5 Quick and Easy Steps for Kitchen Organization
Did you know that an organized kitchen can be beneficial for our mental health? An organized kitchen that has space for everything, and a functional layout creates ease and flow when preparing meals. Clutter and chaos in the kitchen can create stress and tension when trying to find what you need or move around within the kitchen.

“They are powerful because it shows a transformation, from a place of chaos to a place of serenity and order...Given all the challenges we have faced, it's like knowing that there is a positive outcome not too far away!”
Lee Chambers, Psychologist - shared his thoughts on the viral kitchen organization videos you can see everywhere.
Organizing your kitchen can be easier than you think! The Zen team has broken it down into 5 manageable steps.
1. Declutter Your Countertop
We frequently see items such as coffee makers, cookbooks, and blenders stored on the countertop taking up valuable counter space and creating a cluttered feeling. We encourage you to create a space where you can store them and try kitchen counter organization as a focused work center, such as a coffee station with mugs, tea bags, coffee & kettle, and teaspoons all in one easy-to-access location. By simply cleaning up the countertop, you allow for more focused functionality and most importantly, less clutter!

2. Take an Inventory of What You Need
Make a list of what you use most frequently in your kitchen. Everything else should be stored in a cabinet below or above. Also, consider some of the items you have in your kitchen that you never use. Those old bowls or serving trays that you never use, that old bar set, even an old dinnerware set. Consider if these items can be boxed up and donated or put in the garage for when your kids move out. Purging items that you no longer need is a great way to create more space in your kitchen cabinets!

3. Organize Your Pantry
Good kitchen pantry organization can make it easier to find what you need when the time comes. It takes a little bit of work at first, but once it is done, you have an organized system that everyone in the home can follow. Keeping an organized kitchen pantry reduces food waste and makes finding what you need so much easier.
Our next step will give you some great ideas on how to organize your pantry:
- Place items in baskets or jars, then label each basket or jar with its contents.
- Place staples and items you use on a daily basis at eye level.
- Stacking spices on a cabinet stacking shelf is a simple but effective way to organize your cupboards for easy access.

- When you store pasta, rice, and other grains in neat baskets or custom-made jars, you can easily lift them out.
- Arrange jars of spices and herbs in cabinets using sturdy baskets, rather than rifling through your spice selection and becoming increasingly frustrated, grab the basket and have a quick scan.
- If an item is heavy, place it somewhere low down; otherwise, you will never bother taking it out again for fear of it falling on you.

- Items that you only use on rare occasions, such as posh cutlery for a dinner party, should be stored in a clearly labeled box and kept in a cupboard, ready to be removed on the occasion they are required.
- Try corner kitchen cabinet organization ideas with user-friendly movement accessories for easy access to waste-prone blind corners. Lazy Susan is perfect for kitchen appliances as you can turn the base to reach each item.

Zen Living provides a lot of modern kitchen storage organizers to help your kitchen cabinets to be more optimal and functional!
4. Maximize Kitchen Storage
You can add up to 50% more storage space in a cupboard simply by optimizing the layout, but most of us stick to the way we threw things together when we first moved in. Because clutter causes stress, it makes sense that an organized cupboard is just one more step toward a calm kitchen.
Have you realized that your kitchen drawers have frequently gotten disorganized? Some kitchen drawer organizers can help you arrange and get everything easier. If you do not make use of movable shelves, you are wasting a lot of kitchen space. Consider adding a new shelf or moving tins around to create more storage within your kitchen cabinets if you have a shelf of tins with large gaping space above them.

We all love those food storage container sales, but do you really need ten of each size? Take an inventory of what you have vs. what you need. Recycle what you do not need and organize what you have.

Tip: This is an excellent time to make the switch to glass storage containers. Glass containers can be heated repeatedly without fear of chemicals leaching into your food, and they will not absorb dyes and odors from tomato sauces or turmeric-heavy dishes.
5. Think Practical
Thinking practically not only makes your regular kitchen tasks easier but also more efficiently distributes your less-used items. Making use of baskets and bins are great ways to save space. Moving less frequently used items to harder-to-reach areas allows you to put the daily items in places that are easy to access. Organizing food in your pantry based on frequent use is also a good idea. Items that you only need from time to time should not be front and center. Also, arranging the contents of your pantry in categories is a great way to keep everything in its place.

