This organized kitchen tour is sponsored by The Container Store. All words and opinions are my own.
Moving into a new home, I wanted to get systems set up in place from the start, especially in the kitchen. It’s one of the areas of our home that is used most often, so I wanted to make sure it was organized as well as possible to meet our family’s needs. This kitchen has way more cabinet storage than the last one, so that’s why we have some empty shelves and drawers available. I’m always fine with having extra space! Before the move, we went through and really paired down the gadgets and extra cooking items that we realized we never really used. To eliminate a lot of the clutter that happened to accumulate in our last house, we kept to organizing just the essentials. This really helped ease the setup and simplify our kitchen storage in general.
As a busy mom of four, although I consider myself a pretty organized person in general, I will admit that now a days it’s not something I excel at. Time is a commodity and I just can’t find the time like I used to. That’s when I reached out to Katie from Room for Peace Organizing to help me with setting up a system that made sense for our household. What would have otherwise taken me days to complete, Katie had done in just a few short hours. We worked together to maximize the space and with The Container Store‘s products we were able to come up with an extremely functional and streamlined system for our family.
BUTLER’S PANTRY + CLOSET
Let’s start with my little butler’s pantry in the back left corner of my kitchen! We use this counter space as our breakfast bar and the pantry/cabinets for the kids. I really wanted to keep it simple for them so the little ones weren’t always raiding my cabinets looking for stuff. They have one cabinet that I put the Elfa mesh drawer in to make it extremely accessible for them to grab what they need for a drink, snack, or meal. This is where we keep their plastic tumblers, bowls and plates, as well as water bottles to take with them outside to play. We’re trying to promote a little more independence, especially from the older boys, and so far this has really helped with that.
The tea drawer makes me all sorts of happy – just look how organized it is!
I thought using this diagonal in-drawer organizer for storing baggies and aluminum foil was absolute genius!
the way my kids stare into the pantry contemplating their next move.
In the closet, I keep all of our bulk items to the top along with any extra chip bags that just don’t seem to fit. You can see that all of the kids snacks and breakfast items are on the lower level, making it easier for them to reach. I keep my dry goods, like soup cans, extra condiments, pastas and rices on the middle shelf – at eye level for my chef because we all know if it’s not in front of his face, he won’t be able to find it. 
these oxo pop slanted jars are perfect for things like beef sticks and granola bars!
The acrylic bins are a total game changer and I ended up using them throughout the entire kitchen! They come in both single bins and divided, which was helpful to contain things like crackers and ramen. They also have ones specifically for cereal that I use for the kids’ Cheerios and our loose granola. The stackable open front bins worked out perfectly for the kids’ sized lunch bags of goldfish and chips, making our mornings quick and easy when getting ready for school.
COOKING STORAGE
One important piece of information I should mention here is that I’m not the cook in our house. That honestly benefits us all, but my husband is a phenomenal family chef so none of us are complaining. He does a lot of his prep work beside the gas range while he’s cooking, so I wanted to make sure he had everything he would need close by. A tip from Katie (that never crossed my mind) was to use these acrylic turntables inside the cabinets to help make all of his go-to ingredients easily accessible. It eliminates the need to reach deep into the cabinet for something like an oil or sauce when you can literally spin it and conveniently see everything at once. We also unboxed and decanted things like flour and sugar into these pretty ceramic canisters from The Container Store x KonMari line and I purchased these pantry labels to stick on the front to make it as straight forward as possible when you opened the cabinet.
Labels are the perfect way to know exactly what’s inside your canisters. On the plus side, it also makes them look really pretty!
I hated having to store our big appliances because in the past, the only cabinets we’ve had big enough were over the fridge for a . It was always fun trying to get them down without taking someone out simultaneously. Now, I love having a large bottom cabinet directly beside the stove. It made the most sense for us to store all of these bulky things in it and it’s also made them easily accessible for our weekly use. Smoothies were something we loved doing, but honestly most days I would skip it just because I didn’t feel like pulling down the blender. Not anymore! It’s ridiculously easy to grab it, use it & put it away and I’m happy to report that nothing falls on my head while doing it!
If you’re in the middle of designing a new build or even renovating your kitchen, do yourself a favor and add in a ton of drawers. We have two deep drawers under our range that are perfect for all of our pots and pans. I also keep all of the colanders, cheese graters, and rolling pins in the bottom one for easy access. It’s a simple thing that has honestly made such a difference in our day to day. And another thing to note is it makes the washing, unloading and putting everything away afterwards an absolute breeze!
love this TCS x Marie Kondo tall canister for storing dried pasta noodles!
SPICE STORAGE
So, lets talk about spice cabinets for a minute…. Spices were something that were always an after thought for me. Most likely because I rarely cook, but also because I never realized how streamlined they really could be. I just kind of shoved them all into a small cabinet and hoped for the best. It never failed though – when you’d be in need of one, it was always all the way in the back and impossible to find. It also never came out without 6 others falling onto the stove. SCRATCH THE CABINET – again, all hail the drawers! I present to you, our new spice drawer 
While a little shallow, it did make finding the perfect spice jar hard to come by. I used the TCS x Marie Kondo expandable spice rack to organize them and I think it’s safe to say, I’m in love. Never did I think I’d feel so passionately about spices! Just look at how pretty they are with such a simple and affordable fix. I’ll never go back to the old way, that’s for sure.
TABLEWARE STORAGE
To keep all of our silverware in place, we used this stacked bamboo flatware tray to segment the drawer into zones. It’s really cool because not only does it keep things organized, but it also looks like it could have been built into the drawer. I keep all of our older knives and large serving spoons on the lower level, while all of the everyday pieces are easily accessible on the top. I love how clean of a look it gives and how easy it is for my kids to get their own place setting for dinner at night!
Katie helped us come up with a system for all of our glassware that makes it so easy to see everything we own!
FRIDGE STORAGE
The refrigerator, though, was an area that never made my weekly cleaning routine. What happens in the fridge, stays in the fridge was my motto. But moving was the perfect excuse to stop these bad habits right in their tracks and start fresh. I carried the same system from my kitchen cabinets into my fridge and I couldn’t be happier! The acrylic bins worked out perfectly for containing things like salad dressings and cheese sticks. I use the Yamazaki slim basket to wrangle loose produce and in our middle drawer, I use the ceramic bottle holders to keep our wine and Ningxia bottles from rolling around.
The Container Store is literally a one-stop shop and I was able to find everything I needed right on their site. They have all of the kitchen essentials you need to maximize space in a variety of styles and price points & the new Marie Kondo kitchen line of products brought just the right amount of style + aesthetic to this space for my design loving heart.
I can’t tell you the kind of peace and satisfaction I have now from keeping an organized and tidy home. The kitchen is truly the heart of our house, so it was important for me to get this project done first. Now that we’ve found how happy it’s made all of us, it’s on to the NEXT one! Our master closets are currently getting their full storage overhaul and I can’t wait to share those with you soon. In the meantime, here are a few miscellaneous kitchen details: The counters are **** and we absolutely love them. The floors are Mohawk Revwood in Cotton Knit Oak and the wall paint is Frosty White by Sherwin Williams. The cabinet hardware is Richelieu transitional metal pull in Champagne Bronze and our backsplash is Daltile Brickwork glazed porcelain plank 2×8 in the color Studio .
I’m so happy I was able to find everything I needed to complete this project at The Container Store and it’s even more important for you all to know that The Container Store’s annual Kitchen and Pantry Sale is going on through April 18, so there’s really no better time than now to tackle your own kitchen and pantry!!
