Five Tips for a Better Kitchen

Get a handle on the heart of the home with these easy-to-incorporate organization tricks.

1. Countertop Essentials

Reserve counter space for items you use every day. You’ll up your kitchen’s style factor and curb the overall clutter if you pare down the items you store there to those you use most often. Try storing small appliances in cabinets and, while you’re at it, embrace the no papers, no purses rule.

2. Clear Containers

Store, or decant, food and ingredients in clear containers to easily see what you have and what you need. Bonus: The lack of mismatched labels means no visual clutter. For even more efficiency, try a stackable system, like the one shown here, to take advantage of the vertical cabinet space within a cabinet.

3. Task-Based Organization

Your kitchen will run more smoothly if items are arranged by task. Here, for example, the produce is in close proximity to the pots and pans to be used for cooking. You’ll also up the efficiency if you store items close to where you’ll use them. In this kitchen, all the cleaning supplies are kept in a single caddy below the sink.

4. Maxed-Out Cabinet Doors

Don’t forget the back of the cabinet doors! Simply add adhesive hooks and—ta-da!—extra storage. This often-overlooked piece of kitchen real estate is the perfect place to store slim-profile items such as pot lids, potholders, aprons and the like.

5. Large Cutlery Dividers

In this kitchen, use divided cutlery trays in multiple drawers, each selected for specific utensils. Look for trays with tall sides, like the wooden ones shown here, to get the most out of the available vertical space. Affix glue dots to the bottom of each bin to keep them from sliding back and forth when you open and close a drawer.

From efficient modern manufactured homes to roomy site-built abodes, all Clayton floor plans prioritize storage and functionality, especially in the kitchen.