Declutter & Organize Silverware Drawer Hall Of Fame

You most likely open and close your silverware drawer at least a couple times a day, and in most homes it is one of the most used storage areas in the kitchen.


Since it is utilized so much, why not make sure it is decluttered and organized so that it is easy to open and find things in?

Therefore, as part of the Kitchen Drawer & Cabinet Organization Challenge I suggest everyone take a few minutes and work on this drawer (or whatever other location you keep your cutlery or flatware).

There really isn't much to this task normally. Just clear out things that shouldn't be in there, make sure things are separated properly and neaten up a bit.

Sometimes, you may discover that you have too many pieces of silverware, and if that's the case make sure to also declutter and not just tidy up during this mission.

That's exactly what a reader, Holly, did in the before and after photos she sent in, below.

Holly removed excess stuff from the drawer that didn't belong, like excess condiment packets from take out, and then also some of the excess silverware itself.

To determine if you've got too much (or not enough) silverware, consider how many people you've got in your household, and try to have enough silverware for at least a full day's worth of meals.

That way, as you wash your dishes at night you can make all your silverware ready for use again the next day.

Once you've got the drawer decluttered, next it's time to organize.

If you don't have some type of tray or organizer in your drawer I suggest you get one. It is the simplest way to keep all your forks, knives, spoons, etc. separated and ready to grab when you're setting the table for a meal.

The issue comes in when you've got some specialty silverware, such as if you've got plastic or baby spoons for your kids, or steak knives, or grapefruit spoons.

Some organizer trays do a better job accommodating these different items than others. You should definitely keep that in mind when purchasing any storage solution for your silverware.

After you've done this quick little organizing mission send me your before and after pictures here and I'll add some of the best ones to the page.

I'd also love your thoughts on how to deal with these extra types of flatware or cutlery, and how you keep them organized in the drawers!

Below I've got some of those photos sent in by readers, to show you what you can accomplish for yourself, plus ideas for what containers work best for organizing silverware.

Top photo courtesy of Amazon.com, featuring Seville Classics Expandable Bamboo Cutlery Drawer Organizer

What A Difference A Few Minutes Of Effort Make

Keli shared her before and after pictures on the site's Facebook page, which are shown above.

Thanks so much for sharing! Great work!

In addition, here's another before and after set of photos from a reader, Maura.

Maura explained, "I moved a bunch of extra silverware out of the drawer and moved the plastic silverware to the ziploc baggies/saran wrap drawer. I didn't have money to buy any more silverware dividers tonight, but found a very sturdy candy box that in using to hold slotted spoons in back and steak knives in the front for now! So happy I did this!"

Periodic Straightening Of This Drawer Will Make A Huge Difference

by Bec

Bec from 2012 - The Year of Challenges shared her before and after pictures.

She just straightened up this drawer, already having an organizer in place, but clearly that can make a huge visual difference.

This just shows that it isn't just a storage solution that is needed to keep you organized, but also periodic maintenance of even organized areas to keep things looking and functioning well.

Here are some good organizers for your drawers:

Using Small Drawer Baskets To Organize Silverware

by Tina

Tina shared what her drawer looks like.

She has chosen to use individual little storage baskets for each type of silverware, which deals with the issue of certain organizer trays not accommodating certain types of cutlery or silverware.

These baskets can slide around some though, so this is a possible disadvantage, but still might be a good choice for homes with small kids that have lots of kiddie spoons and forks.

***Update: A reader, Nancy B. gave a suggestion for the sliding issue, that I wanted to share here. Nancy suggested:

I bought small trays like these for my bathroom and kitchen drawers, and I also had a sliding problem. I took out the trays and installed a Rubbermaid lining, that fixed the problem.

Genius idea! Thanks for sharing it! ***End Update

Cleaned & Straightened Mine So Ready For Company

by Joanna

Joana took the challenge to straighten up and re-organize this drawer quickly, and shared her end results.

Great job! Looks wonderful. And what a huge drawer you've got. Totally envious.

Lovely Organized Flatware Drawer

by Susan

Susan from Camp Slinkard took an after picture of her organized flatware.

This is so lovely Susan! Looks great!

Organized Cutlery Drawer: Before & After Pics

by Lee-Anne

Lee-Anne from Life In A Peanut Free Shell shared the before and after pictures of her cutlery drawer.

She said of the before picture: "This one had become a catch-all for all the little paperwork we kept for some reason, like receipts from Christmas 2 years ago LOL."

She explained the after picture, saying "I got rid of all the paperwork, turned the containers around, added a couple extra containers and voila."

Homemade Drawer Organizer Worked For Reecea

by Reecea

Reecea from Fresh Juniper shared an after picture of this drawer.

She said, the "silverware drawer was in the right spot, but it needed help.

I used some empty plastic spice jars and lids as sub-dividers. They worked pretty well between my built-in wooden drawer dividers.

