How to organise kitchen shelves
We have come a long way with learning how to declutter your kitchen and countertops. By now all benches are cleared no “non-kitchen related” items are on the surfaces. This helps with a feeling of achievement, there are some clear (physical and psychological) results of your hard work. I want to make sure you are encouraged and proud of your achievements before we start with learning how to organise the kitchen shelves.
How to declutter your kitchen shelves?
We now need to do a more “traditional declutter” let’s go through each cupboard in our kitchen and look at all the items. I encourage you to check the shelves. If these items are still in good condition, etc.
Let’s dive into those cupboards, look at the shelves and create order in the chaos.
2. Items to let go - when you declutter your kitchen shelves and cupboards
Time to declutter, clearly items that you should consider letting go are:
Chipped crockery
Non-matching crockery or glassware
Food gadgets that you don’t use
Plastic containers that have had their best days
Containers without lids
Don’t worry about food; we will look at this at a later stage, when we organise the pantry or the fridge.
On this page - (how to get rid of clutter) - I talk through different options to dispose of the items you no longer need and want.
For kitchen items, they will most likely fall into two categories:
Broken or bad quality – this will go in the bin
Good quality but not wanted – this can go to the second-hand place
Be realistic in what you keep; crockery and containers you don’t use or like need to go. Even if they are good quality or in the past, Aunty Suzy gave them to you. The kitchen is high-end real estate; keep only what you use and like*.
*Note: In the kitchen, many things have a clear function even if you don’t like them; if they add to a functioning kitchen, they can stay. Here is where I differ from other organisers: you don’t have to love every item you own in the kitchen for it to stay. I don’t love my can opener, yet I am glad I have one.
Let go of items and enjoy the reclaimed space in your kitchen.
Items to give away
If you find items when you declutter your kitchen that are still in very good condition, say a crockery set you don’t use. Give it to a second-hand shop, you might make someone very happy. The same applies to too many forks, knives, cups, etc.
It is better to share the love than to have clutter in your kitchen.
As with any organising and decluttering project, I suggest you have a plan. In the secret to organising, I teach you how to break down a big project like organising your home in smaller chunks. You could do this on a micro level with the kitchen. List the areas you have or draw it.
Ask yourself: which area is more cluttered than other areas?
Start with the easy areas and work on the hardest or most cluttered spaces last. I want you to build up momentum, confidence and start seeing success very quickly.
Different ways to declutter your kitchen shelves and get the job done
3. Different ways to declutter kitchen shelves
Start with the easy areas
Dive into the first available cupboard
Work your way left to right
Work Top to bottom
Easy areas first
In terms of decluttering countertops and kitchen shelves, I like the last option best; you get better and better at decluttering and can see your earlier (easier) achievements. If the job feels overwhelming, you can also start with an easy cupboard, say crockery. Over time you work your way through the kitchen to the harder areas, say the feared third drawer in the kitchen. If your cupboards are okay, you can start on one side of the kitchen (e.g., left to right, clockwise) and open the top cupboards/shelves first, then work your way down.
The first cupboard you see
This is the least preferred method because you don’t have an overarching plan for how you'll start and finish organising your kitchen shelves and cupboards. It can be a recipe for getting overwhelmed and for the space getting more cluttered.
Work your way from left to right
When I worked with clients, working from left to right was an easy, pragmatic approach; we knew exactly where we were up to and what was still left to do in the kitchen. Like the previous two options, it will look messy and disorganised for a while, but you know the plan. This will help you see beyond the mess and assess where you are up to when decluttering your kitchen shelves.
Work from top to bottom
Depending on your kitchen, you can combine top-to-bottom and left-to-right. This allows you to systematically work your way through the kitchen. Another way is to do all the top shelves left to right, then the bottom cupboards. As long as you have a plan, you will be able to see beyond the mess that decluttering generates.
I assume you have been able to find a way to declutter the kitchen that most appeals to you; you have written it down or have this clear plan in your mind. Let’s dive into the kitchen!
4. How to organise your kitchen Shelves?
You are now left with only things you like, use and work in your kitchen. We are ready to organise these kitchen shelves, and this brings us back to the idea of flow.
The key question now is what do you do in the kitchen?
Actually walk through a typical day.
Think about the location of items.
