Key Points
- Sort kitchen gadgets by how often you use them to keep daily items accessible and reduce clutter.
- Use clear bins or labeled baskets to create dedicated storage for rarely used tools and avoid duplicates.
- Organizing by frequency of use makes your kitchen more functional and ensures you use what you own.
No matter the size of your kitchen, wasted or unused space can be a frustrating thing. This is especially true if you’re storing culinary items you don’t need daily, but still need often enough to keep somewhere in your home.
So, how do you stow away these kitchen accessories when they still require a spot in your home? We tapped in a few pro organizers to get their advice.
Meet the Expert
- Michelle Muller is a professional organizer and the founder of The Order Edit by Michelle.
- Kara Salazar Mauzy is a professional organizer and the owner of Sorted, LLC.
- Jackie O’Brien is a professional organizer and the owner of Clarity Through Organization.
Sort by Frequency of Use
Dmitry_Evs / Getty Images
The first thing you should do is pull down your gadgets and sort them not by how often you use them.
“Daily use items should live front and center, while seasonal and occasional tools—think holiday bakeware—can be grouped together in a dedicated low-use zone,” says pro organizer Michelle Muller.
While it might feel strange to separate items of the same category, it will make your kitchen far more intuitive and less cluttered on a day-to-day basis.
It can also help you avoid accidental duplicates. By grouping things by use rather than type, it should be easier to spot-check if you have what you need when you need it, Muller says.
Create a Defined Home
Iuliia Efimova / Getty Images
The problem with most rarely used gadgets is that they don’t have a defined home. That’s why Muller suggests not just stashing them back in your cupboards, but instead, giving them a more dedicated space.
“The most effective solution is simple containment like clear bins or labeled baskets,” she says. “When everything is grouped intentionally, it’s easier to find what you need without overfilling your primary cooking space.”
Before switching over to this system, take a look at what you have and assess how many bins or containers you’ll need for your rarely used gadgets.
“A casual home cook might only need one small bin for specialty items while an avid cook or entertainer would benefit from more accessible and categorized storage methods,” Muller says. “I always design and organize around behavior.”
This is the best way to guarantee your system has longevity, and that your items are used in the right rotation.
Create Dedicated Holiday Bins
GMVozd / Getty Images
Just as you store your holiday decor in a dedicated spot all year round, professional organizer Jackie O’Brien suggests doing the same for any holiday kitchen accessories.
“For example, store the turkey roasting pan, turkey baster, gravy boat, apple corer, pie dishes all together in a bin,” she says.
This also works well for barbecue items you’ll only use in warm weather, or a dedicated birthday box you can take out when each celebration rolls around.
Keep Things Accessible
Star Tribune via Getty Images / Contributor / Getty Images
It might be tempting to store your rarely used gadgets up high or tucked away, but as pro organizer Kara Salazar Mauzy points out, this approach usually leads to ‘out of sight, out of mind.’
Plus, if it’s a heavy appliance, like a food processor or standing mixer, you’re just creating a headache (or backache) for your future self.
It also might be tempting to relocate these items to the basement or the garage, but this just decreases your chance of ever using the gadgets at all.
“If space is an issue in the pantry or kitchen, add a metro shelf or small side board to store less used and bulky appliances there,” Salazar Mauzy suggests. “For smaller gadgets, under shelf baskets or shelf risers create vertical storage space for any cabinet.”
