The kitchen is the heart of the home, and it can be very messy if not well organized with some planning and some necessary organizers. This post will cover different kitchen organizing essentials and what is needed to keep those areas organized. This area has a lot of things to organize. To help you know where all these items go, I have divided them into various organizers. Note: These links below are from Amazon (affiliate).com. If you click through and purchase an item on Amazon (affiliate), I will receive a small commission for the referral. This will not increase your cost of the item.
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How does your kitchen look? Are all the areas organized? Do you feel like you are losing out on the kitchen clutter battle? Here are ten kitchen organizing essentials that will help with the clutter.
Knives Organizers and Cooking Utensils Organizers
1st Kitchen Organizing Essential: Knives and cooking tools (affiliate) need to have a proper space. I am unsure about neatness, but knives should never be left out on counters for safety. Here are some examples of excellent organizing essentials for knives and cooking tools (affiliate):
Cooking Utensil Drawer Organizer - Expandable Utensil Organizer for Drawer
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Cooking Utensil Drawer Organizer Tray, Soft Grip, Non-Slip Kitchen Drawer Organizer, 3 Compartments
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Refrigerator Organizers
2nd Kitchen Organizing Essential: Now it's time for refrigeration organization. These deep acrylic bins (affiliate) help with daily cooking and using up all your supplies without waste. Here are some refrigerator organizing essentials.
Refrigerator 8 PACK Stackable Bins (3 sizes)
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Refrigerator Organizer Bins - 8pcs Clear Plastic Bins 12.5 inch deep
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I also use these bins in my freezer for frozen fruits and vegetables. I also use the next image in the fridge that I use for yogurt and individual hummus containers.
Read more about refrigerator organization here: Refrigerator Organization.
Lid Organizers
3rd Kitchen Organizing Essential: Lids organization. I bet you thought I would say Pots and Pans. While pots and pans are essential, lids are the ones that tend to clutter the cabinet because, without a system for them, they will not stay clutter-free. Here are some essentials for your lids:
Lid Organizer: Kitchen Organizer for Plates, Cutting Boards, Bakeware Cooling Racks
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Lid Organizer: Retro Shaw Expandable Bamboo Food for Cabinet
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Lid Organizer: 2 Pack Pot Lid Organizer Rack, 6-Tier Pot Lids Holder
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These lid holders have a cut-out for the handles. Great idea. 
They slide out so you can reach the larger lids in the back. They also can be hung on the back of the cabinet door. 
Plastic Storage Bags, Storage Organizers
4th Kitchen Organizing Essential: Storage for bags. Our Kitchen has storage containers and bags to keep our leftovers. My most recent post talks about how to make your own DIY Food Storage Bag Holders. Check it out by clicking on the image below.
Bag Organizer for Kitchen Drawer Foil and Plastic Wrap Organizer with Cutter
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Silverware Drawer Organizers
5th Kitchen Organizing Essential: Silverware organization. We all have a silverware drawer. Some have large drawers; others have small ones. The image below to the left is for a large drawer, and the image to the right is for dividers that can be customized for smaller drawers. I find that it's easier to fit dividers in smaller drawers when you can add individual divider pieces to the drawer.
Kitchen Drawer Organizer - Silverware Organizer - Utensil Holder
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Can Organizers
6th Kitchen Organizing Essential: Aluminum can organization. We all have a variety of cans in our pantry (affiliate) — some stores have more cans than others. Many can use organizers that can only fit in 15-inch deep cabinets. So, to add cans to upper 12-inch deep cabinets, you will need to use items like tier shelves (affiliate).
Canned Rack Organizer for Kitchen and Pantry, Holds Upto 36 Cans, Chrome Finish
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Baking Pan Organizers
7th Kitchen Organizing Essential: Baking pans To help keep your baking pans at bay, I like these dividers that you can place inside your cabinets. They are lovely and help keep my baking supplies upright. And, when I need, say a cookie sheet (affiliate), I just need to pull out the cookie sheet (affiliate) and don't have to worry about the rest. Easy, right?
![Image of Dividers: Cutting Board Organizer, [2-Pack] Cutting Board Holder Rack Baking Cookie Pan Sheets Cooling](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41FHBVAZ-ZL._SL500_.jpg)
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Junk Drawer Organizers
8th Kitchen Organizing Essential: Junk Drawer Aw, the infamous junk drawer! This one needs an excellent organizer to manage. I particularly like the one below. I bought it for my kitchen, then realized there was a lip on the edge, so it just didn't fit in my drawer. Darn. I ended up getting dollar store wire drawer bins similar to the ones below.
