20 Simple and Effective Kitchen Organization Ideas

Attempting to organize your kitchen may sound like a recipe for disaster. But with these simple organization ideas and the help of a Kitchen Inventory Guide, your kitchen will be stocked with the healthy, portion-controlled foods you need to fuel your weight loss plan.

When you make the decision to start living a healthier lifestyle, you’re planting a seed. Ideally, with balanced meals and the right mindset, that seed will flourish into a happier, healthier you. But without a solid foundation, it will be difficult to get your healthy lifestyle off the ground. Which is why having a plan is so important. And the best way to start planning sustainable and lasting weight loss is by organizing your kitchen.

Whether it’s a big, family dinner or a quick snack before you head out the door, the more organized your kitchen is, the easier it will be to make better eating choices. In fact, research shows that a cluttered and chaotic kitchen could lead to unhealthy eating behaviors[1]. But with the right foods and tools in all the right places, eating won’t be something you stress about. Instead, it will become the activity that fuels your body to feeling and looking its best.

Organize Your Fridge and Pantry the Right Way

An important part to the GOLO for Life plan is to get ‘back to the basics’ when it comes to food. But before you can start organizing your kitchen with the healthy foods that will have you on the path to sustained weight loss, you need to get rid of the ones that work against a slimmer waistline.

So, first things first. Find the processed, sugary, and artificial foods throughout your kitchen and get rid of them. It might not be easy, because the quick and easy snacks or meals are the only ones we think we have time for. But if you maintain a well-organized fridge with portion-controlled, ready to eat meals and fill your pantry with healthy grab-and-go items, you can count on nutritious food to be ready for you when it’s time to eat.

Not sure which foods to eliminate and what to replace them with? Download GOLO’s Kitchen Inventory Guide, which features a Kitchen Cleanout checklist, a shopping list catered to the GOLO for Life Plan, and more!

Download the Kitchen Inventory Guide On our downloadable PDF guide here!

We realize you’re not the only person in your house who needs to eat. If you can’t get rid of all the unhealthy foods out of fear of a family-wide mutiny, then it’s best to put those unwanted foods somewhere you can’t see them. That way, you’ll lessen the temptation to eat something that will derail your weight loss plan.

Reorganize Your Refrigerator

Once you’ve gotten rid of the unhealthy items, it’s time to organize your kitchen with the healthy food that made the cut. We recommend starting with your fridge first since that’s where the perishable foods for your bigger meals are stored and requires the most planning. Here are eight simple and effective techniques to get your fridge organized:

1. Put your newest purchases toward the back. That way the items closest to their expiration date will be eaten first. Anything with an expired date can get thrown out.

2. Create an area for leftovers that should be eaten first on the upper shelf. You can even label your leftovers with the date they were made so you know how old they are.

3. Make space for on-the-go perishable items like yogurt, hummus, and cheese at eye level so you can find them quickly.

4. Store similar items in the same space on the lower shelves. We recommend buying glass containers or organizers to make this easier.

5. A similar organization process goes for your crisper drawers. Store the freshest items on the bottom and be sure to utilize drawer dividers to keep your fruits and veggies in one, easy to access location.

6. Adjust temperature controls on your crisper if you notice your leafy greens wilting faster than you’d like. This will keep them fresh for longer.

7. Label each section of your refrigerator doors. Remember, the door tends to be the warmest part of your refrigerator. Be sure to place items like whole milk and eggs in the main area of your fridge to give them as long a shelf-life as possible.

8. If you have the space, put your kids’ favorite items like juice boxes or squeezable snacks on a lower shelf for easy access.

Before you start your fridge reorganization, empty it entirely and wipe down all the surfaces so you know you’re starting fresh. Also, once your fridge is organized, you may also want to add a deodorizer like baking soda to help prevent unpleasant smells from lingering.

Easy Freezer Organization

Keeping an organized freezer is helpful for long term meal planning. Below are four quick tips on how to keep an organized freezer:

1. Store the newest freezer items in the back so you’re prepping and cooking older items first.

2. Keep similar food groups together to lessen meal prep time.

3. Sweet treats like ice cream and popsicles (if you still have them for other family members) should be kept out of eye-level viewing to limit your temptations.

4. Freezer items tend to be forgotten about, so try to go through your freezer every few months so you know what you have and what you need to buy.

Plan Out Your Pantry

A well-organized pantry eliminates the stress of finding on-the-go items to keep you on track with the GOLO for Life plan and can greatly reduce meal preparation time. But organizing your pantry and maintaining that organization is no small feat. Which is why it’s important to have a pantry game plan. Below are eight techniques to help you organize and maintain your pantry.

1. Take inventory of the foods you have. That way you’ll know what you need to keep your plan on the right track. With everything accounted for, categorize similar items so you can store them in the same place.

2. Get yourself transparent and stackable containers of various sizes. Transparency is key to pantry organization because it makes items easy to identify, of course. But it’s also important to see which items have gone bad or stale or see if any unwanted creepy-crawly insects have gotten into your food!

3. Consider the size of the ‘mouth’ of your containers. Some foods like oatmeal can be easily poured, whereas dry items like brown rice are better off being scooped for measuring purposes. In which case, you’ll want to store those items in containers that have mouths wide enough for measuring tools.

4. Set up different pantry zones. Zones can include baking supplies, canned goods, healthy carbohydrates like grains, beans, and pasta, and healthy grab-and-go items like raw nuts, dried fruit, and maybe a little dark chocolate if you’re looking to satisfy your sweet tooth without sabotaging your GOLO plan.

5. Put washable labels to good use on transparent containers. Write down either the bought or expiration date of certain food items so you know when they need to be eaten.

6. Pre-portion healthy items like dried fruit and nuts and keep them on an easily accessible shelf. Store your healthy snacks for kids on the bottom shelves, and again, anything unhealthy that could tempt your tastebuds should be kept out of sight on a higher, less accessible shelf.

7. Install stackable cabinet racks if you find yourself running low on pantry storage space. They come in plenty of different shapes and sizes and will bump up the storage space of your pantry without creating a major pantry overhaul.

8. Utilize the space provided by your pantry door. Hanging door organizers are perfect for storing canned drinks or larger jars. The ground level is ideal for small appliances like a rice cooker or blender.

GOLO Makes it Easy for You to Take Inventory and Get Organized

The idea of reorganizing your entire kitchen may seem overwhelming. Which is why we’ve provided a handy, printable Kitchen Inventory Guide that will help you get started. The guide includes a Kitchen Cleanout checklist, Kitchen Inventory checklist, a GOLO for Life plan shopping guide, and tips to help you get organized and stay organized. It also features preparation and cooking tips for your current favorite health foods or foods that are part of the GOLO for Life plan that will soon be your new favorite.

With the help of our Kitchen Inventory Guide, your kitchen will be the highly functional heart of your household it was meant to be, and you’ll be the brains behind it all!

Download the Kitchen Inventory Guide On our PDF inventory guide here!

Source: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0013916516628178

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