There is a particular kind of satisfaction that comes from opening a kitchen cabinet and finding everything exactly where it belongs. Containers aligned in neat rows, spices arranged by frequency of use, utensils nested in custom dividers. It is the kind of quiet luxury that transforms the most functional room in your home into a space that feels genuinely effortless.
At Swoon Spaces, we have organized hundreds of kitchens across New York City, Los Angeles, and Austin, and over the years we have tested nearly every product on the market. Some look stunning on social media but fall apart after three months. Others are built to last but lack the refined aesthetic our clients expect. The products that earn a permanent place in our toolkit strike the rare balance between beauty, durability, and everyday practicality.
Here are the kitchen organization products our team reaches for again and again, the ones we personally install in our clients' homes and the ones we use in our own kitchens at home.
Pantry Storage: The Foundation of Every Organized Kitchen
The pantry is where kitchen organization either thrives or unravels. If your dry goods are still sitting in torn bags sealed with chip clips, you are fighting a battle you will never win. Transferring staples into proper containers is the single most impactful change you can make, and the right containers make all the difference.
Airtight Modular Containers
We have moved firmly away from round containers. They waste an astonishing amount of shelf space and leave awkward gaps that inevitably become dumping grounds for loose packets and forgotten snacks. Instead, we exclusively recommend rectangular modular systems that sit flush against one another and maximize every inch of available real estate.
The features we look for in a professional-grade pantry container:
- True airtight seals that keep flour, rice, pasta, and cereal fresh for weeks beyond what their original packaging allows. This is non-negotiable for pest prevention and long-term freshness.
- Crystal-clear bodies so you can assess contents and quantities at a glance. You should never need to open a container to know what is inside or whether it needs refilling.
- Stackable, flat lids that allow you to build vertically when shelf height permits, effectively doubling your storage capacity.
- One-hand opening mechanisms for those moments when you are mid-recipe with flour on your hands and need to grab the sugar without a two-step process.
- BPA-free, food-safe materials that will not absorb odors or stains over time, even with deeply pigmented spices like turmeric.
"The best container is one you will reach for without thinking about it. If it is beautiful but inconvenient, it will end up collecting dust while you go back to the original bag. Function and aesthetics must coexist."
We recommend purchasing containers in graduated sizes from a single product line. This ensures visual cohesion on the shelf and guarantees that every piece in the system works together. Measure your shelves before purchasing, note the depth and height of each shelf, and buy accordingly. The five minutes you spend measuring will save you the frustration of returns.
Turntables and Lazy Susans
Corner cabinets and deep shelves are where kitchen items go to be forgotten. A high-quality turntable transforms these dead zones into some of the most accessible storage in your kitchen. We use them for oils, vinegars, condiments, vitamins, and baking extracts, essentially anything that tends to migrate to the back of a shelf and disappear for months.
Look for turntables with a non-slip base and a smooth, silent rotation mechanism. The best ones have a slightly raised lip around the edge to prevent bottles from sliding off during rotation. Stainless steel or clear acrylic options integrate beautifully into most kitchen aesthetics without competing visually with the items they hold.
Drawer Organization: Where Details Elevate the Everyday
Kitchen drawers are the unsung heroes of a well-organized kitchen. They are opened and closed dozens of times a day, and yet they are often the last space people think to optimize. A well-organized drawer does not just look tidy. It shaves seconds off every interaction, and those seconds compound into a cooking experience that feels genuinely streamlined.
Custom-Fit Drawer Dividers
We are strong advocates for adjustable bamboo or acrylic drawer dividers that can be configured to match the exact dimensions of your drawers and the specific items you store in them. Unlike one-size-fits-all inserts, adjustable systems accommodate everything from oversized serving spoons to delicate pastry tools without wasted space.
For utensil drawers, we recommend dividers with at least five compartments: one each for cooking utensils, serving utensils, prep tools, specialty items, and a narrow slot for skewers, chopsticks, and other slim implements that tend to scatter. For the junk drawer, and yes, even organized homes should have one, expandable dividers with varying compartment sizes keep batteries, tape, scissors, and takeout menus from devolving into chaos.
In-Drawer Spice Organization
If you have the drawer space, in-drawer spice storage is one of the most transformative changes we implement in client kitchens. Instead of rummaging through a cluttered spice cabinet or spinning a rack to find the cumin, you pull open a drawer and see every single spice label at once, face up, in alphabetical order or grouped by cuisine.
The key is using tiered in-drawer inserts that angle each jar slightly toward you, making labels immediately readable. Pair this with uniform glass jars and consistent labeling, we prefer clean sans-serif fonts on white or kraft labels, and you have a spice system that is not only functional but genuinely beautiful to open.
Under-Sink Solutions: Taming the Most Neglected Space
Beneath the kitchen sink is arguably the most challenging organizational zone in the entire home. Irregular plumbing, limited height, and the tendency to toss cleaning products in haphazardly make this space a perennial source of frustration. The right products, however, turn this awkward cavity into a model of efficiency.
