While I'm typically a clean person, I can't say that I thrive when it comes to organization, especially at home. Unless I'm lovingly arranging my collection of books, I don't always know the best way to arrange items in a space.
This changed when I moved into a south London property in July with my cousin Zara, an extreme organizer.
Zara purchased her first house in 2020 and decided to redesign the entire space before moving in. She made simple design choices and purchases when planning her kitchen remodel, to actively make the kitchen easy to navigate and even more fun to cook in.
Long before her kitchen redesign was complete, Zara was familiarizing herself with Etsy stores and Pinterest boards to find satisfying ways to arrange her kitchen space. One such purchase was a number of clear jars that vary in height, some of which had personalized labels that are sold in bundles, for £10 to £15, or around $11.60 to $17.40.
"I saw labels on Pinterest and I was thinking about creating them myself with a label maker," Zara said: "I happened to come across cute labels on Etsy and thought I'd better leave to the professionals and buy them."
The homely, personalized approach has more than aesthetic value, as the jars help us quickly find ingredients for meals and avoid plastic packaging. It also encouraged us to experiment with sustainable refills on products like oats and lentils, which has helped us become more conscious of our waste production.
Personalized spice jars make our spice rack look more uniform as we often buy a number of spices from different brands that could look cluttered when stored together. Zara ordered some spice jars from Pinterest, similar to our larger jars, and they cost £15, or around $17.40, for a batch of 24 jars.
Zara's added tip is to buy blackboard stickers to place on the top of the jars, so you can write on the lids and easily identify the spices you need should you choose to store them in a drawer. As we currently store our spice jars in a cabinet, we haven't written on our labels yet but the option is there for future storage solutions.
As canned food can often sit at the same height, it can be hard to see what you have at a glance. Zara's solution was to buy a staggered cabinet organizer which allows you to arrange your cans at varying heights, keeping everything in sight.
This has made creating shopping lists easier and means we don't buy excess food by mistake. Zara purchased a simple black stand from Amazon for £17.99, or less than $21, because she had a gift card for the retailer, but alternatives are available in many homeware stores. While the organizer is originally intended to keep spices neatly arranged in a drawer, we repurposed it to suit our needs.
Another simple yet low-cost hack for storage is to buy themed boxes such as these burlap cases inspired by farmers' markets, as it allows you to bring various items together in one box in a way that looks neat and organized.
We found these boxes at a British home furnishing store for £6, or around $7, and they've proved to be especially useful for storing our snacks and vegetables that would otherwise sit loosely in our pantry.
The switchboard allows us to turn off the mains for the dishwasher, washing machine, boiler, oven, stovetop, and microwave without having to access the plug socket. The space looks sleeker and it makes it harder to accidentally leave appliances on and waste energy.
Switchboard grids cost around £47, or around $55, on Amazon but installation costs will vary with each kitchen. It's often easier to apply a grid if you're renovating your kitchen as you can plan the space with one in mind, Zara said.
Zara warmed to the idea of getting a switchboard when she was researching how to keep utility bills low, citing the UK's energy regulator Ofgem update that annual household bills will jump up by 80%, reaching £3,549, or $4,189, from October 1.
A fun tip for coffee lovers to improve an empty corner in your kitchen is to create a coffee nook full of your favorite hot drinks. We placed our coffee machine alongside a bouquet of colorful dried flowers and a clear jar filled with different coffee pods.
By selecting a few different coffee pods and a clear jar, the colors of each pod add an additional pop of color to the space. It also means we save cabinet space because the bulky coffee packaging can be recycled immediately once the pods are placed in jars.
Fresh produce fridge containers allow the items to be prepared before they're stored, and stay dry. This means they're almost immediately ready to eat or pack into a lunchbox.
Insider previously reported that the best way to store fresh produce is to avoid washing it until you're ready to eat it, as moisture can act as a catalyst for decaying.
"Normally when you store fresh produce, it can leak into your fridge and disrupt your other items but this is an easy way to avoid that," Zara said, adding that the glass layer collects any liquids. "Food keeps fresher for longer in the containers too and it's an easy way to know what you have in your fridge rather than rummaging around to find things."
While this cabinet houses less frequently used kitchenware, Zara keeps a number of additional items in it for special occasions and specific foods. We have individual mason jars to make overnight oats, and dipping dishes and chip baskets for days when we host guests.
Adding a few unconventional yet characterful purchases like these to your homeware list means you can create memorable meals with a special touch when cooking for yourself and others.
Understanding the finishing touches that can make a house feel more homely is a skill I'll take forward if I ever purchase my own home. Never again will I wonder how best to arrange my cookbooks or scramble from spice jar to spice jar, trying to find what I need for an obscure recipe I've discovered online.
I previously struggled to use fruit and vegetables before they went off, or plan meals that used up the ingredients I already had in my pantry. Now I feel more conscious about what I buy, the energy and packaging I use, and not least, how to make food look good on the plate.
The best home organization products keep your countertops and mind clear. Check out our favorites for a tidy kitchen: