Easy Tips To Create A More Functional Kitchen

If you always use your kitchen to prepare meals for the household, then you know cooking isn’t always the easiest part of your day. There is planning, preparation, and precision involved in creating memorable meals at home. While you can’t change the fundamentals of cooking, you can arrange your kitchen in a way that makes it easier to cook.

Some great ways to make your kitchen more functional include reorganizing your drawers and placing cooking tools closer to the stove. Add pull-out shelving in your cabinets and a lazy Susan in corner spaces to make items more accessible. Consider installing a magnetic strip for knives and LED lights under your cabinets. Create an open counter space for food prep and label your pantry so everything is easy to find. 

No matter how you prepare food, cooking will inevitably take time out of your day. While you can’t eliminate prep time, there are all sorts of ways you might not have thought of to make your kichen easier to cook in. Below is a list of effective DIY methods you can try to help make your kitchen more functional.

14 Tips To Make Your Kitchen More Functional 

1. Rethink What You Store In Each Drawer

One big mistake people make when they organize a kitchen is placing items in the wrong drawers. If your silverware is located on the other side of where the plates and bowls are kept, then you have a problem. Instead of choosing what to put in each drawer at random, take the time to make logical, thoughtful decisions.

You should keep frequently used utensils near the stove, and cutlery should be kept close to plates and bowls. Coffee mugs should go near your coffee maker, and so on. The more you think through where you place items in drawers, the less walking around you’ll have to do each day in the kitchen.

2. Store Appliances Elsewhere For More Counter Space

If you have many small appliances occupying your kitchen counters, consider finding somewhere else to store them. Counter space is valuable real estate, especially in a small kitchen. Appliances like stand mixers, crock pots, and air fryers can all be safely stowed away in nearby cabinets. This will keep them clean and also create more available counter space, making it easier to prepare your everyday meals.

3. Install Pullout Shelving 

Pullout shelving can be a game-changer, especially for those with limited storage space. If your drawers are stationary, it is usually hard to reach pots, pans, and other kitchen tools located in the back of a cabinet. Pullout shelves make it easy to see and access all your kitchen tools. These movable shelves are also easier on your body, as you won’t need to bend and contort your body as much.

4. Store Pots, Pans, And Cooking Utensils Next To The Stove

When you’re cooking on a hot stove, a few seconds can make or break a meal. To avoid accidents and burned food, have all your essentials within arm's reach. Keep wooden spoons, spatulas, and other cooking utensils in a container close to the stove.

Your most commonly used pots and pans should also be as close to the stove as possible. Place stock pots, cast-iron skillets, and other cumbersome cookware you don’t use every day farther away to free up space for items you rely on.

5. Create A Designated Space For Preparing Food

You need a reliable workspace to prepare food. If you’re constantly moving decorations, bags of chips, and bowls of fruit to make room to chop vegetables, cooking will take longer and lose its allure. To make your kitchen more functional, set aside a countertop area for food preparation. Having an area cleared and ready to cook will save you time every day and help make preparing complicated meals easier.

6. Add Lighting Under Cabinets

When using sharp knives, it’s essential to have proper lighting. Poor lighting casts shadows, strains your eyes unnecessarily and makes it easier to cut yourself. One easy DIY improvement you can make in your kitchen is installing LED lights under your cabinets for extra countertop lighting. These lights will illuminate your prep area and can also make your kitchen look sleeker and more dynamic.

7. Label Shelves In Your Pantry

If you find yourself constantly rummaging through your pantry looking for one ingredient, then it’s time to organize your pantry. There are many ways you can organize this food storage area, but one effective method is to label your shelves. Labels create a seamless level of accountability and promote good habits. Finding a home for all your dry goods will make cooking easier and will also prevent food from expiring unnecessarily.

8. Add Drawer Organizers

An organized kitchen is a functional kitchen. One easy and incredibly effective way to help organize your kitchen tools is to install drawer organizers. Adding compartments to your drawers lets you separate items by category and size. This is another way to give every kitchen tool a specific and easy-to-locate home in your kitchen.

9. Make Your Garbage And Recycling Bins More Accessible 

You use your kitchen trash and recycling bins constantly when cooking, but they're often in less-than-ideal spots. If your trash is far from your fridge, consider moving it closer to the action. You can turn one of your lower cabinets into a pull-out trash and recycling drawer. This is a DIY project you can complete yourself, and it will help hide your trash bin and place it in a more accessible location. 

10. Keep Your Favorite Spices Near The Stove

One key to a functional kitchen is having all your staple (and secret) ingredients nearby. Cooking oil, salt, pepper, and all your favorite spices should live within arm’s reach of the stove. This allows you to start cooking quicker, without having to gather the same ingredients night after night. Consider keeping a small spice rack or carousel near your stove to make it easier to season each meal.

11. Install A Magnetic Strip For Knives

Having your knives visible and close by is a great way to speed up cooking. A magnetic knife strip is the perfect addition for those who have kitchens with limited counter space. These magnetic strips let you reach any knife at any time without taking up counter space.

12. Use Vertical Space More Effectively

To create the most functional kitchen possible, make the most of every square inch of the room. Using vertical space, particularly areas high above, to your advantage is a great way to maximize your kitchen. Store items you rarely use, such as holiday plateware and specialized baking tins, in hard-to-reach places, such as the area between the top of the cabinets and the ceiling. This will free up more space in your eye-level cabinets.

13. Add Lazy Susans To Corners To Maximize Space

Corner spaces in the kitchen can be tricky. They are sometimes hard to reach, and often become places where you store and forget about Tupperware and kitchen gadgets. To make the most of these awkward spaces, consider adding revolving shelving or lazy Susans to your kitchen corners. These platforms make it easy to access all the items you store in these hard-to-access locations.

14. Consider Open Shelving Instead Of Cabinets

For those with limited storage space and impractical cabinets, consider removing cabinet doors to create an open shelving concept in the kitchen. Open shelves not only make your kitchen look bigger, but also make it much easier to locate and reach what you need while you cook. Having your shelves in plain view also gives you further incentive to keep your items organized and tidy.

Final Notes On How To Create A More Functional Kitchen

Cooking doesn’t have to be a complicated daily routine. Instead of working in a chaotic kitchen, you should make the room as user-friendly as possible. Some of the best ways to make your kitchen more functional include rearranging where you place your kitchen tools and putting the items you use most often closer to your stove. Set aside a specific area of your counter for food prep, and keep it clear at all times. Use your vertical and corner spaces more effectively, and consider installing pull-out shelves to make all your kitchen tools and gadgets visible and accessible. 

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