The kitchen is the heart of the home. And, when the kitchen is not running in tip-top shape, it will create problems each and every day for every family member that uses it, especially mom and dad. This week, we will be sharing the DIY organizing projects we created that you can do today and make your kitchen run more efficiently.
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The DIY organizing projects are in several areas in the kitchen, so they are divided into five zones: Kitchen Command Station, Paper Management, Pantry (Affiliate Link) Cabinet, Kitchen Cabinets, and Refrigerator. I hope this helps you get inspired to make your kitchen run better.
Kitchen Command Station Essentials
Having a useful command station will not only organize your life, but it will also help you organize your family's activities. In this DIY Organizing Project, I transformed an old magnet board that didn’t function any longer into a new command station. Visit the post by clicking below.
Paper Management in a Command Station
Paper management is vital in the kitchen. It’s usually where we drop the mail and where our kids' papers for school stay until we need them. Below are three DIY organizing projects that I created over the years to manage all my documents.
The first one is a magnet board that uses clips and label (Affiliate Link) tags. The second one is a way to file your family’s papers. It’s divided by months and can be stored in a drawer or cabinet. The third one organizes papers by the days of the week that you may need them. This helped with permission slips and making sure the kids have what they need when they need it.
The below current weekly paper sorter helps manage the papers that are needed for a particular week. They will take items of the piles in the kitchen and display them in a functional way.
Instead of paper in a pile for long periods of time, we can now sort them by months and topics. The DIY project below will help you organize papers during the year. It's divided into a few months per folder.
A place to store your small things in your command station.
**Update 2023** This DIY project I created was made from planters. Below are two DIY projects I created to organize pens/pencils and sticky notes (Affiliate Link).
I found this planter at Michaels and wanted to make it more useful! Click on the image below to see the DIY project.
**Update 2023** Planters are a great way to organize things. Here's another planter I converted into a place to store pens and pencils. It can easily be used to wrangle the small things in the kitchen.
I went to a flea market and found these three wooden flower boxes (Affiliate Link) with liners. I was able to get screw them together, and with the liner, it covers the screws. Click the image below to see the tutorial on how I made it.
Now, on to the pantry (Affiliate Link) area. This area is looked at and pulled from almost every day. It’s a place where we can store the access supplies.
Pantry DIY Essentials
The Pantry (Affiliate Link) DIY project includes having a place to write your grocery list and meal planning for the week. The next post talks about how to label (Affiliate Link) mason jars (Affiliate Link) easily and quickly. The final pantry (Affiliate Link) post talks about creating a checklist (Affiliate Link) for the herbs and spices (Affiliate Link).
Labeling mason jars (Affiliate Link) can be difficult, especially if they have raised writing on the jars, which they usually do. Below is a way to adhere to the mason jar (Affiliate Link) labels (Affiliate Link) that will stay for a long time.
On to the next area, the kitchen cabinets can get very messy. Organizing the items in the drawer will really help you keep your kitchen organized.
Kitchen Cabinet Essentials
Another area to organize in the kitchen is located in the kitchen drawers. The post talks about steps on how to create a large drawer organizer (Affiliate Link) made out of wood.
The spice drawer (Affiliate Link) is the next area you can do on your own to make your kitchen run more smoothly. This one is an easy DIY tutorial I did in my kitchen to help us see all our spices (Affiliate Link) in one drawer when we needed it.
In our cabinet, we have other spices (Affiliate Link) that need to be stored. So, I did a DIY project using this pull-out spice drawer (Affiliate Link). It was really handy, and I could create a divider between the vinegar and the hot sauces.
Organizing your beverage cabinet is helpful. You can easily find water bottles and sports bottles, making it easy to find things on those busy mornings.
Another cabinet to organize is your baking supplies. Below is another DIY tutorial that shows you how to organize the baking supplies vertically.
Another area to organize in the kitchen is the refrigerator. It’s where we pull all the items and make our meals, so it needs to be well organized.
DIY Refrigerator Organization
Other DIY organizing projects include organizing the refrigerator. This project was a way to organize large drawers in the refrigerator.
I hope these DIY Organizing Projects help you get your kitchen running more efficiently. I hope your family appreciates it.
What is your favorite kitchen DIY organizing project that you completed in your kitchen? Please leave a comment below.
Below are some posts I found that also talk about kitchen DIY organizing projects.
15 Kitchen DIYs That Take One Hour Or Less
Janet Schiesl says
When my kids were young we had a combined command center and paper management. It worked great. Everyone in the house knew that's where all the info was communicated. We have a laminated monthly calendar, acrylic pockets for school papers, and mail and a note pad to leave each other messages.
Lucy Kelly says
I love using mason jars, and those are some nifty labels you found!
Phaedra Studt says
Oh WOW! So many fun projects. I really love the chalkboard on the inside of the cupboard drawers. It's so cool to see the usage of otherwise dead space. I've even seen some projects that add hooks to the inside of cupboard drawers for measuring cups and spoons.
Julie Bestry says
Look at all these amazing DIY kitchen organizing projects. It's hard to pick, but I think my favorite is the DIY Chalkboard Pantry Doors. (I'm no good at anything DIY, but I'd love to have you come to my place and make such a nifty thing.) Great job!
Seana Turner says
My favorite room to organize, and projects like these are so rewarding because we live in our kitchens. Having a place to corral the papers and keep them off of the cooking surfaces is such a great tip!
Sabrina Quairoli says
I totally agree! Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Seana!
Linda Samuels says
So many fun projects you shared to make the kitchen function well as the household hub. I love how much you love DIY projects.
It's so funny because when I look at our command center these days, it has changed radically now that we're empty-nesters. The only thing it includes is one magnetic paper pad on the refrigerator where my husband and I write things needed at the grocery store or CVS. That way, when it's time to shop, the list is already made. It's our easy-peasy communication system.
When kids are involved, there are so many more pieces to coordinate and track.
Sabrina Quairoli says
I know what you mean. My command station is different from when the kids were here too. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Laura says
SO many great tips in one post! The kitchen truly is the heart of the home so having a sense of organization definitely helps the day-to-day family life run a lot smoother. Pinning this post to so I can keep referencing all of these great ideas!
Diane N Quintana says
A command station in the kitchen is so necessary for a busy family. I love your suggestions and particularly your ideas for meal planning and grocery shopping. You make everything sound so easy and doable!
Ronni Eisenberg says
You are the DIY queen! It’s fabulous that you can do these home projects.
I liked how to label a mason jar. I guess I’m a newbie to chalkboard tape. Yet it looks so easy. It’s also clever to use the glass containers for organizing a refrigerator draw. It should work for other drawers too, junk, jewelry, makeup.
You have plenty of good ideas here.
Sabrina Quairoli says
Thank you for stopping by and commenting, Ronni! I'm glad you enjoyed the post. =)
Lisa Gessert says
Loved this, the kitchen is the hub of our home and our lives, some great suggestions here! While I mostly work with paper people the kitchen often comes into play as many pay their bills from a kitchen table/desk. I love the DIY's too!!
Sabrina Quairoli says
The kitchen is the heart of our home too. Working with clients is one area that I love to do because of the instant gratification that the clients get using it every day. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Lisa!