What You Need to Organize Your Kitchen, Once and For All

Raise your hand if you've got a bunch of opened, half-used bags of flour, sugar, and other baking essentials. Don't worry, tons of people do, it's totally normal. Clean up your cupboards and prolong the life of your supplies with the OXO Good Grips 8-Piece Baking Essentials POP Container Set ($63). The clear containers make it easy to grab what you need, the large ones store their own scoops, and one smartly designed container has a preserver to keep brown sugar from drying out. Bye, bags; hello, streamlined baking process.

Do you live with a bread fiend who can't stop buying baked goods? (Or perhaps you are the bread fiend in question?) If you've got treats scattered all over the place — or worse, going stale because you can't keep them in one spot — investing in the Brabantia Medium Roll Top Bread Bin in Brushed Stainless Steel ($72) is a wise idea. First off, the mirror finish and gently curved front subtly conveys your appreciation for fine Dutch design. (In other words, this thing looks good.) But from a functional perspective, this roll-top bin is roomy enough to hold loaves, rolls, croissants, and cronuts if that's what your heart desires. And it does. We all know it does.

Pop quiz: after washing dishes, do you:

A) Throw them to the ground in a fit of rage;
B) Leave them dripping in a clumsy pile that slips and slides all over your countertop; or
C) Stack them in your Simplehuman Stainless Steel Frame Compact Dish Rack ($70), which reduces clutter and increases organization as the dishes air-dry?
Hint: one of these answers is obviously the correct one.

Here's something that never looks tidy: a plastic bottle caked with dried dribbles of dish soap. For a quick way to clean up your sink space, try decanting liquid dish soap into a reusable pump. It takes just 30 seconds or so once every month, but it makes the kitchen look more stylish and neat — and it's just as easy to use. This Squared Away 3-Piece Stainless Steel Soap Pump Caddy with Coil Scrubber ($20) keeps dishwashing essentials in one spot, and the pump itself looks super modern and fresh.

Neat freaks like to say that every item should have a home. This Simply Essential 18-Inch Non-Skid Deep Turntable ($22) can "house" a variety of kitchen items, but it's especially useful for oft-used ingredients such as oils and vinegars. Spin it around to access what you need, and don't worry about drips — the nonskid liner will take care of that. It works well to hold cleaning supplies underneath the sink, too.

Speaking of under-sink storage, here's a way to make vertical space work for you. Each Squared Away Large Metal Mesh Cabinet Drawer ($25) slides out for easy access to what you need, and the drawers are stackable — so you can make the most out of every inch of cabinet space you've got.

Every kitchen has a junk drawer that has batteries, rubber bands, pens, and all sorts of random items. Still, it doesn't have to be the place where messes go to multiply. Arrange some Squared Away Drawer Organizers ($3–$7) in that drawer and assign items a compartment, and you'll never waste time rifling through randomness again.

Is your snack supply spiraling out of control with half-opened bags of popcorn and random granola bars tumbling out every time you open the pantry door? Keep them contained with uniform storage boxes. Squared Away Faux Rattan Baskets ($14) look cute and keep munchies well-organized; if you're really ambitious, pick up some label holders to clip on them for that Pinterest-perfect effect.

Large drawers can be split up into useful sections with these Squared Away Drawer Dividers ($15). Able to fit a wide variety of drawer sizes, these lock into place with tension and make it easy to keep various tools and supplies separate. It's like having an expensive custom-drawer setup, minus the high price. As the saying goes, divide and conquer.

Why is it that searching for the right lid always makes you crash around like an animal playing the cymbals? (No? Just us?) Anyway, cookware and lids stack so very neatly in this Simply Essential Pan and Lid Organizer ($12). This is one of those inexpensive purchases that solves a small but annoying problem, and you'll wonder why you didn't just get one of these years ago.