Kitchen Organization: Dinnerware, Glasses & Mugs

Today is the day! We are jumping into our kitchen organization series and I couldn’t be more excited! I’m already enjoying some of the wonderful benefits of a more organized kitchen. I hope by the time we get through with this series, you will have a cleaner and more organized kitchen as well!

Today we will be tackling the dinnerware, glasses, and mugs in our kitchen. These 3 sections take up a lot of valuable real estate so maximizing the storage in these spaces while still making sure they are not overflowing with stuff is key!

Dishes

I didn’t have a ton of dishes to purge because we really only have what we use. I’m not the type to keep several sets of dishes. We have Fiestaware. They are good quality, but work just fine for everyday dishes as well. I like to have only what I use and use what I love so having one nice set of dishes works perfect.

Note: I don’t store my kid dishes in this cabinet because I want my kids to be able to reach their own dishes. Those are stored in a lower cabinet which I will get to soon!

If you feel like your dish cabinet is overflowing, try eliminating some of your dishes. If you have multiple sets, consider trying to live with just one set. Also, use the 20% rule when storing away your dishes. You should have at least 20% off free space to give your items room to breathe. This will help you get to things easier and help you keep the space organized!

Glasses

After I organized the dishes, I got to work on my glass cabinet. I knew we had a few large cups, water bottles, and kids cups that needed to go. Our main glasses are a mixture of Tervis Tumblers and pint sized mason jars.

We actually reach for our larger cups, water bottles, and travel coffee mugs most often so they are located on the first shelf. I placed a small basket on the right side of this shelf to hold small items like our water bottle lids, baby bottle caps, and other small pieces that can often get lost in a cabinet.

Our main glasses go on the middle shelf. I’ve implemented the 20% free space rule in this cabinet as well to help it stay tidier and also give us a little bit of space to grow if need be.

The top shelf is dedicated to all things kid related! Sippy cups, kids cups, kids water bottles, and baby bottles are all located on this shelf. We are tall so we don’t have a problem reaching any of these shelves!

When organizing your glasses and cups, try sorting items based on category. Remember the 20% free space rule to help you keep things more organized. If you have smaller items, try containing them in a basket or small container.

Mugs

We have really purged our mugs down to just our favorites. We have two shelves in a very narrow cabinet to hold our mugs. These two shelves each hold about 6 mugs. The bottom shelf is for my Tom’s mugs and the middle shelf is where I store my mugs. If we run out of room and decide to get a new mug, we have to purge an old one. This system has been working for us for several months now.

The top shelf is where I store my cupcake liners. Yes, I have a lot! They are organized in quart sized wide-mouth mason jars by holiday/season. I just move whichever holiday or season we are in to the front so they are easily accessible.

So that’s it! You’ve gotten a peak inside 3 of my kitchen cabinets. Over the coming weeks I will be taking you through the rest of my kitchen cabinet by cabinet and drawer by drawer. Not everything is Pinterest inspiring. But these are realistic kitchen organization systems that have worked for me and my family and are super budget friendly! I hope you are inspired to organize your kitchen!

What is one tip that helps you keep your dishes and glassware organized?

Other posts in the kitchen organization series:

• Kitchen Organization: Tupperware
• Kitchen Organization: Creating a Baking Station
• Kitchen Organization: Utensils & Kitchen Linens

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