Reorganize Your Cabinets: Kitchen Storage Tips

Japan is often credited for prompting the worldwide phenomenon of decluttering, and no wonder: in dense cities like Tokyo, space is limited, sparking new and inventive ways to maximize what storage there is.

That is just as true in the kitchen. Japanese tableware tends to be collected one piece at a time, rather than in matched sets of identical pieces, plus traditional Japanese table settings often involve a large number of dishes. That makes cleverly organizing kitchen cabinets a high priority.

Here we’ll introduce our top tips for decluttering and reorganizing your kitchen storage, along with how to best store tableware in a way that protects delicate surfaces or materials, and makes taking items out and putting them away effortless.

Whether you have limited kitchen storage space, want tips on swapping out tableware with the seasons, or are looking for new ideas to make your cupboards more efficient, this article is for you.

Sort your tableware based on how you plan to rearrange it—see the sections below for tips. If you’re planning to buy shelf racks and drawer dividers, now is a good time to take measurements. 

Return your dishware to its new arrangement in your cabinets, and enjoy!

Below, we go into detail about how to sort and rearrange your tableware.

Different materials have different storage needs, from whether they tolerate stacking to where they best sit in your cabinets. Just a few simple tips make tableware storage worry-free.

Lacquerware, with its soft wood and natural lacquer coating, scratches more easily than other tableware. It’s best not to keep it next to ceramic or glassware to avoid accidental scuffs and scratches. Stack lacquerware with other lacquerware or wood items, but don’t over-stack.

Porcelain has one of the hardest surfaces among tableware and is generally very sturdy, so it doesn’t get scratched easily. Can, however, scratch softer materials like stoneware or lacquerware, so be aware of placement in regard to the other tableware in your cabinets.

Wood and bamboo items can get warped or damaged under high humidity. A rule of thumb is to keep them in a cool, dry place that will allow for good air circulation.

This is the 101 on efficient kitchen storage. Here you’ll find recommended locations in your cupboards for different tableware, what can be stacked and what can’t, tips for optimizing space, and ideas for changing things out for the season.

Heavier items will be supported by sturdy lower shelves, and you won’t have to worry about dropping a heavy pot or pan on your head trying to take it out of an overhead cabinet. Light items, on the other hand, like lacquerware and wood, do just fine higher up.

This is for the tableware you take out all the time: your everyday glassware, plates, and bowls. So it’s always right there when you need it. Tip: Don’t forget kids’ eye levels! If you have young children, placing your kids’ tableware where they can see and reach it easily gives them more agency and helps them participate in setting the table or putting away clean dishes.

For example, keep your pots and pans near the stove, your tea set for serving guests by the dining table, and your everyday mugs by the kettle. You won’t have to go back and forth across the kitchen as much, and you’ll always have the right tools on hand when you need them.

You might already store glassware with glassware, bowls with bowls. Level it up by storing items that get used together in the same place. For example, if you wash vegetables often, try storing your favorite food-prep bowl, colander, and paper towels near your sink in the same drawer, so you can pull them all out at once. A bit of decision-making in advance can save time and make it so you never have to root around looking for something again.

Some materials don’t stack with each other well, while others do just fine. Here are tips that will help keep your tableware scratch-free.

• Porcelain with porcelain.

• Bowls, cups, or plates of the same series or type.

• Gold- or silver-decorated tableware: You might have the impression that gold and silver are delicate, but in the case of ceramics, the decoration is protected by a final kiln firing, and in the case of lacquerware, it’s protected by coats of lacquer applied over top. If you still feel concerned, place a layer of cloth or tissue paper between dishes to protect them.

Below are recommended items made specifically for stacking. Oryoki bowl sets include a full set of Japanese bowls that stack together like nesting dolls; ramen bowls often stack perfectly, and the Wabi series stacks very efficiently; and the celadon tea cups featured below are carefully shaped and glazed to stack sturdily on top of each other.

For summer, place refreshing glassware and ice cream bowls closer to eye level, somewhere that’s easy to reach for often. Move the barbecue and grilling skewers out of the closet and into the kitchen. And if there’s a tableware set you always use for meals out on the patio, consider putting it all together in a drawer or bin in your cabinet so it’s easy to pull out and take outside.

Just these few changes can help you feel the passing seasons in your own kitchen, and make meal prep that much more enjoyable.

Don’t forget about vertical space! Add hooks near your stove for the cooking tools you reach for the most. Hooks or hangers can go inside a drawer, too, if you want to keep items out of sight. You can even use the inside of cabinet doors for storage by adding hooks or mesh racks for hanging things like kitchen tools, pot lids, cleaners, or extra sponges.

You can also make pots and pans easier to pull out by storing them in a drawer and using dividers or file boxes to stand them on their sides. Lids store well vertically, too.

Label drawers, storage jars, or bins so you can immediately see where things are without having to pull apart the contents of your cabinets.

For items you tend to leave out, improve how they look: Keep them on an elegant tray on your counter, store them in a cute basket, or upgrade to a version of the item you’ll love looking at every day. Reducing the sense of clutter can reduce stress, too!

Some tableware has storage built in. For example, Shokado bento boxes include several dishes in an elegant wooden box, with a lid that can become a tray, for an all-in-one tableware set experience. Meanwhile, the Yu-Chabako and Ippuku matcha tea sets from Nishimoto come with everything in a beautiful box or furoshiki wrapping cloth, so they both store efficiently and look nice left out in a kitchen or tea room.

Each of these tips is meant to work with how you already live in your home and use your kitchen. Rather than reorganizing your kitchen to fit someone else’s ideal, it’s best to make changes based on how you already use your space. The most important thing when re-ordering your kitchen is to think about how each change would make your life easier, so you can truly create a system that works for you!

For more helpful tools for the kitchen, explore our Kitchenware collection below.