20 Thrifty Kitchen Hacks
These 20 kitchen hacks are both thrifty and easy! Organize your kitchen and food storage even on a tight budget with these up-cycled solutions and clever tricks!
Anyone else find that keeping your kitchen clean and organized is a daily challenge? From too-small trash bags to plastic lids with a mind of their own, the kitchen is always a work in progress in our house!
One of my goals this year is to save time on our day-to-day chores and get more organized, one room at a time. I’ve gathered 20 of my favorite kitchen hacks from top family bloggers — some of these we already use, and some are on the to-do list. Can’t wait to try them all!
20 Genius Kitchen Hacks that will Make Your Life Easier
I’ve organized my favorite kitchen hacks into categories for easier searching: cleaning tricks, storage solutions, food prep, and kids activities. You can use the table of contents to jump to each specific sections.
For your convenience, I’ve provided shop-able ad links to some of the products we used; read our disclosure policy here.
Kitchen Storage Solutions
Water Bottle Storage — Our family has a lot of re-usable water bottles and I used to keep them in a drawer. It looked so messy and wasn’t practical at all! A $10 hanging shoe rack was a game changer!!
Clothespin dish glove clip — Keep cleaning/dish gloves handy (and allow them to dry quickly) with this clothespin hack. I have three of these under my kitchen sink!
DIY chalkboard food storage containers — You’ll never guess what’s inside again with these reusable chalkboard storage container labels! Perfect for meal-planning or keeping track of leftovers (something we always have tons of in our house!) See the full how-to on Crafts by Amanda.
Space-saving plastic bag storage container — Tame all those plastic grocery bags with these simple storage containers made from recycled materials! There are two ideas you can try, depending on what you have already at home: See them on Sunny Day Family and Gluesticks & Gumdrops.
DIY “Lazy Susan” — Create a simple Lazy Susan with materials you might already have on hand at home. No building or constructing required! Get the easy tutorial on One Crazy House.
Upcycled utensil holders — Turn “trash” into a cute container that keeps your counters clear! See how it’s done on Crafts by Amanda.
Keep loose lids in place — Storage container lids always seem to go everywhere and you can never find the one you need! This tension rod trick will keep those pesky lids organized and easy to locate — see how it’s done on Your Modern Family.
Clever Kitchen Cleaning Hacks
DIY Garbage Disposal Cleaning Tablets – Made with just 5 simple ingredients, these fizzing tabs will clean away gunk and leave your disposal and kitchen smelling lemony fresh!
Natural tile/grout scrub — If you have tiles in your kitchen (or bathroom), then you’ll love this DIY natural grout cleaner! No harsh chemicals and it’s effective — get the recipe on One Crazy House.
Kid & pet safe ant repellant — This natural ant repellant spray has been my go-to for years. It’s safe to use in a house with kids and/or pets and it really works!
Homemade Pine Needle Cleaner — If you love the fresh scent of Pine-Sol, you won’t believe how easy it is to make your own natural pine cleaner at home!
Placing paper towels on fridge shelves catches any drips and makes for much easier cleaning! Check out our favorite fridge cleaning tips here!
The ultimate kitchen trash bag — One of my pet peeves is when a kitchen trash bag doesn’t fit the trash can. With some bags, it takes superhuman strength to stretch the bag over the opening — OR if you try to compress the trash contents the bag rips!
That’s why I love the new Glad KitchenPro trash bags — they have the size and capacity of outdoor trash bags, plus added leak protection. They fit snugly (yet easily) over the top of our trash can, and have plenty of room for everything we cram inside. Just look at the size comparison between a standard (white) kitchen bag and Glad KitchenPro (silver)!
Practical Food Prep Hacks
Canned Frosting Hack – Add a can of frosting to stand mixer and whip for 5 minutes to create rich, fluffy frosting that tastes like homemade! Add a stick of softened butter to the mixer to make buttercream! Whipping frosting nearly doubles the volume, so you get more value. It also lowers the calories per serving. Win-win!
Save Your Strawberries! — Revive mushy strawberries with this simple ice water hack!
For a Sweeter Pineapple — Before cutting up a fresh pineapple, stand it upside-down for 10-12 hours. This allows the juices that have settled to the bottom of the pineapple to re-distribute so every bite is deliciously sweet!
Keep herbs fresh longer — I don’t know about you, but I feel like fresh herbs go bad faster than anything else! But did you know you can freeze them and keep them for weeks or even months? Check out this trick for freezing fresh herbs from Moms & Crafters!
Easy garlic infused oil
Have you tried those delicious infused olive oils? My husband taught me this simple microwave trick that makes both “fried” garlic (perfect to sprinkle on meals for extra flavor) and garlic infused oil!
Removing clumps from brown sugar with stale bread — According to Your Modern Family, placing a slice of stale bread inside a bag of brown sugar will remove all the clumps!
Steaming hard-boiled eggs — My husband’s secret technique for perfect hard-boiled eggs every time! (Find out how he steams them here).
DIY ice packs — Make your own lunchbox-sized ice packs…with kitchen sponges?! Learn how it’s done on Kids Activities Blog.
Hacks To Keep Kids Entertained While You Cook
Kitchen utensil paint brushes — Your kids will love to create with the same tools you’re using! See how on Busy Toddler.
Baking sheet letter play — A mess-free activity to keep little hands busy (and out of trouble) while you cook dinner. My kids loved it!
You might also like:
5 Hacks To Keep Fruits and Vegetables Fresher Longer
More of our Favorite Cleaning and Home Organization Hacks
- How to Make Your Headlights Look Brighter in Minutes
- The Easiest Way to Remove Grass Stains from Clothes
- Range Hood vs Microwave: Which is Better?
- Total Home Office Organization on a Shoestring Budget (Under $30)
- 30 Cheap & Easy Organization Hacks
This post was originally created as part of a sponsored post campaign for Glad. It has been update to improve the content and remove outdated links.
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That’s an amazing idea! Thank you so much for sharing this!
Stacey, your kitchen hacks are a lifesaver for any busy household! The water bottle storage using a hanging shoe rack is a clever and space-saving idea. I’m particularly impressed with the DIY chalkboard food storage containers, perfect for meal planning and tracking leftovers. Your tips for natural cleaning solutions and creative ways to keep kids entertained are practical and fun. These hacks not only make kitchen tasks more manageable but also add a touch of creativity to everyday chores. Thanks for sharing these fantastic tips!