My little family and I are going to be moving to an apartment in the Los Angeles area in May. Wahoo! I am so excited but there is one thing this definitely means when you are starting out there with a young family: living in a tiny apartment. This, to me, means that I really need to learn to minimize the amount of stuff I have, and specifically the kitchen stuff I have. The apartment we are looking at has hardly any cupboard space, so I really have to get organized and creative to use to most amount of space possible. While this small apartment situation does not apply to all of you, these are just some good ideas in general about ways to maximize space and organize things in your kitchen to be the most effective while cooking as well. There is nothing worse when you are making a meal and start cooking something on the stove, only to realize you didn’t grab the garlic salt and you have to hunt through your extremely unorganized spice rack to find it for 10 minutes, and then OH NO, your vegetables are burning! Organization is key to making cooking more enjoyable and fast.

Here are a few of my favorite little quick organizational changes you can make in your kitchen that pack the biggest punch.

1. Use baskets to declutter your fridge

Two drawers are not enough! I love the way this separates your produce from your yogurts from your condiments, etc. to make everything more visible and easy to find. Buy dishwasher-safe containers to make cleaning these baskets a breeze.

2. Hang up a magazine holder to store foil, plastic wrap, etc.

Save your precious drawer space for other things like hand towels instead of filling them with these items.

3. Turn an over-the-door shoe holder into a wonderland of snacks.

I used this with my daughter’s baby food and snacks in my small kitchen and it was a dream! This would be great for snacks, spices, or even use it for the random things for the rest of your house like a place to store random cords, spray paint, flashlights, etc. So many ways to utilize this space behind every door of your house!

4. Use empty tissue boxes or box covers to keep plastic bags organized.

You can buy fancy, pretty containers for this or there is no shame in using empty tissue boxes either!

5. Pin boxes of baggies right onto the wall for easy access.