Without a doubt, our kitchen is the most-used room in our home — especially now that we transformed the eating area into a cozy living space the kids can hang out in while I cook and bake (best decision ever!)

Yup, our kitchen has seen lots of wear and tear, use and abuse over the last decade… which is why it’s so important for me to keep the counters clear and the cabinets organized in a way that maximizes my productivity and efficiency.

For anyone who might be new around here, we completely gutted our kitchen back in May of 2012, and  SLOWLY put it back together again over the next 6 months.

The renovation was a massive mess, it took significantly longer than we anticipated, and there were many setbacks (like the wrong cabinets arriving… TWICE!)

But we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our new space so much over the last 10 years that it was definitely worth the work. (NOTE: we have no plans of living through another kitchen renovation any time in the near future!

Here are a couple of fun before/after pictures to share, so you can get the feel for the layout of our space.

Soon after our big renovation, I shared a tour of our kitchen, but now… 10 years and 4 children later, quite a bit has changed!

So I decided it was time for an update! 

I’ll start with the cabinets above the refrigerator and move around the kitchen counter-clockwise — ending with the pantry cabinet.

Then I’ll circle back and show you how we organize our island drawers. 

Let’s begin with the upper cabinets.

The cabinets above our refrigerator are extra-deep (per my request) giving the illusion that our fridge is “built-in”, even though it’s not. The extra-deep cabinets also provide storage for large roasting pans and cookie sheets!

TOOLS I USE:

• Steel cabinet organizer
• USA Pan XL sheet pans (2)
• USA Pan cookie sheets (4)
• USA Pan muffin tins (2)
• USA Pan pizza pans (2)
• Presto griddle (1)
• All-Clad turkey roasting pans (2 different sizes)

The upper cabinet between the fridge and the sink is where we store all our cups, glasses, and mugs. We also keep a variety of straws and kiddie lids in here.

I requested an extra shelf for this cabinet so I could place them close together for smaller cups.

TOOLS I USE:

• Cups, glasses, mugs
• Silicone straws and lids (inside the yogurt tubs)

The cabinet to the left of the sink is where I store kitchen towels and supplies for bringing food to others.

TOOLS I USE:

• Tinfoil pans for bringing meals away
• Various size bags and twine for baked goods
• Disposable food storage containers
• Dish drying mats
• Read more about my kitchen linens

One of my favorite cabinets in our entire kitchen is my “upper lazy Susan cabinet” because it holds SO much stuff and keeps it all very organized.

As you can see by the photo below, I also keep a few measurement/weight conversion cheat sheets taped inside this cabinet. I use them regularly!

TOOLS I USE:

• Small baking supplies (flavorings, extracts, baking powder/soda, non-stick spray, chocolate chips, coconut, etc.)
• Various salts (we love Redmond Real Salt)
• Measuring cups (dry and liquid)
• Kitchen scales
• Nut Chopper

We have 2 very skinny cabinets on each side of our oven/range… it’s not the most practical storage, but it works for a few things. Here’s the one to the right of the range.

TOOLS I USE:

• Various paper products
• Vitamins
• Salt, pepper, butter, sugar

The big double cabinet above our range is really great storage… but much of it is empty right now.

TOOLS I USE:

• Oxo salad spinner
• Plastic drink pitchers
• Spiralizer
• Cookbooks (I only keep a few these days)
• Cast iron pans (those stay on the stove permanently)
• A few cooking utensils that stay on the counter too.

Moving on to the lower cabinets…

One of my favorite things about our kitchen is all the large drawers (we only had a couple of tiny drawers before).

As you’ll see by the pictures below, we definitely maximize our storage space with drawers!

Here’s how we organize the bank of drawers between our fridge and our sink.

TOOLS I USE:

• TOP: flatware and knives (my silverware organizer and knife block)
• SECOND: bags, foil, wrap
• THIRD: food storage containers (these, these, these, and these)
• BOTTOM: miscellaneous/empty

The cabinets under the sink were custom ordered to fit our extra-deep farmhouse sink (which we LOOOOOOOVE).

Because the sink is so deep and we have a garbage disposal (and various drain pipes) we don’t have much storage… but I feel we’ve maximized the space we do have.

TOOLS I USE:

• Dishwasher tabs
• Boon drying rack and MAM scrubber (both are great for water bottles too)
• Kitchen cleaning products (more about how I organize this area)
• Rubber gloves

The tiny drawer to the left of the sink is the perfect little space to store our hot pads and oven gloves because it’s also right next to the oven.

