Declutter Kitchen Utensils With What's Already In Your Fridge

There are plenty of essentials from HomeGoods that are perfect for organizing your kitchen and lending some order to a junk drawer full of utensils. However, these items do require a small investment and some forethought. A cheaper way to declutter your kitchen utensils is to use what's already in your fridge! Why not make use of the plastic fruit containers that your berries come in and give them a new lease of life as drawer organizers until you're better placed to shell out on a more permanent solution?

First off, these little plastic units won't cost you an extra cent. Simply give them a wash and a dry, snip off the lids at the seam with a pair of scissors, and slot them into your drawers before filling them with utensils. As berry containers are slim and shallow, they can easily fit into petite compartments with a small footprint. Plus, their lightweight feature means you can easily shift them around and reconfigure your setup until you're happy with the layout. 

Placing them in a snug arrangement will keep them in place, but you could connect them together with string or cable ties via the air holes in the packaging (clamshell fruit containers are usually vented with perforations to allow gas exchange and slow the rate of ripening). Alternatively, for a faster operation, stick them together with a few pieces of tape.

The transparent nature of fruit containers means they won't affect the aesthetic of your kitchen or disturb the color palette. But if they start to look grimy after a while, you can give them a quick rinse in soapy water and return them to the drawer to house small items, like corkscrews, food clips, or any other odds and ends that need a home. Doubling up any flimsy containers by stacking them inside each other will make for holders that are more robust. 

Moreover, you can feel smug that you're doing your bit for the environment by repurposing an item that would otherwise end up in a landfill. If you stock up on strawberries and raspberries every week, you'll have a regular supply of containers at your fingertips. So, if your homemade utensil organizers become damaged, you can go ahead and swap them out at any point and reuse them in other inventive ways. For instance, berry containers make awesome pots for growing seedlings on the windowsill (just line them with paper towels before adding soil).

Looking for something more permanent but affordable? A couple of cheap Amazon finds to declutter your kitchen drawers include an expandable silverware organizer and a slimline knife block (both of these items are ideal for shallow or slimline drawers). There are also several finds from Michaels that are useful for decluttering an overwhelming cabinet or pantry.