The Allrecipes Kitchen Organization Challenge Day 5: Utensil Storage Solutions (2024)

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I'm willing to bet that almost every single one of us has more cooking utensils than we could ever possibly need. If you enjoy cooking, as many of us in the Allrecipes community very much do, it's almost inevitable. Of course you buy things for yourself, but then you've probably acquired a fair amount of silicone spatulas, tongs, wooden spoons, and the like via gifts from well-meaning family and friends. My personal utensil collection is dispersed over four drawers and a countertop utensil crock… so trust me when I say, today's challenge is one I've already blocked out time on my calendar to conquer in my own kitchen.

If you've been following along this week, you've probably noticed that there's a common thread running through nearly every solution for organizationally troubled areas of the kitchen that we've covered: clearing away the excess. Yep, it's a tough thread, my friends. It is all too easy to acquire tools, Tupperware, cookware, and just random stuff that we don't really use or don't actually need in our kitchens. However, it is remarkably difficult to acknowledge and purge the unnecessary items.

At least, it is without a little bit of encouragement and guidance, and that's what this challenge is all about — placing the power to create the functional, beautiful kitchen of your dreams into your hands. It's important to remember, just because you don't currently have the kitchen cabinets you'd like (or the kitchen cabinet space you'd like, for that matter) and the farmhouse sink you've always wanted doesn't mean you can't have a kitchen that makes you feel joyful and proud every time you step into it. Right here, right now, today.

With that said, let's tackle the utensils, shall we?

Brittani Allen — the CEO and founder of Atlanta-based home organization firm, Pinch of Help — has a list of cut-and-dry tips for wrangling and reorganizing your kitchen utensil collection. Following her advice does demand a certain level of honesty and discipline with oneself, but the results are guaranteed. After all, this home organization queen is a champion for sustainable solutions, and any sustainable solution requires cutting down to the root of the problem, right?

Brittani's Tips for Achieving Savvier Utensil Storage

Time Required: 20-40 minutes
Helpful Tools:

• A large, uncluttered area (like a kitchen table) to sort items
• Drawer dividers
• Utensil trays

#1 Empty, Analyze, and Purge

First things first: Empty your utensil drawer(s) and lay all of the contents out. "Identify the items you reach for regularly and set those aside — then, discard any duplicates and any [utensils] that are burned, splintered, or have seen better days," Brittani says. She notes that for a lot of folks, this review-and-purge process presents a good opportunity to buy a new, high-quality set of utensils.

At the end of the day, I think what we're coming to see is that when it comes to whipping the kitchen into organizational shape, less is absolutely more. A more organized, and ultimately useful, utensil set-up comes down to realistically homing in on the essentials and fearlessly losing the rest. There's no doubt about this, it's not always easy to let go of items you're not entirely sure about (I mean, what if you actually need that fifth spatula some day?), it just takes a little bit of mindful reinforcement. But you can do it; by this point in the week, you're practically a professional!

Brittani reiterates, "In general, only buy and keep your favorites — this advice is great for just about every space of your home, by the way. It's what you will constantly reach for anyway, so remove the excess clutter that makes these items harder to find. Having fewer, better utensils that are neatly organized is far better than having a drawer full of cluttered utensils you don't love to use."