To help you manage your junk drawer, here is my What to Keep in the Junk Drawer post.
Drawer Organizer 12 Pieces Plastic 3 sizes
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Drawer Organizer Tray for Vanity Cabinet (Set of 10)
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Spices and Herbs Organizers
9th Kitchen Organizing Essential: spices (affiliate) and herbs. Spices (affiliate) and herbs are my favorite. I have almost all of them and have organized them in a few away. I have a drawer that holds the most frequently used spices (affiliate) and herbs; then, I have a cabinet.
Spice Rack Adjustable Spice Rack Organizer, Pull-Down
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Spice Rack Cabinet Caddy for cabinet
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Spice Rack Pull Out Organizer with 20 Spice Jars
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Three Tier Non-Skid Spice Pantry Kitchen Cabinet Organizer, 15-Inch
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Here is my post about Organizing Spices and Herbs. Feel free to check it out.
Paper Management in the Kitchen
10th Kitchen Organizing Essential: Paper Management Now, the dreaded paper! We all have an area in the kitchen that holds paper. It could be a place for bills or kids' activities. I preferred to make a customized paper sorter. Below is a post that may help you organize your papers in your kitchen. I hope you visit them and leave a comment if you have time. DIY Magnetic Chalkboard Weekly Paper Sorter
I hope this post on kitchen organizing essentials inspires you to organize your kitchen. I know there are a lot of essential tools (affiliate) in the kitchen, but they can be arranged a bit at a time.
Here are some additional articles about kitchen organizing tips.
15 Quick Tips for Keeping an Organized Kitchen
20 Clever Products for the Most Organized Kitchen Ever
Please note these are affiliate links through Amazon (affiliate), and at no additional cost to you, I will earn affiliate fees if you decide to make a purchase.
Below are some more kitchen-organizing posts you may want to visit!
Now it is your turn; what is your favorite kitchen organizing tool that you can't live without? Please leave a comment below.
Sarah Soboleski says
What a great idea for a blog series! I have those clear, plastic fridge bins and love them!
Sabrina says
Thanks, Sarah for commenting. =) They are awesome bins.
Natalie Gallagher says
I'll be sure to link to this post when we declutter and organize the kitchen in my 2016 Organize and Refine Your Life Challenge. Great round-up of products for each of the kitchen zones
Sabrina says
That's awesome, Natalie. Thank you.
Regina Sanchez says
I as well love to organize kitchens. There is so much to be creative with. I love how you segmented the kitchen in areas and gave visuals. Very helpful.
Sabrina says
Thanks, Regina.
Hilda Rodgers says
These are great products and ideas Sabrina! I've been using one of those dividers in my deep drawer for bakeware and it's so much better than piling everything up.
Sabrina says
I totally agree, Hilda.
Liana George says
Great post Sabrina! Love that you included paper organization in this list! So many people dump their papers in the kitchen and that can often get overlooked in a list like this. Great resources and visuals!
Sabrina says
Paper is my biggest pet peeve. I don't want to loss anything so keeping it organized in the kitchen works great.
Jamie Steele says
I love the active file box in the kitchen. Before I had a box for sorting in the kitchen the mail would pile up all over the counters. Now with the active file box I can put my hands on what I need quickly and efficiently. My husband is even on board with it. Thanks for the great kitchen organizing tips.
Sabrina says
It's one of my favorite projects. I can place all my kids actives in the appropriate month and know where it is when I need it. =)
Andi Willis says
I LOVE my magnetic knife holder I was so happy to get rid of the bulky knife block. I've even given them as gifts before.
Sabrina says
It was one of my favorites before I had a drawer for my knives.
Jill Robson says
Kitchen's are my all time favourite to organize, I grew up around professional kitchens, they are also the hub of the house.
Sabrina says
I totally agree, Jill. It's the heart of my home.
Janet Barclay says
There are only two of us and we don't buy many canned goods, but I have to admit that my heart went pit-a-pat when I saw those organizers!
Sabrina says
Me too, Janet! One of my favorite organizing projects is to organize people's kitchens. =)