How to organize kitchen cabinets

3 straight forward steps to organize kitchen cabinets

I want you to take this in bite size pieces. When you tackle too big of a project at once, you wind up on the hamster wheel of home organizing. That’s when you organize the same spaces over and over again because in our culture how to keep things organized in the heat of the moment isn’t really discussed. But that is the focus. Sustaining the work that we do. If you start with that in mind and keep sustainability in mind throughout the process, you’ll find success!

And success means that when life gets out of control, you’re able to put things back together quickly and easily.

To help you keep sustainability in mind through your home organizing journey, you can download a free organizing checklist. This checklist explains 8 strategies that will help you get off the hamster wheel of home organizing for good. You can download the free checklist at www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com.

There are 3 steps to organizing your kitchen cabinets. 

Step 1 - Sort through what is there to decide what to keep and what not to keep.

Step 2 - Organize what you’re going to keep there. 

Step 3 - Sustain the work you’ve done by documenting expectations.

Let’s go deeper with each of these steps.

Step 1 - Sorting through what is currently there.

This is also known as decluttering. This can be a difficult task depending on how you feel about the things that are in your cabinet. That might sound funny, but have you ever bought some out of the norm food item specifically for this really awesome recipe that you want to try. Only to find that you never tried it and there sits that pricey item in your kitchen cabinet. There are feelings attached to that, right? You spent the money on it and you should use it. I’m not here to tell you to just throw it away because that’s a thing you have to live with and not me. We’re all different and we really need to lean into what comes naturally. If you’re not ready to get rid of something, then I believe you should hang onto it. We just have to get creative with how and where we store things.

When you’re ready to let go of things, you’ll know it! You just will.

Step 2 - Once you have sorted through all the things and know what you are going to keep you get to put it away in a logical manner. You get to organize everything. In this step it is an absolute must to focus on the function of your kitchen. That includes thinking about how you use the kitchen and the things in the cabinets. It should also include talking with others that use the kitchen too. If you organize things in a way that doesn’t work for others then you are being set up to have very messy kitchen cabinets again soon!

Things that you may agree that make sense: 

• coffee cups should be stored near the coffee maker
• If you have littles, breakables should be stored out of their reach
• Frequently used items, like plates, salt and pepper, pots and pans should all be stored in easily accessible cabinets.

If you do all the cooking, but can’t reach the spices that is not functional, is it?

Keep in mind that the way you set it up today will change because the function of the cabinets will change as you, your family and your season of life changes. When you learn the foundational elements of home organizing, you’ll be set up through all of life's changes.

Step 3 - You have to remember that you want to sustain what you put in place.

That means taking the time once you’ve sorted and organized everything, to document what you are expecting. There are 2 key documents - functional expectations and work instructions - that I share with my clients. Functional expectations are essentially stating what should happen in the area.

For example, a functional expectation is for everyone to put clean plates in the cabinet or to put the salt and pepper away after each meal. Does that make sense? How the area functions. I like to use the example in my laundry room. A functional expectation that I have for my kids is to put the dirty clothes in the laundry basket, not in front of it on the floor! It’s almost like stating the obvious. But when the obvious isn’t followed or communicated, things can quickly get out of hand. Then you are right back on that hamster wheel of home organizing! Definitely where you don’t want to be.

The second document I help my clients create in the online course, Home Organizing for Beginners, is work instructions. This tells how to do things that you expect to be done a certain way. Since we’re talking about kitchen cabinets, work instructions may include how dishes are put away. It’s a step by step. This ensures that things are done the way you want thus providing the results you want.

If you recall, I told you that I want you to take this in bite size pieces.

What that means is that you have to make an intentional decision on where to start and how much to do at once. There is no wrong way to do these steps. You could start by sorting through all the things in your cabinets first just to clear some of the clutter. If you know there are things you want to get rid of, take them out of the cabinet and make a decision of what to do with them. This gives you room to breathe and helps you build momentum and want to keep going.

You could start with one section of the cabinets and complete all 3 steps. This allows you to test out the process and learn more about how it works for you. Then you can repeat the process cabinet by cabinet.

Does that make sense? Do not pull everything out of all the cabinets onto the countertops and think that you’re going to get it all done at once in short order. When you tackle a home organizing project in this manner, you risk losing momentum and quitting with a huge mess! Then you just shove everything back in and let it go for another day.

In summary...

to organize kitchen cabinets, you’re going to tackle the project in bite size pieces. You’ll sort through all the things, organize what you’re going to keep in a functional way and document expectations so that you can get off the hamster wheel of home organizing forever.

Remember to download your free home organizing checklist at www.homeorganizingforbeginners.com so that you employ all 8 strategies throughout your home.

Instead of starting with emptying every single kitchen cabinet, you can follow these 3 steps to organize your kitchen cabinets. All in a way that works for you, your family and your current season of life.

Are you to the point where you just want someone to come into your home to get it clean and organized?

I get it. Daily life so easily has us feeling like we’re running around like chickens with their heads cut off. What if you could learn how to clean and organize your home in a truly effective and lasting way? In the online course Home Organizing for Beginners that is exactly what I teach you. It’s so important when cleaning and organizing your home to consider how you and your family live life each day. It’s a must to set yourself up for success with a home that you can whip back into shape anytime life gets out of control.

Home Organizing for Beginners will give you:

• Confidence in your ability to organize your own home. Allow your new found confidence to show your children that they can be organized too. (even though they’ll fight you on it!)
• Fool proof steps to creating a clean and organized home that you will be proud to welcome others into even when they stop in unannounced.
• Time to spend how you choose. For me the extra time has been spent with the Lord. This has helped me bring true peace and joy into my home.

To learn more go to homeorganizingforbeginners.com.