Drawers are one of those spaces that seem simple until you actually try to organize them. They come in every shape imaginable — wide, narrow, deep, shallow — and no matter the size, they almost always need an aftermarket product to make sense of what’s inside.
I’ve been organizing drawers for a long time now, and I still get excited every time I find a product that makes this process easier for someone, regardless of their skill level or budget. Recently, I worked in two different homes and organized both kitchen drawers and an entry console table with drawers. And I had to share the before, after and the products I sourced for both projects.
WHY ARE DRAWERS CHALLENGING TO ORGANIZE?
Before I get into the projects, I want to talk about why drawers get out of hand in the first place.
In most homes, drawers become catchalls simply because nothing inside them has an assigned home. Items get tossed in randomly, gadgets pile up without ever being reevaluated, and there’s no system guiding what goes where. Professional organizers point to the same fix again and again: give every drawer an actual zone. In a kitchen, that might mean one drawer strictly for silverware, one for food storage items like ziplock bags / foil / saran wrpa, one for cooking utensils, one for baking tools like measuring cups and spoons, and yes, even a designated junk drawer. When a drawer has a clear purpose, it’s far easier to keep it that way, and it also puts your most-used items within arm’s reach of where you actually use them, so you’re not walking across the kitchen mid-recipe to grab a spatula.
And, of course, having drawers zoned means putting items away is easy peasy!
That’s exactly the mindset behind both of the spaces I’m sharing today.
The first is kitchen drawers for a family I’ve worked with for years. They recently sold their home and are living in a rental while their new house is being built. Renting makes people (rightfully) hesitant to invest in organization systems, since most of what you buy won’t make sense to move again in a year. But in this case, everything we used will transition easily to their next kitchen.
( knife block | drawer divider system )
I started with one of my favorite in-drawer knife blocks, since they wanted to keep counter clutter to a minimum.
Then I brought in a product we’ve been using for months and have completely fallen for: these spring-loaded drawer dividers. What makes them so good is the additional divider piece that slots in between the spring-loaded sections, so you can fully customize the layout to fit whatever the drawer needs to hold. It’s a system that adapts to the drawer rather than forcing the drawer to adapt to it.
Just beautiful!…
The second project was a little different.
This family recently found out they’re expecting their fourth child, which meant their home office had to be dismantled to become their oldest daughter’s new bedroom. With no other room available to rebuild an office, we had to get creative about where their everyday office items would live. We landed on the two drawers of their entry console table.
BEFORE
Inside, we organized envelopes and stamps, their return address stamp, batteries, a few small tools, tape, scissors, and glue — the small things people need to grab quickly without an actual office to store them in.
AFTER
I used clear drawer organizers that fit the space perfectly, so everything has its own spot and nothing shifts around every time the drawer opens. The fit was truly perfect! These organizers are available in a shallow or deep version. I sourced the deep version as these drawers could accommodate that size.
If there’s one tool I recommend before buying anything for a drawer project, it’s a measuring tape. Precise measurements are what make a drawer system actually work instead of leaving you with dividers that are *almost* right. Measure first, then shop — it’s the difference between a drawer that looks good for a week and one that stays functional for years.
At the end of the day, an organized drawer isn’t about making things look pretty for five minutes. It’s about creating a system that actually holds up to real life, whether that’s a rental kitchen you’ll take with you to your forever home or an entry table quietly filling in for an office that no longer exists. Give every drawer a purpose, measure before you buy, and choose products that can grow and move with you. That’s what makes an organized space last!
Can you believe it’s August? We are busy helping families get unpacked and settled during a summer move and resetting homes in prep for back-to-school. Have much more to share! And hope you are doing well and enjoying the last of summer.
xo,
Sam
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