Kitchen Drawer Organization

Are you someone who likes organization? In my mind it is something that should be simple but for some reason it can be harder then it looks. I love looking on IG and Pinterest for organization ideas. There is so many pretty pictures with perfectly organized pantries or closets. I would love to have a IG worthy pantry and closet or even drawers in the kitchen. Most of the pictures look amazing but for different reasons would not work in my home.

In my kitchen I have a couple drawers with all the kitchen cooking utensils. They are large and awkward items that were a headache to find in a hurry. Because it wouldn’t all fit in one drawer I was constantly opening both drawers to find items. Things just got put into whatever drawer had room. I know some people have crocks on their counter with the kitchen utensils. That is a great way to simplify the messy drawer but wasn’t what I wanted.

The Best Dumpster Find

When we moved into our house there was a lot of building going on around us for a few years. One of the bonuses of living in a growing neighborhood are the many dumpsters. When the builder has several houses on the go there is a dumpster in front of each house. They are meant for the builders scraps and trash. Monte and I often went on walks around the neighborhood. We would always look inside the dumpsters for hidden treasures.

There is always wood scraps that come in handy when you have a need but there are times you can find real gems. Monte showed up one day with two boxes that had shelves or sides to kitchen cabinets. They were the exact wood and color of what we have in our kitchen and bathrooms. We assumed they were extra or an error so they pitched them into the dumpster. Still in their boxes in perfect shape.

When Monte brought them home I didn’t know what we would do with them but figured they were too good of a find to not hang onto.

Drawer Organizers

One day while I rifled through my kitchen drawers looking for something opening one drawer after another I had the idea to cut the cabinet scrap we had and make custom drawer organizers. At the time I had 4 drawers driving me crazy. The ‘junk’ drawer with pens, sharpies, scissors, clips, keys, calendar etc. The utensil drawer with spoons, knives, forks and serving spoons. This draw had a cheap organizer in it but it wasn’t ideal. Then the two cooking paraphernalia drawers.

I wanted to make them custom so I pulled everything out of each drawer to see what I had and the best way to utilize the space. Each drawer had different needs so the design would be different.

This worked brilliantly. I was able to see what would fit where and design around the needs. It was a great time to wipe out the drawer and get rid of a few things I never used or had too many of.

Utensil Drawer

We started with the utensil drawer which seemed like the easiest to figure out. Organizing like utensils together didn’t seem like a hard job. Also seeing the different lengths helped figure out the space. I also knew what items were most important to have easily accessible and which items could be pushed to the back of the drawer because they were only needed on occasion.

The Junk Drawer

I sure hated my junk drawer. It housed several items that I like to have on hand but was a catch all. Every year my mom and dad give us a calendar that I still like to have around to see a big picture of whats going on. They are roughly the same size each year so that space was easy to figure out. The trickest part was the pens, pencils, nail clippers, rubber bands, sticky note pads. I could go on and on with this list. I like to keep our keys in this draw so I designating a space for them, a space for writing utensils and a space for all the miscellaneous items worked out best. There is also room at the back of the drawer for a few things that I don’t use often but still wanted to keep.

The best thing about organizing the junk drawer is pulling everything out, seeing what you’ve got and getting rid of unnecessary items.

Cooking utensil drawers

The two drawers with all the cooking utensils was a bit more challenging. I didn’t think I had an exorbitant amount of cooking utensils but when they were all pulled out it seemed like plenty. After pulling everything out I got rid of items I never used then decided how I was going to group things together. I’m not one to keep things I don’t use but there are a few items that are used occasionally but still nice to have on hand.

Grouping

When the items were spread out on the counter it was easier to see what I had and how I wanted to group them. The item I have the most of are wooden, stirring and cooking spoons. I also had a few tongs. You would think one would be enough but there have been several times when I needed two or three tongs for a meal. I decided those items would work in one drawer which left the other drawer for the more awkward shaped items.

The items in the second drawer are individual items but are different size and take up more space.

I also put dividers along the front of each drawer to house the small items that always work their way to the back of the drawer. They may not be used every day but it’s been nice having them contained up front.

The end result

This project was 100% free. Thanks to my husbands dumpster diving skills. I love and appreciate these custom organizers in my four drawers. They fixed a problem I had and made my life so much easier.

I have one remaining piece of material and a couple bathroom draws that could use some organization. I’ll have to get on that soon.