Best Organization Ideas for Small Kitchens

If you have a tiny kitchen and are needing some help having a place for everything, then you need to read this post on best organization ideas for small kitchens. Hopefully you’ll find some helpful ideas to make your kitchen more functional and the homey place you have always wanted!

These are some of the best organization ideas for small kitchens that I have found to help our kitchen run smoothly and efficiently!

These ideas are not always what works for everyone but in general have a very good chance of fitting that need in your own kitchen:

1. Do a kitchen declutter. Get rid of whatever you don’t regularly use
2. Use cabinet shelf racks
3. Get and over – the – door rack organizer- both for large doors and cabinet doors
4. Install a spice rack on the wall
5. Use a mug holder
6. Use an over – the – sink dish drying rack
7. Make use of walls with open shelving
8. Keep counter spaces cleared off and reserved for work area

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When I think of a kitchen, I picture the beauty and simplicity of a homemaker industriously preparing a dish for her hungry family, a candle burning on the table and a loaf of bread or a cake cooling on the table. And although the atmosphere and home may be a busy active place, the kitchen is the center of the home; the place of fun family memories and where everyone converses together and enjoys each one another company.

In order to help us gain these (maybe too high ideals?) or experiences for our own home, it is helpful to have the kitchen in a working order and “easy to use”. If the appearance of the kitchen is too cluttered and disorganized, that mood will reflect onto the rest of the house as well as the wonderful people living inside of it.

Here is a following list of helpful items for you as you consider the best organization ideas for small kitchens that will fit your own individual needs:

1. Do a kitchen declutter

Purge and get rid of anything you’re not using consistently or that you really just don’t HAVE to have. Get a box out and then go through each cabinet, shelf and drawer. Donate what you don’t need and for what you do need, find a storage place like the garage or basement for overflow. Make sure you mark and label your boxes so you know what is in them. You can use clear storage totes also for your extra items.

2. Cabinet racks

I have this one set of cabinets that is the only place for my plates, bowls, glasses and a few other random dishes that don’t have anywhere else to take residence. The other cabinets house the baking ware, food items and other kitchen necessities.

These wire racks are very helpful for small cabinet spaces. I don’t like stacking small plates on top of big plates, or several layers of glasses on each other. That makes it very challenging to get things out or to put things away with one hand, as many of us mom’s do. Not to mention it looks cluttered and accidents seem more common place. However, I still have to do this in some areas where space is extra limited. You can utilize these racks in your pantry and other kitchen areas as well. Click here to purchase these space saver shelves. You will feel more confident and positive after adding these to your cabinets.

3. Over the door storage racks organizers

If you have limited space for extra kitchen incidentals, then these might be exactly what can help provide that little bit of additional storage space. There are various sizes and options available out there to pick from that are specific to your need. I have racks that go over cabinet doors and also over the basement door which is right off the kitchen. I will list below what I use the different racks for and what I store on them.

Over the cabinet door:

I have one of these over the cabinet under my sink that I store extra scrubbies, sink strainers and brushes on. The second place I have one is on another lower cabinet where I put extra kitchen and cooking items. Potholders, silicone molds, small baking pans and muffin tins are some things I have stored on this rack. Click here to check out this organizing rack for your own home!

Over a large door (I use my basement door)

When I was on my search for the best organization ideas for a small kitchen, I stumbled upon this idea on Pinterest and jumped on it right away! It has been THE answer when I need a little extra spot to put something. So, So happy with this investment.

On this rack I store so many extra things that don’t really fit into my kitchen cabinets. Some are more of closet type items and not even kitchen related. This over- the- door rack in particular is very beneficial and useful to me and is a great set up for our family. When it arrived in the mail I assembled it right away! I was so excited and couldn’t wait to get it set up and organized for our family.

Some things that I store on our over- the- door rack:

Water bottles (This is great! The water bottles hold up really well and are easy to get out and put away).

I don’t like water bottles rolling around and falling over in cabinets and since I don’t have a lot of drawer space (only two in my kitchen, in fact!), this rack is a perfect storage system for the water bottles.

Some other things I store here are extra boxes of bags, plastic ware, napkins and anything else random. It can diversify for us depending on the season and what we have going on. (In the summer when we go on more picnics and hikes, I store snack bars, paper and plastic ware, drinks, etc. Click here to get yours. The relief I got when I assembled this and started utilizing it was phenomenal! You’ll feel the same way I’m sure!

4. Spice rack

This is the second most valuable to us item I found when looking for best organization ideas for a small kitchen.

