How To Eliminate Kitchen Utensil Clutter Like Martha Stewart Does At Home

Having a cluttered kitchen is no fun. Not only can a disorganized space lead to stress, but it will make cooking harder, as you can't find the tools you need when you need them. Luckily, celebrity chef Martha Stewart has you covered with tips on how to organize your kitchen, including advice on how to efficiently sort and store utensils rather than letting them clutter up your drawers. You don't need any kind of special organizer; all you need are your utensils and some vintage crocks.

The first step is to sort your utensils. Pull out utensils from each location you currently have them in and organize them by use; for instance, put your wooden spoons together separate from your whisks, metal spatulas, etc. Then, you'll want to look through all the utensils and identify any you don't need, whether it be because they're old and breaking down or simply because you've ended up with too many. It can be tempting to hold onto worn-down utensils "just in case," but your kitchen organization will suffer if you have a bunch of unnecessary or useless tools. Throw out anything that's damaged or that you won't realistically use for cooking. For instance, if you're the only main cook in your house, you probably don't need more than a couple wooden spoons. Donate them or reuse them, such as repurposing wooden spoons for the garden.

Once you've consolidated your utensils down to the essentials, you'll need a place to store them. While most people traditionally keep their utensils in drawers, this can make it less convenient both to locate and grab them in a pinch. Instead, Stewart keeps her utensils on the counter in vintage crocks. You can often find deals on these items at thrift stores or online on sites like eBay, and they're both convenient and stylish for storing your utensils. Stewart puts each type of utensil in its own crock, nesting items like wooden spoons and strainers together to fit as many as possible in each one. While you may not have as many utensils as Stewart and therefore probably won't need as many dedicated crocks, it's still a good idea to keep similar tools grouped together for easy access.

The crocks can be kept directly on the counter or on a moveable cart, a particularly useful tool for home bakers. Then, when you need a specific utensil, you won't have to go rifling through your drawers for it; you can simply grab it from the crock and use it right away. Keeping crocks full of utensils on the counter alongside a cutting board (another kitchen staple Martha Stewart always keeps out) will make your kitchen both stylish and functional, eliminating the stress of a cluttered, messy utensil drawer.