This past summer was jam-packed with unpacking jobs. While summertime is usually moving season, this year has been hectic. It's definitely been good for business.

The one room that is most often requested for unpacking help is the kitchen. It can often be scary to come across all the small bits and pieces to various kitchen appliances and wonder how to keep them all together without becoming a jumbled mess. Not to mention the rare but very real situation of reaching into a poorly packed box and nearly grabbing the business end of a knife. YIKES!

While unpacking along with my fellow colleagues, I learned some tips that have made the process less intimidating.

Placement of Everyday Essentials

We start with the placement of everyday essentials, such as eating utensils, plates and bowls, and glasses. We first identify a pull-out drawer that is near the dishwasher for eating utensils. We also assign a cupboard near the dishwasher for everyday plates and bowls. The idea behind this is to make these items easy to put away when clean. We also like to find a cupboard near the sink or a drinkable water source for glasses.

Next, we place the necessities for cooking. Cooking utensils near the stove, as well as hot pads. A lower cupboard near the stove will be designated for pots and pans. It's also handy to find a place for spices near the stove. It's convenient to have all the things needed for cooking within arm's reach.

Zone Out

In smaller kitchens with fewer items, we would start finding homes for all the rest of the kitchenware at this stage. If the kitchen is a bit larger, though, we start looking for spaces for other zones. The most common zones are coffee/ tea, baking, and food prep. We observe what categories of items are left as well as the layout of the kitchen. It’s like a puzzle, looking to see how the pieces will fit in the everyday functioning of the room. My favorite is always the coffee/ tea area, maybe because, in my kitchen, it’s the most visited section of the kitchen. I usually end up leaving the coffee maker out and in the vicinity of a cupboard where the coffee cups will live. Ideally, this will be near a water source. If there is ample countertop space, I may consider storing food prep and/ or baking items nearby, so one only has to grab all their supplies from one area.

Making the Space Work

Most cupboards are built to be adjustable. We will move shelves around to fit items in the most ideal way. So if someone wants their water bottles on the lowest shelf that is too short, we simply raise the shelf above until they fit! After all, the kitchen should accommodate how you live.

While I don’t suggest purchasing organizing solutions until after everything is put in its place, there are items that, in general, will help enhance the storage space offered in the various cupboards and drawers. You usually can’t go wrong with a wire divider that can hold baking sheets, pans, lids, and more vertical, making them more accessible than stacking. Drawer dividers and organizers are handy for separating different categories of utensils and small kitchen items in drawers. Spice organizers are usually great to have on hand too. It's essential to measure the areas where these various items will be stored.

The kitchen has become a less intimidating room to organize because of these tips and tricks. Breaking the process down into steps simplifies the process to create a functional kitchen. What steps will you take to make your next kitchen unpacking efforts less scary?