Let’s be real..the title should just stop at must haves….are there any moms on the planet that are not classified as “busy” ? No matter what, it feels like there is always chaos waiting around the corner. For me, this was especially true in my kitchen. Whether it was cooking dinner, making lunches, or just looking for that specific water bottle to take to a practice… looking for anything in my kitchen made it felt like my whole life was in disarray. When you have kids no one tells you about all the “things” you are going to accumulate that take up space you previously took for granted.
That lovely spice cabinet? It’s now for bottles. Those drawers for well organized Tupperware? Welcome to divided plates and unbreakable bowls. Those amazing slide-outs for your small appliances? Now thrown all over them is the The world’s supply of snack
I know Marie Kondo doesn’t organize anything anymore now that she has 3 kids, but I decided I needed to spark some joy in my life and started with my kitchen. I’m sharing my top five kitchen organizing must haves , that I have bought and have used regularly, to keep at least some semblance of sanity.
Are these things that your neighbors are going to come over and ogle when they walk in and tell their bff about how you have it all together and they can’t possible live up to you, probably not. But, are they going to change your life? Also, probably not. However, they may bring a few less moments of wanting to throw everything you own in the trash and help you get out the door two minutes earlier on occasion and, for me, that’s a W.
Water Bottle Organizer
This one tops my list of must have items. If you have ANY amount of water bottles over the number 3 that you store in a cabinet, put this in your cart immediately. I cannot tell you the amount of times I have had bottles come crashing down at me digging through a cabinet trying to find “THE ONE.” These shelves are stackable, come in multiple different arrangements to fit your specific cabinet s
ize, and fit a very wide array of cup and bottle sizes. Once you have bottles/cups in this, looking for and grabbing the one you want is an absolute breeze.
Under Sink Tray Shelf
I don’t know how it happened but under my kitchen sink was where supplies apparently crossed over to Narnia, never to come back through the closet door. This shelf was initially for scrubbers but found multiple other uses for it. Now all the small cleaning supplies i.e goo gone, dishwasher rinse aid, the pink stuff etc, go on it. This keeps them from floating to the back, never to be found again. The bottom slides out which is great for things you use frequently and don’t want to search for. We store trashbags and scrubbers there.
Pot Lid Rack
I really don’t know why this was such a pain point in our house but finding the right lid for the right pot always felt like the game you play as a small child where you have to fit the right shape through the hole to get it into the bucket. I love being able to quickly see the varying sizes next to each other and them being in an out of the way place where they aren’t going to get broken. I’m not guaranteeing you won’t still get the wrong size a couple of times but this rack makes it much easier to at have an educated guess.
Pantry Containers
These are one I truly think everyone can benefit from regardless of how many people are in the house, adults or children. With current food cost rising, ensuring we were able to keep food fresh as long as possible and not lose things to back of the pantry shelves was more important than ever. These containers keep everything visible, fresh, and organized. No more chip clips that fall off, stale cereal, or spaghetti spilled all over the floor. these save us money by making everything visible so we don’t forget what we have an buy duplicates OR run out of essentials because we can always see how much is left.
Reusable Snack Boxes
I don’t remember ever having snacks in school or much of anywhere else past daycare age, but it feels like my kids are required to have exactly 100 snacks a day. I have bought every snack container known to man to try and make it easier on us and make sure they have the right amount. These are the best I’ve found to check off both of those requirements. It’s easy to keep things separate, fill them as much or as little as we want, and give them some options for school and after school snack times. These are also dishwasher safe and have lasted much longer than I expected. We usually pack them all up on Sunday night with the dry stuff then add fruit and veggies the morning of to save time!
Bonus Item- Glass Sprayer Bottles
These are definitely at the bottom of the kitchen organizing must haves list but I have found these very convenient. I like that they are sustainable, allowing me to buy either smaller size refills or bulk and pour them into these. I also think the sprayers are much more high quality than what you get on typical cleaning supplies that I feel like always break when you need them most. They come in a few different colors to match your decor. I do clear because I like that I can see at a glance what I need to refill or grab at the store.
I hope if you add any of these to your kitchen you find them as helpful as I have in limiting the chaos ! What are a few of your top kitchen organizing must haves that you can’t live without?
