Updated from a September 2016 Post

Kitchen utensil organization is a big problem in most kitchens. I know not only from my professional organizing days, but also as a human being who owns a kitchen. I have lots of utensils. I also live with another person who puts utensils in places they OBVIOUSLY* do not belong.

*It is not obvious at all, but what is marriage if not expecting another human being to read your mind and then getting mad when they don’t?

There are a myriad of ways to organize your multitude of kitchen utensils and gadgets. The first, and most obvious, would be a Countertop Utensil Holder (the one pictured is no longer sold, but here’s something similar). This is where we store anything that would be used with the stovetop. I know that’s kind of broad and vague. Basically soup ladles, slotted spoons, the noodle spoon, and wooden spoons.

This is not a sponsored post

The next way to organize utensils and gadgets would be drawers. You need to understand how much I love drawer organizers. I can spend hours in a Target or The Container Store holding drawer organizers and imagining how much MORE my drawers could be organized with each one. And then I put them back, because I already have a collection or unused drawer organizers at home, waiting to live in a drawer. My name is Sarah, and I have a drawer organizer problem.

The biggest issue with kitchen utensils is that they come in various lengths and sizes. They have multitudes of uses or are very specific in their use. They are used often or used once a year. All of these things make kitchen utensils and gadgets hard to categorize and store. But it most certainly can be done, without throwing everything into a drawer and hoping you don’t slice your hand the next time you’re rooting around for the item you need. Which is a holdover horror from the time I helped someone organize a kitchen drawer where they kept their knives in the drawer with all of their other utensils, just freely floating around, ready to bite the next unsuspecting victim. If you’re doing that, stop it, right now. Please.

This drawer is to the immediate left of the stove. Here were store things that are needed for the stovetop, but also could be used in mixing/baking, and salad tossing. And yes, it does bother me that I have one red pot clip, thank you for asking. The drawer organizers are all iDesign, but the middle one is an iDesign Linus 6-inch x 15-inch shallow drawer organizer. The sides are iDesign Clarity 4-inch x 12-inch, and 4-inch by 4-inch. I always secure drawer organizers with museum putty, to stop them from sliding around. This also created an open space to store the tongs.

• 

• 

The next drawer down is deeper than your standard kitchen drawer. I made use of that extra space with drawer stackers, which used to be sold at Target, but I haven’t been able to locate them my last few visits. It was this same brand, they just don’t seem to sell the individual components anymore. The back three organizers are more iDesign Linus drawer organizers, two are 5-inch x 12-inch, and the middle one is 4-inch by 12-inch.

This drawer is mostly Thanksgiving stuff, and the sous vide gadget fits nicely in the back. This is a drawer that will very likely one day be updated with more, since I don’t feel it’s living up to its full potential, but it will do for now. The organizers are also iDesign Linus, two 4-inch by 12-inch, and one 6-inch by 12-inch.

This drawer is my pride and joy because I spent WAAAAAY more time than is normal – or some might say, necessary – trying to figure out how to organize this drawer and keep ALLLLLLL of the things pictured inside of it. Having an individual organizer for each and every one of these items takes up a lot of space, and I wasn’t ever able to make it all work. Then, Google listened to my deepest thoughts and started advertising this mat organizer thingy (Home Drawer Organizer) to me. And my life has been forever changed. Mostly because LOOK HOW PRETTY.

The little “divitz” pieces stick with static electricity (or magic, probably) so you can move them around and around to your heart’s content. The mat is cuttable and really easy to clean when sticky fingers remove an item and put them back. It happens.

Now you have many ideas on how to organize a kitchen drawer. Don’t go picking up a drawer organizer obsession like I have, but do make sure that your utensil drawer isn’t going to bite you the next time you use it. You can thank me later.