TOOLS I USE:

• Hot pads (4)
• Oven gloves (3)

The lower cabinet to the left of the sink is where we store our trashcan. I always grew up with the trash under the sink, but thanks to our big farmhouse sink, that wasn’t an option.

TOOLS I USE:

• Kitchen trash can (I love that it has clips to grab the trash bags)
• Trash bags
• EZ-fold step stool
• Dustpan and hand broom

The lower lazy Susan is another one of my favorite cabinets because it offers so much practical storage for things I use on a very regular basis.

TOOLS I USE:

• Larger baking supplies (store-bought flour, sugars, boxed mixes)
• Various types of oil and vinegar
• Potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, squash (it’s dark and cold in this cabinet, so it’s a great place for some of this produce!)  

Next up: the pantry area

This area of our kitchen is a bit awkward as there are several heating ducts and a chimney that run from the basement to the 2nd floor — all nicely hidden behind the pantry cabinets.

It was a bit of a puzzle to put this all together, but we ended up with tons of extra storage and all pipes, ducts, and chimneys hidden! Win-win!

We use the upper pantry cabinets to store snacks, baked goods, bread, and lunch packing supplies.

TOOLS I USE:

• Shelf divider
• Mason jars
• Larger baking dishes (I use them for entertaining, but not regularly so they are up high)
• Lunch bags and lunch-packing items (these are the Planet Boxes we use for lunches)
• Bulk fruits, nuts, beans, seeds
• Snacks, peanut butter, bread, baked goods

The “pantry drawers” as we call them, are the perfect out-of-the-way spot to store various tools we like to keep in the house, along with office supplies we want to have on hand in the kitchen. We use these drawers daily!

TOOLS I USE:

• Various handheld tools (left drawer)
• Office supplies (right drawer) — this is sort of our “junk drawer”.
• Drawer organizers
• Tiny storage tins

The lower pantry cabinets are extremely deep and go back behind the full pantry cabinet (to the left in the picture below). It’s not the most accessible storage space, but it’s great for holiday and seasonal items.

TOOLS I USE:

• Anolon pots and pans
• Serving trays
• Slow cookers
• Rice cooker

The upper corner pantry cabinet is probably the most difficult-t0-access cabinet in our entire kitchen, so I honestly don’t store all that much in this cabinet.

It works really well for a few large jars of grain — and as you’ll see below, this cabinet is right next to my grain mill.

TOOLS I USE:

• Half gallon mason jars for my grain
• A bin of cake decorating supplies

The little hidden countertop storage cabinet is one of my personal favorites because it has a huge amount of easily-accessible storage.

It’s the PERFECT hiding spot for Dave’s coffee maker and my grain grinder — both of which we use every single day, but don’t necessarily want sitting out on the counter.

TOOLS I USE:

• Nutrimill grain mill
• Coffee maker, coffee, and filters
• More grain storage

Learn more about how I store bulk foods.

The full pantry cabinet was another special-order cabinet because it’s the one hiding all those ducts and pipes behind it (so it’s not very deep). It still allows for so much storage though.

I also use the insides of these pantry doors to tape up all our church and school schedules, hot lunch menus, class lists, etc.

TOOLS I USE:

• Serving items
• Canned goods, chips, crackers, and pasta
• Various smaller baking dishes — I use these on a very regular basis
• Microwave (we intentionally built this pantry for a small microwave)
• Toaster
• Toaster oven
• Waffle makers
• Hand mixer
• Nutrimill stand mixer (attachments and accessories stored inside the bowl)

And finally, the island storage! 

I knew I wanted really deep drawers for our kitchen island — specifically for all our dishes and big mixing bowls.

Since I do about 95% of all my food prep on this island, it just makes sense to have bowls, dishes, and utensils readily available (as well as a dishwasher for dirty dishes). I’m thrilled with how everything came together and wouldn’t change a thing about my island.

The island drawers are so useful and functional — they have extended glides so they slide ALL the way out, meaning I can easily reach all to the back of the drawer without any issues.

The special dish drawer has heavy-duty glides and a pegboard bottom to make it super easy to rearrange dishes as needed. I LOVE this drawer!

TOOLS I USE:

• TOP: all kitchen utensils (except knives)
• TOP: drawer organizers
• MIDDLE: all dishes
• BOTTOM: mixing bowls and strainers