What is the Best Way to Organize Cabinets?

Almost all houses come with cabinets in the kitchen, garage, and other rooms for organization and ease of use, but these spaces are only useful if they are organized well and function efficiently. Following some simple steps to organize cabinets in your home will help you use the space well and provide you with more free space you probably didn't know you had.

The first step you should take to organize cabinets in your home is to pick one set of them--perhaps in the kitchen--and pull everything out. Sort through what you have taken from the cabinets and decide what you need, what you don't need, what you use often, and what you use rarely. If you find things you never use and don't need, get rid of them! Throw them out if they are no longer usable, or donate them to a shelter or local Goodwill. Cabinets typically have a deceptively large amount of space in them, so when you organize cabinets in your home, you may find items that have been hiding out in some dark corner. Getting rid of these items will free up some valuable space.

Step two involves taking a good hard look at what you are going to put back into the cabinet space. To effectively organize cabinets in your home, start by taking the items you rarely use and put them farther back in the cabinets. Items you use sometimes or all the time should sit toward the front. This way, you will not find yourself having to dig through a sea of seldom-used items to reach something you use all the time.

The third step to organize cabinets in your home is to organize by weight. Heavy items should go on lower shelves, making them easier to pull out when needed. This also prevents the danger of heavy items falling from high shelves, potentially causing injury. Lighter items should go on high shelves; apply the same principle above: if the item is seldom used, place it farther back, higher, and out of the way. Use eye-level cabinets for items you will access regularly.

Another method to organize cabinets effectively is to group items according to their intended purpose. For example, if you are trying to organize cabinets in your garage, keep all your tools in one set of cabinets. Then, in another cabinet, keep all your paints, varnishes, and stains. In another cabinet, put all of your car care products and spare parts, if possible. Organizing by purpose will help you remember exactly where to find a certain item quickly and without hassle. In spaces like garages, it may be helpful to label each cabinet using masking tape and a marker to indicate what you will find inside.

Once you organize cabinets in your home, you may find you have created extra space in those formerly-cluttered cabinets. Don't rush to fill them again; over-filling your cabinets causes clutter and will keep you from using the space effectively. Having a little extra space in your cabinets will allow you to move things around inside them without disrupting the order and organization of the entire cabinet.