When deciding what goes where, it’s important you also take kitchen island seating into account. Those nearest the cooker should hold cooking items, cutlery and crockery in those nearest the dishwasher, and so on. If it’s a combination of a few different things, divide your drawer storage accordingly, taking the size and position of your drawers into account.

Similarly for entertaining crockery, cutlery, glassware and table linens should take priority. You could even think about designating a deep drawer to ingredients, assuming they’ve been properly decanted and contained. If it’s primarily for cooking, you’ll want to prioritize drawer space for utensils, chopping boards, pots, pan, small appliances, prep bowls and the like.

For cooking? Or for entertaining family and friends? Do you sit there to work? What about the rest of the family? How might your children use it? Once you’ve got a good idea of its main purpose, you’ll be well placed to work out which items are drawer-worthy. To work out what would best suit you, you’ll first need to think about how you personally use your kitchen island. There’s no ‘right’ answer to this question, it varies from household to household. FAQs What should go in kitchen island drawers? ‘We’ve noticed visible plate racks are making a comeback, or you could consider wall-mounted knife blocks and ceiling-hung pan racks for a classic, homely feel, says George Forsyth, founder of Forsyth & Co. Freeing up space in other, less prominent storage areas allows you to be a little more free and easy with how you arrange items in your kitchen island drawers.Īlso think about ways you could free up space by storing designated ‘drawer items’ elsewhere.

If you’re struggling for space, first consider whether you’ve decluttered your kitchen as ruthlessly as perhaps you could. It makes it much harder to see what you need if you’ve got pots and pans stacked on top of each other, or whisks and potato mashers piled on top of cutlery. Just like when organizing drawers in general, try not to cram your kitchen island drawers full. You’ll also want to give some thought to what you’re storing single racks work well for organizing spices, while a two-tier pull out shelving system like this one at Amazon will allow you to fit more when organizing long and narrow cabinets, for example.įor Professional Organizer Lauren Saltman of Living.Simplified., decluttering and organizing is how she lives her daily life, whether she is organizing her home, a friend’s office, or a client’s garage, her resourceful approach yields happy clients who learn to incorporate techniques for a happier and more simplified lifestyle. Be sure to measure up properly before investing to ensure you’re not left with any dead space. Going bespoke is the best way to maximize the space you have, but there’s plenty of scope with store-bought options, too. You’ll find it much easier to reach things right at the back, and you’re less likely to forget about things, too, particularly important if you’re using your island to store food’, says professional organizer Lauren Saltman, founder of Living. ‘If your kitchen island has cabinets only, consider installing pull-out shelving to recreate the accessibility that drawers provide. Consider labeling each section or using transparent containers so you can quickly identify the contents within each drawer’, says organizing pro Joshua Haley, founder of Moving Astute. ‘Arrange items within your dividers based on their frequency of use, placing those most-used items towards the front of the drawer for easy access. These durable versions at Wayfair are made from plastic, so are super easy to clean. Slimline trays or containers work well, but adjustable dividers to make the best use of space. However hard you try to keep things neat, it’s impossible to sort your spatulas from your slotted spoons without something in place to corral them! Compartmentalizing will instantly bring order to whatever it is you’re storing. Drawer dividers are your best friend, particularly when it comes to organizing kitchen utensils.

Kitchen space saver table