Since I don’t have a lot of cabinet space (oops I already said that), having this mounted spice rack on the wall is a real space saver. Ours is right next to the stove which is super efficient. While I’m cooking I can grab spices I need very quickly to add right to the pot, and put it right back on the rack without taking hardly anytime. Extra spices (I like to buy in bulk) get stored in the basement. Click here to purchase your own spice rack. You’ll wonder how you ever manage with out it, plus your cooking process will go much smoother!

5. Mug holder

During the winter especially, we seem to go through a lot of mugs. Between drinking a lot of tea and some coffee and having guests over, it is always nice to have plenty of mugs on hand. Having a holder like this eliminates the overflow from them piling up too tall in the cabinet, or even being stored directly on the counter. Not to mention extras in the dishwasher!

I keep my mug holder placed by our coffee maker. Click here to get your own mug holder to save on cabinet space!

6. Over -the – sink drying rack

When we first moved in to our small home, I placed the dish drying rack on the counter next to the sink where it would automatically go. After a little while of analyzing my dish washing process, my small space to work in and how to make things work more efficiently, I realized that a drying rack that would go over the sink would allow me more surface area on the counter to work with. I found mine at Home Goods but I am linking a similar one on amazon.

Note: You may be wondering that if the dish rack is in/over one sink, then how do I wash and rinse the dishes in just one sink?

I fill the sink about 1/4-1/3 full of soapy water for washing and when the item is ready to rinse I just turn the water on to a slow stream and then shut it off again after I rinse the dish. Or just keep it running on a low stream. Another option is to have the rack sitting on a drying mat or towel on the counter so you have two sinks to work with and when you are done, lift the rack into the sink. This works fine, but the only downfall is that dishes shift and rearrange when you move it so you might need to re situate things.

The dishwasher is always a back up option for a drying rack. You might also wonder why not just use the dishwasher if I have one? I do on occasion but not regularly. One was to save on electricity is to cut back on running appliances like the dishwasher or dryer.

7. Utilize wall space for open shelving

Take a look around your kitchen. Are there walls with open areas that would make nice shelving storage? This would be a key way to utilize that space and provide additional storage. My husband custom stained our shelves to match the oak cabinets. Go for whatever your taste and style is. These are great accent decor pieces as well as storage. Win win! Click here for open shelving.

A few simple shelves help to give space for storage. You’d likely want to keep it neat and organized of course since it will be very visible. Be creative and use the items you are storing as decor. Some examples are a stack of pretty dessert plates, a jar of beans, a plant, and so on. Keep it simple. Don’t add extra decor, turn what you have that you use regularly into a pretty item to display.

8. Keep counter spaces cleared off

Keeping your counters as cleared off and free of unnecessary items and clutter is key for having a neat and tidy looking kitchen, plus having as much counter space to work on as possible.

I really struggled with this in the beginning and still do sometimes. It’s hard to know what should be kept on the counter and what shouldn’t be, especially when you have limited space inside the cabinets.

Here are some pointers that help me:

If I use it regularly (like more then 2-3x a week) then it can stay on the counter (if there’s no other space for it in a cabinet). Examples are:

toaster (use almost daily)

cooking utensil jar (use daily)

butter dish (use daily)

coffee pot and grinder (use daily)

knife set (use daily)

That about sums up what has residence on my countertops. Everything else is in what little cabinet space I have or stored somewhere else.

Cut back on excess kitchen items. In other words, keep it to a minimum. I try to stick with the basics when it comes to kitchen gadgets. But there are some really fun and neat ones out there and kitchen items are often gifted, so I really do enjoy using what I have. I just don’t rush to buy the newest and greatest that I see. Some kitchen gadgets are definately very clever and time saving so there are some that I couldn’t even imagine doing without, but the point is, if you don’t have room then don’t accumulate a large collection!

The next point is that overflow gets stored elsewhere. Other household closets, the basement, garage, you name it. Utelize shelving options for the extra kitchen items. At our house, things like crockpots, canning supplies, stock pots and the grain mill get stored in the garage and basement.

In conclusion, here is a final list for the best organization ideas for small kitchens:

Additional organization items to make your small kitchen run efficiently:

white kitchen island

coffee wall rack

Pin for later!

Check out one of our family’s favorite breakfast recipes right here for Crockpot baked oatmeal.

Recommended recipes you might like to try!

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope this article was helpful and gave you some easy, creative and budget friendly ideas to help organize your small kitchen area!

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Hi! I’m Rebecca, wife and mother and I love homemaking and cooking on a daily basis.

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