Jonathan’s Best Kitchen Organization Hacks
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The kitchen can become a zone of pure chaos if we don’t keep things in order, and that’s true no matter how big or small your family is. With all the ingredients and cooking supplies to organize; produce and vegetables to keep fresh; and leftovers to keep track of, it’s easy to get overwhelmed in your everyday routine. But a clean kitchen can make your whole day easier. If there’s one family we trust to help us keep our cooking space neat and tidy, it’s Jonathan and Zooey—after all, we all know Zooey is an excellent chef, and The Park House kitchen is one of their favorite spots in the home. So today, Jonathan is walking us through his best and easiest tips for keeping your kitchen organized.
Getting everything organized isn’t so much the hard part here—it’s more so keeping it that way. We all know how much baskets and bins can do to help keep supplies tidy. But how do you make sure you mitigate the chaos before it starts? Jonathan is answering all these questions and more. Plus, he even has some helpful hacks on making use of every square inch of your kitchen. No matter how small the footprint, there’s always a way to make your space work better for you.
1. Keep Your Fridge In Order
Jonathan and Zooey try to keep their refrigerator organized at all times, with everything having a designated zone: Drinks on top, dairy in the middle, one shelf specifically for leftovers, and more. They make clusters with items that are usually used together, too. Bonus: Their fridge has cameras inside, so if they’re at the grocery store, they can look at the video to see exactly what they’re missing.
2. Make Use of Wasted Space
In areas where there’s usually just filler wood or awkward empty space (like the section above or beside your fridge, or a slim pocket between cabinets), consider adding in creative storage solutions. Jonathan has a hidden pull-out storage cabinet next to his refrigerator, for example, that houses all of their to-go containers, parchment paper, and other helpful supplies. He also added secondary drawers to their deeper kitchen drawers to make use of the available space that would have gone unused otherwise.
3. Separation Is Key
Use drawer dividers and cabinet organizers to separate items and keep things orderly. Having a place for everything makes clutter less possible. “It’s easier to know when and where to put things back when you have compartments for all of those things,” he says. “You can open any drawer that we have and it’s the same thing—we try and keep everything totally organized.”
4. Make It Work for the Cook
“No one knows the kitchen better than you do,” Jonathan says. “How do you use the kitchen—when you’re standing at the sink, where do you like things to be when you’re reaching for them?” Jonathan also recommends that if you have a primary cook in the household, then they should have the final say of where things go. After all, they’re the ones in there doing the hard work!
5. Set Up a System to Prevent Pantry Chaos
“The bigger the family, the bigger the meals, the more important a good pantry is,” Jonathan says. In the pantry especially, it’s so important to squeeze storage into any space possible. He recommends making everything easy to get to and easy to fill—using baskets and jars is helpful here for that reason. “Once you have a well-organized pantry, it is a lot easier to maintain,” he says, “The reason most people’s pantries turn into total chaos is because they’ve never set up that system.”
6. Take It One Step at a Time
Feeling a little overwhelmed by all the pressure? “You are not alone—everybody gets overwhelmed by storage and organization,” Jonathan says. “Just bite off what you can chew, a little bit at a time. So for example, in your pantry, maybe you start by organizing the drawers—make that a weekend project. Once you’ve got that down, you can start working on the shelves.”
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Bree Pulver
Bree is the Senior Digital Editor at DrewandJonathan.com. In the past, she’s worked for publications focused on home improvement and sustainable living. Bree’s Pinterest board is filled with cozy textures; vintage patterns; sculptural furniture; and moody, warm-toned colors. She has a degree concentrated in the intersection of writing and architecture, which influences her passion for exploring creative solutions to unusual home layouts and stylish renter-friendly decor. She’s a self-proclaimed pro at finding the best antique furniture in the most unlikely of places (but her cat Blue can certainly back these claims).
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