Last week we showed how we painted our cabinets. Today we’re giving a full tour of how the kitchen is organized. This kitchen has roughly a quarter of the cabinetry and storage we had in our previous home, and we were a little anxious about adapting to much less countertop and cabinet space. The short version: it’s working really well. We can store everything we use regularly, and items are easy to access without digging through crowded shelves. If you’re curious about downsizing storage or enjoy peeking into other people’s cabinets, this tour is for you.
Our old kitchen felt enormous by comparison: a ten-foot island with storage on three sides and perimeter cabinets on all four walls. I think that kitchen had 36 cabinet doors and 15 drawers. Our current kitchen has only 7 cabinet doors and 5 drawers (in both kitchens, the two under the sink were false fronts). So that’s roughly 51 pieces of storage versus 12. Many of the new drawers and cabinets are shallower than our previous ones—just wait until you see the drawer next to the stove—so we had to be thoughtful about what to keep and where to put it.
To be fair, our old kitchen had more capacity than we actually needed. Neither of us is that into complicated cooking or baking, so our kitchen items have always been fairly streamlined. In the past we even stored non-kitchen items in the kitchen—tools, backpacks, extra accessories, and holiday décor. If you want to see how we organized our old kitchen, take a look at that post.
The good news is that we’re thriving in this smaller space. We pared down before the move, then did a little more sorting once we arrived. This kitchen comfortably holds everything we want and use. I emphasize “we” because storage needs vary: some readers will look at these photos and ask, “Where’s your crockpot? Blender? Stand mixer? Coffee maker?” Some of those appliances we never owned, and others we donated before the move. Downsizing is about being honest about what you actually use.
We cook and eat at home most days, and this setup has stood up to regular use better than we expected.
A major help has been adding two shelving units next to the fridge. You may have seen them in our first kitchen post—they used to live in our old office. They added eight large drawers and some open shelves, which balance function (plates, glasses, mugs, bowls) with a bit of décor (plants, vases, books). We use the four left drawers as our pantry—many readers wanted to know where we store food—and the four on the right mostly hold tools, just like in our previous house. If we ever need more kitchen storage, those tool drawers could move elsewhere in the house and free up space for kitchen items.
Everything else is organized into the seven cabinets and five drawers, plus the two floating shelves we added to the back wall. Let’s start with the small corner cabinet between the stove and the utility closet. It houses our olive oil and a jar of salt—simple and convenient because it’s near the stove. A small plastic bin catches any drips so the drawer stays clean.
Below that is a narrow cabinet that works well for standing up our plastic cutting boards, a cookie sheet, a muffin tin, and cooling racks. We downsized in a few areas—only one cookie sheet and one muffin tin are necessary for us. The warming drawer under the stove stores shallow pans and a griddle.
Pots and pans live in the larger cabinet on the other side of the stove. We already owned a wire shelf rack to make stacking easier, and we added an inexpensive back-of-door lid holder to keep lids organized. Those two simple additions stopped the pots from turning into a noisy, nested puzzle every time we needed one.
Our pots and pans are a compact set that suits our cooking style. We also lined cabinet bottoms with a clear non-sticky liner to protect the fresh white paint.
The large drawer above that cabinet holds flatware and a few big knives, organized with an adjustable bamboo utensil tray we used in our old home. The sink cabinet contains everyday cleaning supplies—sponges, cloths, trash bags—sorted into mismatched bins we already had. Those freestanding wire shelves and a clear divided lazy susan make everything easy to reach.
Two back-of-door wire organizers were already installed when we moved in and have been invaluable for small items. We removed them briefly to repaint the cabinets and put them back afterward.
On the back wall there are also two small floating shelves that hold frequently used items—like a strainer, measuring cup, and tea kettle—conveniently located above the stove. Plates and glass mixing bowls sit on the other side, moved closer to the work triangle for easier access.
Turning 90 degrees right brings you to a shorter run of cabinets that’s actually one large cabinet with three narrow drawers. We made the most of the narrow spaces with bins and boxes: foil and sandwich bags in the left drawer, knives and measuring spoons in the middle (kept in small plastic bins), and a compressed junk drawer on the right with bamboo organizers. Some items moved to other rooms—batteries and glue are in the tool drawers; stamps and address stuff live in a dresser by the door—so the junk drawer is smaller than it used to be but still functional.
The three cabinets you saw in our cabinet paint post now hold Ikea white plastic bins that fit nearly perfectly. They create clear zones: one for overflow snacks, one for glass food storage, and one for spices and oils. The upper shelf stores extra glassware and a baking bin. The cabinet extends into a corner behind the dishwasher, but it’s awkward to reach so right now it holds spare empty bins—because we always have bins.
We’ve had requests to show the bathroom sink cabinet, the linen closet outside the bathroom, and the HVAC closet to the left of the stove—so we may do a follow-up post. One thing’s for sure: there will be bins.
P.S. You can catch up on our entire Florida house renovation in the post archive for that project, which covers our bedroom, kids’ rooms, family room/office, bathroom, and outdoor updates.
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