There are some kitchens that just do not have enough storage space. If your kitchen needs a good upgrade, it is time to stop by our Calgary Zen Living showroom; we have plenty of cabinets and countertops, as well as staff with great ideas to help you tame the clutter and design a beautiful and functional kitchen!
Schedule a FREE design consultant to see one of our design professionals.
Appointment times are available from 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM from Monday to Friday or 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM on Saturdays.
“They are powerful because it shows a transformation, from a place of chaos to a place of serenity and order...Given all the challenges we have faced, it's like knowing that there is a positive outcome not too far away!”
Lee Chambers, Psychologist - shared his thoughts on the viral kitchen organization videos you can see everywhere.
Organizing your kitchen can be easier than you think! The Zen team has broken it down into 5 manageable steps.
1. Declutter Your Countertop
We frequently see items such as coffee makers, cookbooks, and blenders stored on the countertop taking up valuable counter space and creating a cluttered feeling. We encourage you to create a space where you can store them and try kitchen counter organization as a focused work center, such as a coffee station with mugs, tea bags, coffee & kettle, and teaspoons all in one easy-to-access location. By simply cleaning up the countertop, you allow for more focused functionality and most importantly, less clutter!

2. Take an Inventory of What You Need
Make a list of what you use most frequently in your kitchen. Everything else should be stored in a cabinet below or above. Also, consider some of the items you have in your kitchen that you never use. Those old bowls or serving trays that you never use, that old bar set, even an old dinnerware set. Consider if these items can be boxed up and donated or put in the garage for when your kids move out. Purging items that you no longer need is a great way to create more space in your kitchen cabinets!

3. Organize Your Pantry
Good kitchen pantry organization can make it easier to find what you need when the time comes. It takes a little bit of work at first, but once it is done, you have an organized system that everyone in the home can follow. Keeping an organized kitchen pantry reduces food waste and makes finding what you need so much easier.
Our next step will give you some great ideas on how to organize your pantry:
- Place items in baskets or jars, then label each basket or jar with its contents.
- Place staples and items you use on a daily basis at eye level.
- Stacking spices on a cabinet stacking shelf is a simple but effective way to organize your cupboards for easy access.

- When you store pasta, rice, and other grains in neat baskets or custom-made jars, you can easily lift them out.
- Arrange jars of spices and herbs in cabinets using sturdy baskets, rather than rifling through your spice selection and becoming increasingly frustrated, grab the basket and have a quick scan.
- If an item is heavy, place it somewhere low down; otherwise, you will never bother taking it out again for fear of it falling on you.

- Items that you only use on rare occasions, such as posh cutlery for a dinner party, should be stored in a clearly labeled box and kept in a cupboard, ready to be removed on the occasion they are required.
- Try corner kitchen cabinet organization ideas with user-friendly movement accessories for easy access to waste-prone blind corners. Lazy Susan is perfect for kitchen appliances as you can turn the base to reach each item.

Zen Living provides a lot of modern kitchen storage organizers to help your kitchen cabinets to be more optimal and functional!
4. Maximize Kitchen Storage
You can add up to 50% more storage space in a cupboard simply by optimizing the layout, but most of us stick to the way we threw things together when we first moved in. Because clutter causes stress, it makes sense that an organized cupboard is just one more step toward a calm kitchen.
Have you realized that your kitchen drawers have frequently gotten disorganized? Some kitchen drawer organizers can help you arrange and get everything easier. If you do not make use of movable shelves, you are wasting a lot of kitchen space. Consider adding a new shelf or moving tins around to create more storage within your kitchen cabinets if you have a shelf of tins with large gaping space above them.

We all love those food storage container sales, but do you really need ten of each size? Take an inventory of what you have vs. what you need. Recycle what you do not need and organize what you have.

Tip: This is an excellent time to make the switch to glass storage containers. Glass containers can be heated repeatedly without fear of chemicals leaching into your food, and they will not absorb dyes and odors from tomato sauces or turmeric-heavy dishes.
5. Think Practical
Thinking practically not only makes your regular kitchen tasks easier but also more efficiently distributes your less-used items. Making use of baskets and bins are great ways to save space. Moving less frequently used items to harder-to-reach areas allows you to put the daily items in places that are easy to access. Organizing food in your pantry based on frequent use is also a good idea. Items that you only need from time to time should not be front and center. Also, arranging the contents of your pantry in categories is a great way to keep everything in its place.

There are some kitchens that just do not have enough storage space. If your kitchen needs a good upgrade, it is time to stop by our Calgary Zen Living showroom; we have plenty of cabinets and countertops, as well as staff with great ideas to help you tame the clutter and design a beautiful and functional kitchen!
Schedule a FREE design consultant to see one of our design professionals.
Appointment times are available from 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM from Monday to Friday or 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM on Saturdays.