By Christina Morton DesAuguste

Christina is the founder and CEO of The Organizing Company. She’s been organizing professionally since 2013. She has a background working with kids and teenagers, as well as in retail. Her current saving grace during the pandemic: bubble baths.

The kitchen is where everyone wants to be. Even if you have an awesome open floor plan, no one ends up in the living room or dining room at a party; they’re always centered around the kitchen. I’ve personally tried at parties to put food and drinks on a table away from my tiny kitchen to try to draw people to another area. But to no avail. People got their food and wandered back to the kitchen to eat and mingle. Oh well. At least we can prepare for that by creating a really organized kitchen that not only is great for entertaining (not much of that going on these days), but that functions well for day-to-day life. This is Part 2 of a little series with a few of our top tips to get your kitchen in order. 

Today’s tip: Zone it.  

We’re going to go into a little more detail about zones in the kitchen. Think of the main things you do in the kitchen, or the main categories your kitchen needs to store. Usually, that’s a prep zone, cooking zone, baking zone, dishes & serving zone, appliance zone, kid zone, food storage zone, bar zone, beverage zone (coffee/tea), and pantry (if you don’t have a standalone one). Storing things together within their zone means you aren’t running all over the kitchen to get items for the same task. It helps you (and your little helpers) remember where things go because you know they must go within a certain area. Here’s an in depth look at each of these zones. 

Prep Zone + Appliance Zone

This is for all those things you use to prepare and cook a meal (besides the actual food). We do like putting this relatively close to the fridge, so you can take food out, place it on the counter, and then do your chopping/prep right there. I also like it by the sink so I can wash my hands after handling meat or rinse off something sticky. But don’t get too hung up on that if it doesn’t work with your layout.

The things that typically end up in this prep zone are: cutting boards, knives, gadgets (peelers, graters, can openers), measuring spoons/cups, prep bowls, and whatever spatulas/utensils you use to mix and prepare things before putting them on the stove. Some people like their spices in the prep zone. This is great if you are a recipe follower (me!) and not spontaneous with your spices. If you like to taste test at the stove and add a dash of this or that (my husband!), you’ll probably like your spices closer to the stove in the cooking zone.

If you have a large kitchen, I would also recommend having your cookie sheets and baking dishes in the prep zone, even if that means it’s away from the stove. I’m such a rebel, I know. This way, you can prepare your food and get everything on the baking sheets and then just carry them over to the oven. Otherwise, you bring your bowls and spoons and miscellany over to the stove where it clutters up your space. Plus you have to move it back to wash it anyway (the prep zone is nice by the sink!). Save yourself some steps!

The prep zone should be close to the cooking zone, baking zone, and the appliance zone, if possible. Appliances take up a lot of space and often need to expand into multiple cabinets. At least try to have things like your food processor, blender, rice cooker, and crockpot close to where you’re prepping your food. Focus on the ones you use most and the lesser-used ones can be at the back of the cabinet, or on the bottom shelf of the pantry.

Cooking Zone

The cooking zone should center around the range and store your pots, pans, colanders, spatulas, tongs, hot pads, etc. Anything you want to be able to reach quickly while you’re at the stove. Spices and oils also fall in this category and are nice close to the stove. But see my note above re: spices!

 Baking Zone

The baking zone houses things like measuring cups/spoons (you may need some in the prep zone too, if your kitchen is large), mixing bowls, rolling pins, baking pans (keep ones that are true baking use here, like muffin tins, brownie pans, etc. The multipurpose cookie sheets can go with the prep zone if you have to split them up), and all the miscellaneous baking gadgets.

If you like to keep flour and sugar on the counter, above this section is a great place for that. If you’re not a big baker, you might just roll the measuring cups and mixing bowls (and maybe your Kitchen Aid) in with the prep zone since they are very multi-purpose and are often used for regular meals as well as baking. But if you do a lot of both, at least keep the categories close to each other so that you don’t have to run all across the kitchen and around the island to get things. I also put baking spices and staples here if possible: baking powder/soda, cocoa, powdered sugar, chocolate chips, nutmeg, etc, since I probably won’t need a lot of those things while I’m prepping a savory dinner.

Dishes + Serving Zone(s)

These categories can be combined or separate, depending on your space and your needs. The dishes area holds your dishes (duh), flatware, and glassware for everyday use. But it could also be expanded to house actual serving dishes, platters, oversize bowls, etc that are used for big dinners or when company comes.

I definitely recommend having traditional serving items (and china, if you don’t actually use it. But you should!) on the outskirts of the kitchen, or in the dining area. That way they aren’t taking up prime real estate you need for everyday items.

Depending on your family, you may also put your everyday serving and dishes towards the edge of the kitchen (but not in the dining room!) so that the kids/hubby can come in and grab everything to set the table without getting in the cook’s way. Some people prefer plates by the stove so they can dish up food easily. Some prefer them by the dishwasher (more on that later). You get to choose which option makes sense for how your family functions!

It’s also nice to have everyday glasses close to the refrigerator, so see if it’s possible to accomplish all those things. It won’t work in every kitchen though, so assess your needs and decide what makes sense for how you function and what you want most close at hand. Choosing proximity to the fridge and stove may trump keeping kids/family out of your way. 

