How do I organise a kitchen?

Most kitchens are organised by where things fit rather than by where they are used, which means every task involves walking and reaching. Reorganising around task zones takes an afternoon and removes a surprising amount of daily friction.

What you'll need

• Boxes for sorting
• Drawer dividers
• Shelf risers (optional)
• Wall rail or magnetic strip (optional)

Step by step

1. Empty the cupboards and sort into keep, relocate and remove.Be honest about the pasta machine. Anything used less than monthly should not occupy prime kitchen space.
2. Define three zones: prep, cook and wash.Prep near the main worktop, cook near the hob and oven, wash near the sink and dishwasher.
3. Put everything used for each task in that zone.Chopping boards and knives at prep. Pans, oils and utensils at the hob. Detergent and cloths at the sink.
4. Store daily items at eye level and within easy reach.Rarely used things go high or low. This is the single most useful organising principle.
5. Clear the worktops of everything not used daily.Counter space is the scarcest resource in any kitchen. An appliance used twice a year should not occupy it.
6. Use drawer dividers so small items do not migrate.An undivided drawer is one large container in which nothing can be found.
7. Use vertical space — shelf risers inside cupboards, rails and hooks on walls.Most kitchens have unused height inside cupboards and on wall surfaces.
8. Store food by category and keep the oldest at the front.Simple stock rotation prevents most food waste from forgotten cupboard items.
9. Leave about 20% of each space empty.A completely full cupboard has no capacity for anything new, so new things stay on the worktop.

Tips

• Watch yourself cook a normal meal and note every time you walk or stretch. Those are the things to reorganise.
• Store heavy items low. Lifting a cast iron pan down from a high shelf is how accidents happen.
• Keep a single deliberately unassigned drawer or shelf. It absorbs the things that do not fit a category and stops them spreading.

Common mistakes

• Organising by category rather than task — All the bowls together looks tidy but means fetching from several places for one job.
• Keeping rarely used appliances on the worktop — Counter space is the limiting factor in almost every kitchen.
• Filling every cupboard completely — There is nowhere for anything new, so it ends up on the worktop and the system degrades.

Questions people ask