Where
Do you make the cups of tea and coffee?
Is the kettle?
Are the cups?
Ask yourself if these spots are the best location for these items.
How and when do you make the lunches?
What do you need access to (e.g. chopping board, food items, dishwasher)
In what order do you need access,
Can you step through these items in the kitchen?
Where is the dishwasher
What is the fastest way to empty it?
Do you need a drying rack?
Dinner time
Let's move on to later in the day, when you cook dinner..
Where are the pots and pans
Your plates
The knives and forks
This seems very pedantic, but if you don’t think through these questions, you get the results of not thinking it through. Meaning you don’t know where items go, or they might make your food prep and cleaning up very difficult. Swapping the locations of items where they are most used and easiest to access is very important and creates the elusive flow in your kitchen. This in turn will make the kitchen organised and help maintain it. After you spend time setting this up, you simply follow the system – no thinking required anymore.
Do you like this post?
You’ll love the book “How to organise your home and paperwork”. I’ll explain the Essence of Clarity organising system which will help you breakdown decluttering and organising in simple and manageable steps.
Hopefully you have a few kitchen drawers
Here is a quick video on how you can organise these drawers.
5. Making the kitchen shelves and counter look organised
We are finally getting there! Here we look at how to make the kitchen shelves and kitchen counter look and feel organised. This final step is super easy now. You have items that have the same function or are the same. Group them together: plates, cups, glasses together look organised.
Where possible, close the cupboard doors, close the drawers, etc. This makes it look organised as well.
I suggest you have very little variation, I like what I call the concept of “same-same”. For example, coffee cups or cutlery should all be the same, as this makes it look more organised.
If you have open shelving
Try and display things like on a bookshelf, some items together, then deliberately add a different item to add interest.
Still make sure you can easily grab the plates, glasses, etc. It is function over beauty in the kitchen
Where possible, use boxes to “hide” some of your organised items, for example:
Cleaning cloths
Kitchen appliances (if they don’t look pretty)
Stirring spoons, can openers, skewers – typical 2- or 3-drawer stuff (you don’t love it, but it makes cooking so much easier).
Allowing more than the minimalism look
If you can accept some items on the kitchen counters or in your visual field, look for vertical and wall storage.
For example:
A high vase / or container to place stirring spoons in.
Hooks on the wall or on inside doors that help you hang items like oven mitts or tea towels.
Get a Lazy Susan to group some items together
Use an old dish wash rack to keep all your pan lids together
Wrapping it up
You now know how to organise your kitchen countertops and your shelves. You have learned about hotspots in the kitchen, those areas that make the space feel and look cluttered. How to approach the kitchen shelves as an organising project and what to throw. At this stage, decluttering the kitchen should be a pinch between the tips on this page and ideas on how to organise your kitchen.
When you have decluttered, you know the importance of “homes” for every item in your kitchen. You understand how this helps with the organised look and feel of your kitchen countertops and kitchen shelves. Your final step is to think about your habits and routines for keeping these spaces neat and tidy.
Let me know how you go. Feel free to send me through before-and-after shots and anything you have learned along the way.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I organise kitchen cabinets that keep getting messy?
Start by decluttering fully — remove chipped crockery, unused gadgets, and containers without lids. Then think about flow: place items near where you actually use them, so putting things away becomes automatic rather than something you have to think about.
What is the best order to declutter kitchen cabinets?
Start with the easiest cupboard to build momentum, then work through harder areas. Working left to right, or top to bottom, also works well because you always know exactly where you are up to.
How do I make my kitchen shelves look organised?
Group items by function — all plates together, all cups together — and aim for consistency rather than variety. Closing cupboard doors and drawers also makes a real visual difference, even if the layout inside isn't perfect.
Some external sources:
Here are some sites with great ideas and images.
These pages, don’t always teach you, how to do it and why you would organise your kitchen
They will however be great reads when you understand the principles described above:
I like this article giving you 7 ways to keep your kitchen counters clutter-free - https://www.thesimplyorganisedhome.com/kitchen-countertops-clutter-free/
On this site there are lots of pretty pictures with clever ideas for your kitchen counter - https://homebnc.com/best-kitchen-counter-top-organising-ideas/
Again some clever ideas and great pictures -https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/kitchen-counter-organisation-36704903