Kid Zone

Speaking of kids: Kid Zone. If you have children under the age of 6, you probably have more kid-friendly plates/cups, snack cups, straws, kid flatware, etc. It’s great to have these down low so your kiddos can learn to help out getting their own plates and putting them away. Lunchboxes and kid water bottles also make sense in this area. Again, I would recommend putting this in an out of the way location, not right next to the stove, for your sake and their safety. 

Food Storage Zone

It’s often nice to have this zone next to the kid zone so that you can have all your little food storage containers right by lunch boxes and kid stuff. It makes packing a lunch easier, but makes sure your food containers are still isolated for regular storage use, not just lunches. I put Tupperware here as well as foil, baggies, plastic wrap, etc, in their own cabinets/drawers. 

 The Bar Zone. 

An important area in every kitchen. :) Your stemware and barware (corkscrews, wine stoppers, cocktail shakers) should be here. It’s great to have them close/in the same place as where your actual wine and liquor are stored. Often this is on the outskirts of the kitchen or in the dining area or butler’s pantry. If you don’t have a wine fridge where you set up your bar area, you may want to keep just a corkscrew in your gadget drawer closer to the fridge so you at least have that handy (for beer too). But in my opinion it’s not super necessary since you’re about to walk over to the bar to get your wine glasses anyway. But I’ll allow it. ;) 

Beverage Zone

Last, but certainly not least, a beverage zone. Whether you’re a coffee or tea person, it’s nice to have everything set up and accessible in one place, instead of your mugs in the kitchen and your coffee and sugar in the pantry. Set up your coffee maker/tea kettle near by the mugs. Add a drawer or a cabinet for actual tea/coffee and all the accessories: a frother, tea ball, sugar, honey, cinnamon, etc. 

 Pantry

The pantry is really a whole thing in and of itself (more on this during this series). But if you have to create pantry space in your kitchen cabinets, here are a few tips when thinking about which area of the kitchen to do this in.

Think outside the box.

A lot of kitchens in apartments, townhomes, and smaller homes have a tall, deep cabinet that they call the “pantry”. But, it’s usually as deep as my arm. So it’s not great for small things like cans of soup and it’s hard to fully utilize even with bins and containers to help because it’s so narrow. So, what if you used that space for small appliances? Or Tupperware? Or baking pans and flour, etc? Or something else that is larger or easier to see than that bag of Skittles that has been lost at the back of your pantry since Halloween.

Then, you can use an upper cabinet (or two) for food. Remember to make subcategories in your pantry like snacks and dinner prep (pasta, rice, canned goods, etc). I would have one cabinet for ready to go stuff like breakfast foods and snacks, and one for stuff that you need to mix or prepare.

Get creative and see where else you can locate your pantry items in the kitchen. If it does make sense to use the deep, skinny cabinet, some shelf risers and long skinny bins will help you keep things accessible. I’ll be doing a blog just on pantries with LOTS more detail, but hopefully this will help you determine where it needs to live in your kitchen!

The big thing to remember when creating zones is Proximity and Pairings:

Put things close to where you want to use them (proximity), and close to other things you use them with (pairings). And make sure everything has a designated place. It may not be perfect and you may be limited by your space, but using this as your guideline will mean you set up your kitchen in a way that doesn’t result in you getting all your steps in just making breakfast. Although, at least you start the day with a success! ;)

Bonus Tip: Hot take on a hot topic

Should your dishes by the dishwasher? 

Many people have been taught the rule that your plates should be in the closest cabinet to the dishwasher. I get it. It’s easy to put them away without walking anywhere. 

But if you don’t have a lot of uppers or if your dishwasher is on the island, that may be a challenge. I personally don’t care if my plates aren’t by my dishwasher, and where I’m living now, it’s hard to reach the cabinet above the dishwasher while I’m unloading. So I for sure don’t want heavy plates to deal with while I’m leaning over the open dishwasher.

So, I store them elsewhere and I make a stack as I unload and then I take the stack over to the plate cabinet (Which is a great idea even if your dishwasher is right below the plates. Save your back and make just a couple stacks instead of bending over 12 times.).

Anyway, even if it means I have to do two or three stacks, that’s not bothersome to me and I’d rather make sure the rest of the kitchen functions the way I want it to than be constricted by this idea that your plates have to be by the dishwasher. If anything, glassware makes more sense to me since you can’t stack them easily and need to make more trips. But I’d rather the glassware be by the fridge than by the dishwasher, if I have to choose.

The moral of the story: it’s all about preference. Do what makes sense for YOU and how you function. As long as everything has a place, and you easily remember where that place is, you’re organized and functional. That’s what counts. 

Let go of old antiquated “rules” about where things should go in your kitchen. Houses are designed very differently than they were when your mom or grandma taught you that, so be willing to think outside the box to find what makes sense in your space.

That’s why I focus on general guidelines and ideas, not on hard-fast rules. You may need to create more or different zones than what I’ve listed. That’s great. There’s no one right way to do it.

Do you want a little extra help as you’re organizing your kitchen? Download our free guide to Common Categories. You can use this guide to create groups (or categories) as you sort your kitchen, or any area of your home. I included examples for the 8 most popular areas, so keep it on hand for the next project!

This freebie is also great for your friend who is always saying she needs to get organized but doesn’t know where to start.

That’s it for today! Now you can start space planning your kitchen and rearranging things to make cooking more fun! Enjoy!

Happy Organizing!

Christina + The Organizing Company Team

April 14, 2021

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