In my time as an office manager for companies like Google and Chanel and the past eight years as a professional home organizer, I’ve found that kitchens are the most difficult spaces to set up well.
All my clients want clean, uncluttered countertops and for their kitchens to make their lives easier, but everyone — even members of the same family — uses their kitchen differently. For someone who supplements prepared foods with pasta or rice plus snacks and is only cooking once a week, the kitchen should be optimized for plating, snack storage, cleaning, and seasoning. Another client who cooks all the time will want their spices and tools within easy reach but may not realize they can keep less frequently used ingredients and gear in a less accessible spot.
Although everyone’s situation is different, I’ve found a number of products I return to again and again for my kitchen-organizing projects: They save space, which is helpful to most New Yorkers, and make a kitchen more functional and easy to use — something we all want.
Update on August 27, 2024: Updated prices and checked stock for all products.
Mounting a big magnet in your kitchen for knives is a nice way to keep knives out of drawers and easy to reach, but I prefer systems that have flexibility. So when I saw the Material Kitchen knife stand in Maisonette CEO Sylvana Durett’s kitchen while I was working on an organizing project with her, I started keeping an eye on the company. When Material Kitchen launched The Base in 2022, I started recommending it to other clients with small kitchens that had other wood accessories. This vessel has a sculptural look and can hold kitchen tools, while its magnetic side holds up to three knives.
In 2014, I moved into an apartment with fewer drawers than in my previous apartment, so I spent a lot of time researching products to make it work well. When I was visiting my parents around that time, I noticed that my stepmom had recently bought this cutting-board set from Joseph Joseph. The smart design prompted me to take a look at that company’s website. I found this cutlery organizer (which now also comes in a bamboo version) and it made my own kitchen actually function. It takes some getting used to since it’s harder to tell if you’re grabbing a fork or a knife but makes a huge difference if you need to maximize your drawer space.
If you have more than three knives, you can fit them into your silverware drawer by combining the Joseph Joseph cutlery organizer with their knife organizer (which also comes in bamboo). I used this recently in a just-renovated kitchen that placed the focus on an amazing pantry and spice cabinet but had only a few small drawers for a family that loves to cook.
It seems wrong to put a plastic sponge holder in a newly renovated kitchen filled with beautiful details that people spend so much time selecting. That said, suction sponge holders make better use of the space, so I searched for something that wouldn’t look so out of place. This OXO sponge holder has a particularly strong suction cup that stays put on sinks with a smooth and straight interior but doesn’t work on curved or textured sinks. I often use two of these for my clients; one each for gentle and abrasive sponges. This saves valuable counter space and keeps that area around the sink cleaner, too. Nicole Carr posted on Instagram a holder made just for the Scrub Daddy that looks like a winner, and I’m planning on trying that out in a future project.
If you have more than just sponges around the sink, you can also elevate the look with this dish. I found the green version a few years ago when shopping for a client with a green kitchen and a love of ceramics. It’s a great way to elevate even the smallest New York City sink since it’s clearly a thoughtful handmade design.
It’s really common to keep salt and pepper within reach on the countertop, but why have two items when you can have one? I saw a similar one at a friend’s place; she got hers from Amazon, but the plastic cracked after using it for a few months so I looked for one from a more established brand. This combination salt-and-pepper mill is big enough so that you’re not constantly refilling the chambers, and because it’s clear you never need to guess how much is left. How ingenious is it to turn it clockwise for salt and counterclockwise for pepper? It arrives empty, so you can fill it right away with your favorite coarse salt and peppercorn blend.
When I’m working with someone who is struggling with keeping up with trash and recycling, we take a look at the existing system. But let’s be honest; no one likes taking out the trash. So getting a bigger trash can means you can do it less often. But then it becomes more of a hassle because the bag is too big and too heavy or — even worse — too smelly. This comes up more often than you would think as a home-organizing issue. So I’ve spent a silly amount of time researching trash cans to find one that works well in most small apartments.
Keeping trash under the sink keeps it out of sight, but it often smells and changing the bag can be tricky. Plus, there’s rarely enough space in small kitchens for tall items such as baking trays and cutting boards (which often end up on the kitchen counter). I’ve helped my clients reclaim that cabinet by using this tall trash can, whose footprint is about one square foot. It holds eight gallons — a size that plays well with trash chutes. Since this tall trash can has a foot pedal, you don’t need to touch anything to open and close it.
For clients looking for a similar-size trash can with motion sensor, I point them to this unobtrusive one.
I’ve noticed that when clients don’t have a pantry, their snacks often end up on a large tray or bowl on the counter. Although the counter is large enough, snacks take up valuable real estate and get in the way when they’re trying to cook. A stainless-steel bread box used to be my go-to solution, but the shape, size, and functionality of this version is so much better.
I’m always on the lookout for new products from Yamazaki, since they specialize in space-conscious minimal designs for home goods. This vertical bread box is an easy way to add extra storage with a tiny footprint. It’s available in black, white, and white with a wood handle and is made of metal with a strong magnet at the top for secure closure.
After completing a craft room in 2019 with fellow home organizer Jolin Polasek, we started planning the kitchen as the next project. While looking at the space, she suggested ordering a lazy Susan with bins for snacks, and that’s how I discovered this YouCopia organizer that I’ve used when organizing most kitchens since. Filling each of the bins with your favorite bars and pouches makes it easy to access snacks that otherwise end up on the counter or in the back of a cabinet. This lazy Susan also makes it possible to utilize otherwise wasted space on a long flat shelf that’s behind two cabinet doors.
Creating a perfect spice drawer is so satisfying, but most small kitchens simply don’t have the space to store everything in one place. But you can have both! Most people store their go-to spices in the same place as the spices they use a few times a year and then wonder why they can never find the cumin. This in-drawer bamboo spice rack can hold nine standard spice jars, keeping your favorite seasoning in easy reach. Spices are so much easier to find, use, and put away when stored at an angle, but most kitchen drawers need to perform more than one job, so this organizer is perfect for optimizing your spices for normal use. Storing the rest of your spices — the ones that are used for weekend recipes (allspice, Sichuan peppercorn, sumac, smoked paprika) — in a bin on a high shelf makes them both accessible and out of the way.
Labeling the tops of your spice jars in this occasional-use bin sounds like a lot of work, but it makes a huge difference when you’re storing your spices vertically. This basic label-maker prints in two sizes, and the smaller font is perfect for this job.
If you don’t have space in a drawer for spices, the adjustable height of this two-tier lazy susan from YouCopia really maximizes space. You can fit around 25 spices on it but keep your favorites facing out and know the other spices might take a bit of work to locate. Since these turntables connect in the middle, it’s going to be less of a problem than with other two-tier turntables that connect at the perimeter, blocking items while also making it extra hard to retrieve items from the dark center. If you have a mug collection, this makes ten mugs (five on each level) super accessible.
Dish racks can take up a lot of space but this one lays over part of your sink and leaves your counter clear (and also drains beautifully). It rolls up compactly when not in use. People with very small kitchens just love this solution (and some with larger kitchens like it too for keeping a much lower profile than regular dish racks).
If you tend to have more dishes out while also needing to use the sink, I recommend this Dorai set because it is also very compact when not in use and the water absorbing pad, which is made from diatomaceous earth, keeps your counter dry.
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