Because the lids are the screw-on type they adjust to get a bit shorter or longer, which was just perfect for my purpose here.

I hadn't made it to the store to buy the contact paper yet to line the drawers so I used some leftover Charlie Brown and Snoopy Christmas wrapping paper for drawer liners and spice jar wrap.

What do you think? Too cheesy? I kind of like it."

Judy Also Made Homemade Drawer Dividers For Her Silverware

by Judy

Judy made her own drawer dividers. (She explained more about how she did it in this submission about her utensil drawer.)

Then, she did some extra steps for these dividers, since the knife blades could in theory work under the wood. She explained:

"After the glue was set in this drawer I used clear caulk along the bottom and side joints to prevent thin parts of the silverware (knife blades, etc.) from working their way under and loosening the glue. Then I added the liner, bringing it up just a bit, also to prevent thin parts from working under."

It looks great Judy! You did a wonderful job and it looks awesome.

I featured this picture on the Facebook page and it generated some comments about the length of the drawer. Judy clarified: "Actually, the drawer is only about 20 inches from front to back. It just looks long."

Consider How You'll Clean Crumbs Out Of Drawers With Build In Dividers

Another thing that was discussed when I posted this photo on Facebook was how to clean out a silverware drawer of crumbs when you've got built in dividers like this.

It's a valid point, because for some reason it seems like this drawer always does get lots of crumbs for some reason. More than others I think.

Sue said: "I like to take my organizer out to clean it! Although I guess you can always remove the drawer and empty the crumbs that way!"

Kay provided a solution for this though, saying, "To clean, just use the crevice tool or boar's hair bristle brush on the end of the hose if you have a canister vacuum. You don't even have to empty the drawer."

Keeping Utensils & Cutlery Together Works Too!

by Hannah

Hannah from Cupcake Mumma shared before and after picture of her cutlery drawer.

She stated: "Yes it still possibly looks a bit messy to some but it's actually about as tidy as I will get it! Little Miss and Other Half are always getting their hands in this draw and messing it up which is most annoying! This however is improvement!"

I agree Hannah! This is perfect for your needs and with small kids we all know realistically complete straight all the time will never happen. That is OK. Functional is always perfect! :)

Ah! It's Beautiful Now!

by Katy

Katy at Thrift Me shared her after picture.

She called it an organizing success, and I would agree!

Storing Silverware In Drawers With These Storage Containers

by Sandra

Sandra sent in this storage tip on the Facebook wall while working on the 52 Weeks to an Organized Home Challenge.

Sandra says:

Here is my tip for the day! This works so much better for me, my drawers are pretty narrow, but these fit perfectly. They hold more and all the space in the drawer is used!

Taylor says:

Thanks so much for the picture and tip Sandra! Actually, another reader, Tina, showed something similar too above for organizing her kitchen drawers. Great minds must think alike, right?

Like I said above, I love these little slim plastic baskets, since you can store all kinds of things in them. They are just so versatile!

Want To Do More Decluttering Missions? Get Started With Declutter 365 Today!

Once you declutter one type of item in your home I bet you'll want to declutter some more. After all, decluttering gives you a great reward for even a small investment of time and energy.

The Declutter 365 system is designed to help you declutter, over the course of a year, your entire house, with just 15 minutes of decluttering each day!

Hundreds of thousands of people use this proven system to get rid of their clutter, and bring peace and calm back to their homes.

Declutter 365 works to guide you to clear the clutter without overwhelm, focusing on just one small area at a time, and without making a huge mess in the process, so you see consistent forward progress without all that "messy middle" that makes it even harder to function in your home than before you started.

In addition to building a daily decluttering habit, the Declutter 365 program, along with the accompanying 52 Week Organized Home Challenge, teaches you the skills, habits, routines, and mindsets necessary to maintain the clutter free and organized state of your home from now on, so it'll never be as messy and cluttered as it is right now, ever again.

If you haven't already, make sure to get your copy of this year's Declutter 365 annual calendar here (it's FREE!), find today's date, and do 15 minutes of decluttering on the day's mission. Then, repeat again tomorrow, and again and again. Over the course of the next year, if you do this 15 minutes per day, you'll declutter your whole house!

Get This Kitchen Decluttering Checklist + 32 Other Decluttering Checklists For Your Home

Right now you're decluttering your kitchen, and there's a lot of stuff to declutter in this space.

Get your 2 page kitchen decluttering checklist, plus 32 other decluttering checklists, to help you declutter your entire home here.

I've done the hard work of breaking down these tasks into smaller more manageable steps for you, so you don't get overwhelmed or worry you're forgetting a task, and you can go at the pace you want, whether that's fast or slow.

In addition, you can tackle these decluttering tasks in whatever order you want when you use these checklists!

If you get excited about cleaning out kitchen drawers make sure to also check out the following pages:

• Organize Your Kitchen Junk Drawer
• Kitchen Utensil Storage & Organization Ideas

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