https://www.chefspencil.com
  • Login
  • Register
  • Recipes
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Seafood Recipes
    • Beef Recipes
    • Pasta Recipes
    • Dips & Spreads
    • Dessert
    • Pork Recipes
    • Side Dish
  • Chefs
  • Food News
    • News
    • Guides
      • Gifts & Product Guides
      • Food Substitutes
        • Cheese Substitutes
    • Lists
  • Food Atlas
    • Asian Cuisines
    • African Cuisines
    • European Cuisines
      • Central European Cuisine
      • Northern European Cuisine
      • Eastern European Cuisine
      • Southern European Cuisine
    • Middle East Cuisine
    • South American Cuisine
    • North American Cuisine
    • Central American Foods
    • Caribbean Cuisine
    • Food Alphabet
  • Culinary Schools
  • About Us
  • Recipes
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Seafood Recipes
    • Beef Recipes
    • Pasta Recipes
    • Dips & Spreads
    • Dessert
    • Pork Recipes
    • Side Dish
  • Chefs
  • Food News
    • News
    • Guides
      • Gifts & Product Guides
      • Food Substitutes
        • Cheese Substitutes
    • Lists
  • Food Atlas
    • Asian Cuisines
    • African Cuisines
    • European Cuisines
      • Central European Cuisine
      • Northern European Cuisine
      • Eastern European Cuisine
      • Southern European Cuisine
    • Middle East Cuisine
    • South American Cuisine
    • North American Cuisine
    • Central American Foods
    • Caribbean Cuisine
    • Food Alphabet
  • Culinary Schools
  • About Us
  • Home
  • Amazing Kitchens
  • How to Organize Your Kitchen Cabinets Like a Chef

How to Organize Your Kitchen Cabinets Like a Chef

Posted on Jun 18th, 2020
by Chef's Pencil Staff
Categories:
  • Amazing Kitchens
  • How To’s
Beautiful kitchen

Chefs are busy individuals who always work on the basis that time is of the essence. To enable swift movement and ensure they are functional and efficient in the kitchen, chefs must maintain a systematic working environment.

A few tricks chefs keep up their sleeves help them make optimum use of space and stay organized. Learn these tricks, and you’ll be cooking like a pro in a professional kitchen.

Kitchen
Kitchen; Photo by Becca Tapert on Unsplash

Getting Started

Before organizing all your tools and appliances, make sure that you have sturdy storage units. Your cabinets should be of premium quality to ensure they last longer and keep your essential and expensive tools and appliances safe.

There are a lot of places where you can find good storage units. For example, purchasing wholesale cabinets at Kitchen Cabinet Kings, you can be sure of getting high-quality, all plywood kitchen cabinets, at discount prices too.

White kitchen cabin
White kitchen cabinets; Photo credit: Kitchen Cabinet Kings

Once you have enough cabinetry, before using them for the first time, make sure to wipe down the shelves, countertops, and cabinets with a good multipurpose cleaner to sanitize the area. 

If you aren’t buying new, make sure all your kitchen appliances are working. Fix those in need of repair or replace those that are unusable.

Sort all Your Tools

Remove everything from your kitchen. Now decide which items you are keeping and which you really need to throw away. Try to declutter by removing unnecessary or excessive items to give more space inside your cabinets. They shouldn’t be filled tight as you need room to easily maneuver items inside.

Remember to sharpen your knives and sanitize your dishware before storing them back inside your cabinetry. This can prevent damage to both your cabinets and utensils.

Kitchen Cabin Storage
Kitchen Cabin Storage

Placement is Key

What makes a good working kitchen is placing the right items in the right cabinet. 

If you have a pantry, store in it as much food as you can so you’ll have more space for your tools in other cabinets. If you don’t have one, keep your food in the kitchen cabinets close to your countertop. 

It’s best to store spice, condiment, and other storage containers in the cabinets above your workstation, so you can easily access them when prepping. As for your glasses, mixing bowls, cutting boards, and other dishes, keep them near the dishwasher or the drying rack for faster clean up and storage. 

Condiment Containers
Condiment Containers

Keep larger cooking items like pots, pans, mixers, and baking sheets in the lower cabinets. You can maximize space by placing pans on their side and keeping pots nested together. You can also store the lids vertically inside a larger container. 

You should keep cleaning supplies under the sink. If you have shelves, place cleaning supplies that can tip over or leak on the bottom shelf. To avoid contamination, never keep cleaning supplies above or in the same cabinet as your food items. Remember to childproof the area if you have kids or pets to prevent accidents.

If you don’t have any space underneath your sink, you can store harmful cleaning supplies in the bathroom. If your bathroom doesn’t have cabinets, or you’re considering replacing old ones, check out online bathroom cabinets for other storage options to keep your house extra organized.

If you live in a small apartment and need more storage space outside your home, consider renting out a storage unit in a nearby self-storage facility. You can find plenty of self-storage units on StorageCafe.com or other marketplaces.

Bathroom Cabinet
Bathroom Cabinet; Photo credit: Kitchen Cabinet Kings

Categorize and Separate

Have a separate drawer for utensils near your workspace countertop. A separate storage area will give you easier access to tools such as spoons, spatulas, and knives when prepping your meal.

You can also categorize your cabinets by keeping food items in your hanging cabinets, appliances and tools on countertops or in lower cabinets, and plates and tableware in tall cabinets.

Storing dishes
Storing dishes; Photo credit: Pinterest

Prioritize Frequently Used Items on Countertops

Countertops are best for items that you use all the time. Placing the things you frequently use on your countertops saves you time when retrieving and storing items as they are readily available at your fingertips.

Keep certain foods, serving platters (like holiday-themed dishware), cookbooks, and appliances that you rarely use inside cabinets to avoid kitchen clutter. 

Be Neat and Label Things

Try storing most of your items in transparent containers if you’re storing them inside your cabinetry because this will allow you to easily access what you need.

Comdiment labels
Comdiment labels; Photo credit: Online Labels

To avoid confusion between similar-looking ingredients or condiments, label the containers. You wouldn’t want to put in salt when you need sugar. Try to keep labels readable and facing out. Lining up the containers and stacking bowls and plates in order of size will give a clean and more organized look.

Keeping Things Tidy

Professional kitchens maintain their cabinets and organize them regularly. Try to go through your cupboards and do a complete overhaul at least once or twice a year.

You should also clean and sanitize your cabinets as you go and do a weekly quick decluttering. Regularly cleaning your cabinets will keep your kitchen mold and pest free.

Organized cabins
Organized cabins; Photo by Ellen Auer on Unsplash

You can always set a reminder for a monthly organizational plan to help you maintain your kitchen’s professional look.

Takeaway

Preparing and making delicious meals is more comfortable in a well-organized kitchen space. You can also focus more on practicing your skills when your kitchen is efficiently and professionally maintained.

Kitchen
Kitchen; Photo by Dane Deaner on Unsplash

Rest assured that by following the tips above, you’ll have the maintenance and cleaning habits of a top chef.

Chef's Pencil Staff

Our editorial team is responsible for the research, creation, and publishing of in-house studies, original reports and articles on food trends, industry news and guides.

Featured Recipes

Red Velvet Waffles
Red Velvet Waffles
Greek Chicken Soup
Greek Chicken Soup
Healthy Berry Bowl
Power-Packed Berry Yogurt Bowl
Zucchini Quick Bread w Garlic Labna
Zucchini Bread with Garlic Labneh
lemon blueberry oatmeal cups
Lemon Blueberry Baked Oatmeal Cups

2009-2024 © Chef's Pencil   Privacy Policy & Terms of Service  Contact us