How to Keep Your Cutlery Drawer Always Organized

You know the scene. You open your cutlery drawer looking for a certain spoon and all you see is a mess. You sort through everything until you find what you need and slam the drawer in disgust. Drawers can be tricky because when they are closed, the chaos is out of sight and out of mind. However, every time you open that drawer, you are reminded how messy it is. This can cause hidden stress that simmers and keeps you tense. So, if you want to keep organized and avoid that seething tension, use these kitchen organization tips to keep your cutlery drawer neat.

Clear it Out

The first step is to open the drawer and take a good look at what’s in there. Chances are you’re going to find a lot of things that don’t belong. Take out anything that isn’t cutlery to help to declutter the drawer. Read on and we’ll let you know where to put them!

Everyday Cutlery vs. Special Cutlery

Living in a condo clearly has storage space issues, so you probably stuck all forms of cutlery and flatware into one drawer. If this is the case, consider removing the fancy stuff and making room for it elsewhere. Don’t worry, we’ll give you tips on finding more room further down!

Do you need it?

Be really efficient and do a declutter while you consider the things in this drawer. We’ve already addressed junk and fancy stuff, but now that you’ve pared down the drawer to strictly everyday flatware, ask yourself: Is there tons of it? Is a lot of it mismatched? Consider what you’re left with, and if you really need the odds and ends that are just taking up space. A good rule of thumb is to consider:

• How many people live in the house?
• How many meals, on average, do you eat at home?
• How often do you do the dishes?
• How many sets of forks, knives, and spoons do you need?
• What additional things do you need (such as a butter knife for toast, or a spoon for coffee and tea)?

From there, you can decide if a) you can get rid of anything, or b) if you actually need to buy a new set.

Buy a Cutlery Tray

Once everything is all sorted, purchase a cutlery tray (if you don’t already have one). Then, sort everything into sections so you can find spoons, forks, and knives each in their own spot easily. Next, look at the items you removed from the drawer. Cutlery trays tend to have a few additional larger slots for things such as serving spoons or corn cob holders. Consider which ones you use most often and place them in one of the sections so you can find them easily.

Wash Dishes More Often

Although dishwashing is a pain, try to wash your dishes and put them away after every meal, or at least at the end of each day. This way, you keep on top of your cutlery and have everything ready to use in the morning. Nothing is worse than needing a spoon for your morning tea or coffee and having to dig through the dirty dishes to find one.

Good Silverware

This is where you might want to pull out your hair. If you had your guest silverware mixed in with your everyday cutlery because of space issues, what can you do? Consider all the other drawers in your home. Is there one you could sacrifice for your guest silverware? Is there a shelf in your kitchen cupboards where you could place a cutlery tray for your good silverware? Is there anywhere else in your condo where you could use a box, basket, or even a plastic leftover container to store your good silverware? Here are some other great ideas:

• Cloth drawer liners. Cloth drawer liners are designed for storing silverware. They have sections like a cutlery tray, and a zip. Many can also be rolled, which makes them easier to shove into a drawer elsewhere in the condo until you need them.
• Hang them. Little buckets are perfect for cutlery and kitchen organization. They hold them together, allow them to stand upright so you see what’s inside, and provide designated containers for each type of cutlery. Your dollar store probably has several items you can use. Then, find a place to hang them on the wall or behind a closet door.
• Try layers. Sometimes, a deep space is wasted by using it for a single layer of storage. See if there is a way to fit two trays in one of your deeper drawers so you can use the space more wisely.
• Think vertical. Storing your cutlery vertically takes up less space. Use the little bucket idea to sort and store them upright in a deeper drawer. While counter space might come at a premium, maybe the little buckets can find a snug corner that’s out of the way.
• Create your own tray. Sometimes, the whole cutlery tray idea backfires because they aren’t designed well. When this happens, they might actually waste space. Use thin slats of hobby wood, or other types of ¼ inch wood, to create a cutlery drawer that maximizes space. This helps you to make the most of the single drawer.

The Other Stuff

Now you’re staring down at the other stuff you had tossed in your cutlery drawer. Hopefully, a lot of it is junk like old ketchup backs and take-out Chinese food chopsticks. Throw out anything you don’t need. Anything you do need, consider its use, how often you use it, and where it might make more sense to store it. As with the suggestions above, it might just be a matter of finding some little baskets or buckets to toss them in and store in a corner on the counter, or in a deeper drawer. The odds are it’s a bunch of small finicky stuff, so the silverware ideas should work just as well for all your odds and ends.

If you need help with kitchen organization, let our condo-cleaning experts at Maid4Condos help! Reach out to us today.