How to Organize Frequently Used Kitchen Drawers

I've been organizing clients for many years and found that particular areas in the kitchen need to be organized to make it a functional space to work in each day. A kitchen is a vital part of the home that, if not well-organized, can easily become disorganized and cause you to waste a lot of time and energy every day. Today, I will share a critical area in the kitchen: the drawers near the range. These drawers need to be organized very well, as you will most likely use them every day. It is the kitchen drawer. Whether you have several kitchen drawers or only one or two, we must organize these kitchen drawers well.

Jump to:

What items can be stored in kitchen drawers?
How to decide on which drawer to use in my kitchen?
The Organizing tools I used to organize these drawers were:
1st Drawer Reveal
2nd Drawer Reveal
3rd Drawer Reveal
4th Drawer Reveal

First, let's talk about what can be in these drawers.

What items can be stored in kitchen drawers?

There are a variety of items that can be stored in the kitchen drawers. Below is a list of just some of them.

Wooden and plastic mixing spoons
Tongs
Spatulas
Ladles
meat thermometers
Small cutting boards
Strainers
Food scoopers
Garlic presses
Jar grips
Can openers
Mashers
Meat tenderizers
Basting brushes
Tea Towels
Oven mitts
Rags
Knives
Spices (Affiliate Link) and Herbs
Measuring spoons (Affiliate Link)
Measuring cups (Affiliate Link)

And, many, many more! It's crazy how much these drawers have to do for us day in and day out.

Let's start by organizing the drawers next to the range. Kitchen drawers are where most of these items are stored for easy access when cooking. This drawer is typically located on the right or left side of the range, depending on whether you are right-handed or left-handed.

How to decide on which drawer to use in my kitchen?

The way to determine which side of the range to use is to stand in front of the range and put your hand out, and whichever hand naturally rises first, you can use that side's drawers for the most used items.

Note: Some people are left-handed, but in the kitchen, they primarily use their right hand while cooking because of the layout of their kitchen, or they just got used to doing it that way.

Now that you have determined which kitchen drawers to use for these frequently used items. Let's show you what I've done with my frequently used kitchen drawers.

The Organizing tools I used to organize these drawers were:

SpaceAid Drawer Dividers System 1 box
Brother PTD210 Easy-to-Use Label Maker
Drawer liner
Repurposed two 5-inch deep bins

These are Amazon (Affiliate Link) links to organize kitchen drawers. If you click through and purchase on Amazon (Affiliate Link), I will receive a small commission (thank you for supporting my business).

The Top Kitchen Drawer Transformation

Let's start with the top drawer. This drawer image is used every single day! It is where I store my spatulas, wooden mixing spoons, and tongs.

As you can see, it's not that disorganized. This has evolved over the years, and we have streamlined it down to these items. The reason we have a variety of wooden spoons is that they are all different sizes and types. Our tongs are also for grilling (Affiliate Link) and nonstick surfaces. Additionally, our spatulas and ladles are compatible with various types of cookware.

To improve this drawer, I decided to label (Affiliate Link) the sections using my Brother(c) label maker (Affiliate Link). It is specifically designed with various symbols to add an arrow to the label (Affiliate Link). Yay!

1st Drawer Reveal

Here's the after image. I love it! I'm a fan of the arrows when making labels (Affiliate Link). It helps give you a direction to look when labeling an area.

The Second Drawer Transformation

The second drawer down was my somewhat organized drawer. It was the one where we placed all the small items in random sections.

To improve this drawer, I added SpaceAid Drawer Dividers (Affiliate Link) System dividers to create another compartment for my grips and labeled the areas using my label maker (Affiliate Link).

2nd Drawer Reveal

Here is the finished second drawer. I love the labels (Affiliate Link). And, it works great with all the different, unique things.

The Third Drawer Transformation

This drawer was the messiest drawer. It was used for the items that were infrequently used over the course of a month. Items such as small cutting boards, food scoops, meat thermometers, and bag holders are used monthly and require a designated home.

To improve this third drawer, I added SpaceAid Drawer Dividers (Affiliate Link) System dividers and labeled the drawers. These dividers allowed me to separate some of the items, making them easier to see. I loved the notches that held the other dividers in place to keep them in place.

3rd Drawer Reveal

Here's what it looks like now. Since I only used one side to divide the drawer up, I decided to label (Affiliate Link) the side of the drawer on the left side instead.

The fourth drawer transformation.

My last drawer was never super full, but it needed some organization. It is a deeper drawer, so these organizers really wouldn't do the drawer justice. Although I didn't take a picture beforehand, these items were thrown in the drawer.

4th Drawer Reveal

The After picture below is so much more functional now. To make this drawer more functional, I added two repurposed bins that were not being used in this deep drawer and divided my tea towels from my oven mitts and rags.

That's it for now.

I hope this post helps you get your frequently used kitchen drawers organized for an effective cooking session! Please leave a comment below on tips about drawer organizing. I would love to hear from you!

These links are from Amazon (Affiliate Link). If you click through and buy something on Amazon (Affiliate Link), I will receive a small referral fee at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting my small business.