Having moved the entire contents of our kitchen three times in two years, I grew tired of finding half-empty packets of pearl barley hiding in dark corners or emptying an entire cupboard to find the brown sugar. Before our final move a few months ago, I decided to get organised.
Pinterest provided plenty of inspiration and free templates for my three main projects:
1. Glass Storage Jars (pictured above) These jars make a striking focal point in the kitchen — the colours of grains, pulses and pasta against bold black labels look great, and keeping staple ingredients out on display rather than hidden away encourages new meal ideas and makes cooking easier.
I followed a clear step-by-step tutorial with free printables on the interiors blog A Painted Hive. I sourced large jars from charity shops, IKEA and supermarkets, then used waterslide decal paper bought online to apply the labels. I also built simple shelves with basic brackets and shaker pegs; a coat of paint hides a multitude of DIY imperfections.
2. Magnetic Spice Rack on the inside of a cupboard door
This idea also came from Pinterest, inspired by a Bob Vila slideshow. I bought magnetic spice tins from IKEA and painted half the lids with matte black paint to create a chalkboard effect, then wrote spice names with a white paint pen. Self-adhesive magnetic strips were easy to buy online and allowed me to arrange the tins on the cupboard door.
Fitting the rows so the door would close was a little fiddly, but the result saves shelf space and keeps spices within easy reach — and in my case alphabetically organised for convenience.
3. Storage Box Labels for plastic containers
I now keep flours, sugars, dried fruit, nuts and seeds in clip-lock storage containers. They keep ingredients much fresher than half-empty bags and make everything easy to find. Again, Pinterest supplied free printable labels that I printed, cut out and adhered to the containers using sticky-backed plastic sheets.
These labels aren’t waterproof, but since they’re used with dry ingredients they’ve worked fine so far. The uniform containers also create a neater, more cohesive look in cupboards and on shelves.
That’s a peek into my practical kitchen storage solutions. Simple DIY projects and a bit of planning transformed cluttered cupboards into an organised, attractive space. How do you keep your kitchen organised?