boxes at the ready: one designated for disposable stuff and another for donations, or things you can sell.
Use As Much Vertical Space As Possible
See those walls underneath your kitchen cupboards? Use them. A good space-saver is the use of available wall space to hang your most frequently used kitchen equipment. What you can do is install rows of hooks to hang your spatulas, ladles, graters, etc. as well as wall-mounted spice racks for all your herbs and spices.
Another nifty idea is to install a long piece of magnet near your work area for all your knives; an easier and more convenient way to store them rather than using a knife block.
As for pots and pans, you can use a hanging pots and pans rack instead of storing these bulky things in the cupboards.
The general rule is: if you can hang it, hang it!
Clear Your Refrigerator
In a regular family home, the refrigerator also tends to become quite cluttered. What you can do to avoid this clutter, as well as prevent contamination of your food, is clearing out all your shelves.
Throw out all food that you haven’t touched for months but have been opened, as well as food that is showing signs of decay. Bottles, condiments, half-eaten bars, opened soda cans, rotting heads of lettuce—all inside the trash bin. You’ll find yourself very satisfied right afterwards.
And while you’re at it, why not give the refrigerator a good wipe down to get rid of bacteria?
Tip: For food items with strong odors, make sure to wrap them up well or store them in individual plastic boxes to avoid having other foods absorb their odor/taste. Furthermore, for stubborn gunk that has accumulated in your refrigerator (which can pose a dangerous health risk), you can use an air hose to power-clean it out.
Organize Your Pantry
Same principle: throw out any food items that you haven’t touched for months or years (except for the non-perishables and emergency food, of course). Group all like items together and place them near each other. For example: gather all canned goods and put them on one shelf, while doing the same for breads and grains, pastas, snacks, condiments, and others.
After you do this, you’ll find an easier time looking for what you need when cooking.
Buy Cheap Organizers For Your Kitchen Cabinets
Another place for headache-inducing clutter is your kitchen cabinet. Kitchen utensils can get pretty out of hand when you don’t organize them, and the next thing you know, you can’t find that one-half measuring teaspoon you need.
Inexpensive solutions to your problem are cabinet organizers. These can come in the form of plastic trays that fit into your cabinets, dividing your space into sections for better organization. Put all your baking utensils in one box, and have another box for scissors, paring knives, and other cutting tools. See? Easy as pie.
You can also make your own cabinet organizers! To do this, carefully measure the length and width of your cabinet and install two pieces of 2×2 wood to make four sections. These sections will allow easier grouping of miscellaneous utensils.
Make Use Of Recycled Jars
If you have lots of used jars lying around, why not turn them into tools for organization?
Instead of having boxes and packages of flours and rice cluttering up your cupboards, pour their contents into jars for easy storage and access while cooking. Not only can you find them easier, you also save space for your cupboards and reduce the risk of contamination.
Use Things That Don’t Belong In The Kitchen
For easy access and even easier drying, use a cheap magazine holder to store your cookie sheets as well as chopping boards.
To have your frequently used recipes at hand, why not use a corkboard to pin them all in one place. Similarly, a small whiteboard can also come in handy for reminders and short recipes.
Moreover, you can use a desk organizer that was meant for pens and pencils to store straws, skewers, chopsticks, and the like.
And as for reusable paper bags and grocery bags, you can use a file organizer or file holder to store them easily. Hang it by the wall using adhesives and voila! You have you own paper bag organizer.
Conclusion
This article consists of just some of the tips you can do to organize your kitchen, but they are by far generally the easiest and cheapest to do. So, just follow these tips for a better organized kitchen and you’re good to go.
Did you like this article? If you did, let us know your thoughts below. Got a lot of friends with cluttered kitchens? Why not share them this article, too? Thanks for reading!
Author Bio:
Hi! I’m Emma Clark from The Art of Home Renovations, an interior designer with one true passion: home improvement. With my experience and skill, I want to help you make your home into a revolutionary & magical work of art through easy, inexpensive, and innovative ideas that you can DIY!