Visit our sister sites:
  • All You
  • Coastal Living
  • Cooking Light
  • Health
  • My Recipes
  • Southern Living
  • Sunset
  • This Old House
Real Simple | Life Made Easier, Every Day
  • food & recipes
    • Browse All
    • Recipe Search
    • Recipe Galleries & Favorites
    • Cooking Tips & Techniques
    • Shopping & Storing
    • Tools & Products
    • Ingredient Guide
  • home & organizing
    • Browse All
    • Organizing
    • Cleaning
    • Decorating
    • Home Improvement
    • Gardening
    • Green Living
    • New Uses For Old Things
    • Cleaning 101
  • beauty & fashion
    • Browse All
    • Hair
    • Skin Care
    • Makeup
    • Makeovers
    • Clothing
    • New! Finish the Look Fashion Game
  • holidays & entertaining
    • Browse All
    • Holidays
    • Entertaining
    • Gifts
    • Real Simple Gift Guide App
    • Holiday Decorating Ideas
    • Easy Home Entertaining
    • Holiday Entertaining
  • weddings
    • Browse All
    • Flowers
    • Cakes & Catering
    • Ceremony
    • Dress & Attire
    • Etiquette
    • Budget
    • Guests
    • Planning
    • Registry & Gifts
    • Real Weddings
    • Checklists
  • family & work
    • Browse All
    • Health
    • Money
    • Family
    • Life Strategies
    • Technology
    • Travel
    • Etiquette
    • Books & Entertainment
    • Money Management Tips
  • checklists
    • Food
    • Beauty & Style
    • Household & Finance
    • Health & Wellness
    • Travel
    • Cleaning
    • Family
    • Organizing & Home Improvement
    • Holidays & Entertaining
    • Weddings
  • blog
    • Browse All
    • Adventures in Chaos
    • Conversation Starters
    • Daily Thought
    • New Products
    • Simple Tip
    • Where We're Clicking
  • magazine
    • Browse All
    • Table of Contents & More
    • Road Tests
    • Daily Finds
    • Newsletters
    • Real Simple Products
    • Real Simple Offers
    • Real Simple Rewards
    • Back Issues
    • SUBSCRIBE
    • GIVE A GIFT
  • VIDEOS
  • NEW! SUMMER NEWSLETTER
  • NO-OBLIGATION BOOK CLUB
  • REAL SIMPLE OFFERS
  • SUBSCRIBE

Best Ways to Organize Your Kitchen 

  • Email
  • Print
  • Save
Kitchen cabinets with glass cupboardBob Hiemstra Page 4 of 5

The Well-Organized Kitchen

For the Entertainer

If you're a cook who enjoys an audience, all the kitchen's a stage. Create an illusion of effortlessness that belies a tightly organized support system.


The Strategies

Set a mood. Clear vases of fresh herbs or beautiful bowls of picture-perfect produce will whet guests' appetites. Install a dimmer to bring down the lighting, and if you entertain regularly, consider built-in speakers to keep the music flowing through the kitchen.

Use glass cupboard doors for display. Use glass-front cabinets to showcase what you love most, whether it's your best china, an antique-pitcher collection, or even canisters filled with pastas in different shapes and colors.

Keep party gear handy. Create a place for platters and trays―with tray dividers to maintain order―so you don't have to hunt for them. Give candles, place mats, and other table toppers a dedicated drawer. Use an index-card box to store recipes, past menus, friends' food preferences, or wine labels. (Soak a bottle to remove the label, let it dry, paste it onto an index card, and jot down tasting notes.)

Next: You Might Also Like…
Skip to Daily Finds slides.
Kitchen
Cooking tools on a kitchen counter
Children's table and chairs in a kitchen
Kitchen cabinets with glass cupboard

Most Popular Galleries

  • Joe Fresh Halter Ruffle-Hem Dress

      10 Finds Under $50

  • Beach bag

      31 Books to Read This Summer

  • Worried woman infront of clock wall

      13 Signs That You Need More Free Time

Hot Topic

“Does getting his haircut make your toddler anxious? Instead of getting snippy with him, use these three strategies to keep him calm....” - Brigitt Hauck
More From

How to Keep Your Kid Calm During a Haircut

What do you think about this article? Share your own solutions and ideas.

View Earlier Comments
Advertisement

What's Hot

White dining room with high-backed chairs and glass and wood cabinets

Decorating With White

Far from boring, this go-to neutral can take any room to new stylish heights.

  • 7 Great Garden Tools
  • Huffington Post Home: 10 Outdoor Fire Pits for Your Backyard
Computer deskNew on the Web
4 Tips for Surviving Your First DIY Project as a Couple
[sponsored post] The house my fiance and I bought together last year isn’t...
from The Nest Blog - Home Décor, Cooking, Money, Health & Sex News & Advice » house & home
The dangers of energy drinks
Energy drinks have been getting a lot of press these days – and with thei...
from FOXNews.com
The Best Airstream Rentals For Glampers, Urbanites, and Road-Trippers
If you've ever fantasized about vacationing by way of Airstream, then allow...
from POPSUGAR Home
HuffPost Tastemakers: A Meal At Nopi
Ottolenghi is a lucky man. Read more: Tastemakers , Ottolenghi ...
from Tastepartner on The Huffington Post
A Typical Day At IKEA, As Told In GIFs
Ah, IKEA. It's such a horrible magical place. On the plus side, it's a source th...
from Home on Huffingtonpost
Hemp: Out of the Haze, Into Your House (8 photos)
This controversial material is often associated with the hippies of the '60s, b...
from Houzz
  • Browse RealSimple.com:
    • Ask Real Simple
    • Contests & Sweepstakes
    • Games
    • Makeover in Minutes
    • New Uses for Old Things
    • No-Obligation Book Club
    • Photo Contests
    • Quizzes
    • Road Tests
    • Shop, Prep, Cook
    • Real Weddings
    • Tools, Videos, Checklists
    • Site Map
  • Customer Service:
    • Contact Us
    • Customer Service
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your California Privacy Rights
    • Subscribe
    • Give a Gift
    • Real Simple Products
    • Real Simple Offers
    • Real Simple Rewards
    • Back Issues
    • Media Kit
  • On the Go:
    • Real Simple iPadRead Us on Tablet
    Get our Apps:
    • No Time to Cook
    • To-Do Lists
    • Gift Guide
  • FREE Newsletters:
    • Weekly Tips
    • Daily Finds Newsletter
    • Keep-It-Together Checklist
    • SEE ALL
    Time Inc. Lifestyle Brands
  • Connect With Real Simple
    • Pinterest
      JOIN US
    • Facebook
      LIKE US
    • Twitter
      FOLLOW US
    • Google Plus
      FOLLOW US
    • YouTube
      WATCH US
    • Instagram
      FOLLOW US
  • Food & Recipes
  • Home & Organizing
  • Beauty & Fashion
  • Holidays & Entertaining
  • Weddings
  • Family & Work
  • Checklists
  • Blog
  • Magazine
Real Simple Home and Lifestyle Network
Copyright © 2013 Time Inc. Lifestyle Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.