Expandable Under-Sink Shelving
Adjustable two-tier shelving units designed to wrap around pipes are essential for maximizing this space. Look for units with removable shelves and panels that can be configured around your specific plumbing layout. The best systems effectively double your under-sink storage by creating a usable upper tier for items like sponges, dish tablets, and hand soap refills, while keeping larger bottles and spray cleaners accessible below.
Pull-Out Caddy Systems
For deep under-sink cabinets, a pull-out caddy on gliders brings the contents of the cabinet to you rather than requiring you to crouch and reach into the back. We install these in nearly every client kitchen and the feedback is consistently enthusiastic. A sliding caddy with a handle and divided compartments keeps cleaning supplies organized and eliminates the problem of bottles tipping over or getting lost behind the pipes.
Refrigerator Organization: Clarity Behind the Door
An organized refrigerator is one of those details that elevates daily life in ways most people do not anticipate until they experience it. When every shelf has a purpose and every item has a designated home, meal preparation becomes faster, food waste decreases dramatically, and the simple act of opening the refrigerator door feels calm rather than overwhelming.
Clear Stackable Bins
We use clear, BPA-free bins to create zones within the refrigerator: one for snacks, one for meal-prep ingredients, one for condiments, one for beverages. Each bin acts as a removable drawer within the shelf, making it easy to pull out an entire category of food at once. When a bin is empty, you know exactly what needs restocking without a visual audit of every shelf.
Choose bins with integrated handles and low enough profiles to fit on standard refrigerator shelves. Avoid bins with lids for the refrigerator, as they add an unnecessary step between you and your food and make it harder to see contents at a glance.
Egg and Produce Storage
Specialty storage for eggs, berries, and herbs extends the life of these perishables significantly. A dedicated egg holder that keeps eggs visible and accessible, rather than hidden in their cardboard carton, not only looks more refined but also makes it easier to track how many you have left. Herb keepers with built-in water reservoirs can extend the life of fresh cilantro, basil, and parsley by up to two weeks, reducing the frequency of those mid-week grocery runs.
"An organized kitchen is not about perfection. It is about creating systems so intuitive that maintaining them requires no conscious effort. The right products make the system invisible. You simply live, cook, and enjoy."
Countertop Essentials: Curated, Not Cluttered
The kitchen counter is prime real estate, and how you treat it sets the tone for the entire room. Our philosophy is simple: if an item does not earn its place on the counter through daily use and visual beauty, it belongs inside a cabinet. The items that do remain should be both functional and aesthetically intentional.
Utensil Crocks and Knife Storage
A well-chosen utensil crock in ceramic, marble, or brushed stainless steel keeps your most-used cooking tools within arm's reach without visual clutter. Limit the contents to five or six items you actually use every day. Everything else should live in a drawer. For knife storage, a magnetic wall-mounted strip is our preferred solution. It keeps blades accessible, protects edges better than a block, and eliminates the bulky footprint of a traditional knife block on your counter.
Tiered Fruit and Produce Displays
A tiered fruit basket or stand serves double duty as both functional storage and kitchen decor. Choose one in a material that complements your hardware, whether that is matte black, brushed gold, or natural wood. The tiered design maximizes vertical space while keeping produce visible and encouraging healthy snacking. It is one of those small details that makes a kitchen feel considered and complete.
Labeling: The Finishing Touch That Holds Everything Together
No organizational system is complete without labeling. Labels are the connective tissue between a beautifully organized kitchen and a kitchen that stays organized. Without them, even the most meticulous system relies on the memory of whoever set it up, and that is a system destined to unravel.
For a luxury kitchen, we recommend these labeling approaches:
- Custom waterproof vinyl labels in a minimalist font. White text on clear backing integrates seamlessly with most container styles and withstands the humidity and temperature fluctuations of a working kitchen.
- Brushed gold or brass clip-on tags for an elevated, jewelry-like detail that can be transferred when container contents change seasonally.
- Hand-lettered ceramic tags for clients who prefer a warmer, artisanal aesthetic. These work particularly well in kitchens with natural wood and stone finishes.
- A quality label maker with a clean, modern font for households that rotate pantry contents frequently and need the flexibility to produce new labels in moments.
Beyond naming contents, we recommend adding purchase or expiration dates to pantry labels. This creates a self-maintaining system where older items are naturally identified and used first, dramatically reducing food waste over time.
A Note on Investing in Quality
We understand the temptation to fill a cart with inexpensive organizational products and overhaul your kitchen in a single weekend. We have seen it many times. And we have also seen those same products crack, warp, yellow, and lose their seals within a year, leaving clients back where they started but with more clutter than before.
The products we recommend are investments. They cost more upfront, but they are designed to perform flawlessly for years. A quality airtight container will still seal perfectly after thousands of openings. A well-built drawer divider will not shift or compress. A professional-grade label will not peel or fade in a humid kitchen environment. When you invest in quality organization products, you are not just organizing your kitchen. You are building infrastructure for a calmer, more efficient daily life.
If the prospect of selecting, purchasing, and installing all of these products feels overwhelming, that is exactly what we are here for. At Swoon Spaces, we handle every detail of the kitchen organization process, from measuring your shelves and selecting the perfect products to installing, decanting, and labeling every single item. You open your kitchen cabinets to a finished result that feels like it has always been there, effortless and unmistakably yours.
