Every time I finish baking, I’m floored by how messy my kitchen is: flour on the countertops and floor, powdered sugar speckled all over my pants and sleeves (even while wearing an apron), and crusty piping tips scattered about in crumpled-up bags of leftover frosting.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned as an amateur baker, it’s that you can never be too organized when it comes to your kitchen.
Here are my top five recommendations for baking supplies to help keep your kitchen tidy.
1. Food Storage Containers
I used to shove open bags of flour, with haphazardly rolled-down tops, right into my pantry, but flour would get everywhere. Then I started placing bags of flour into large Ziploc bags, but they always broke the zippers.
Now, I exclusively use food storage containers.
These containers not only keep your ingredients fresh but also make your pantry tidier. I find it way more intuitive to find what I need now — and you will, too.
Tons of companies make food storage containers. Try to find a set that:
- Includes at least five containers to cover your basic ingredients, like flours and sugars
- Has various sizes of containers, with one large enough to hold a few pounds of flour
- Comes with labels (bonus points if they’re customizable)
- Is dishwasher safe (optional, but I’m lazy and like this)
My Pick: ProKeeper+ 9-Piece Airtight Food Storage Container Set
This set is a bit pricey but 100% worth it — I even have two!
Unlike other general food storage container sets, ProKeeper is specifically designed to keep baking ingredients fresh. For example, the brown sugar container comes with a terra cotta disc that you soak in water to prevent your sugar from drying out (and it works!).
The set also comes with several labels, including blank labels you can write on, which is ideal if you plan to use any extra containers for non-baking purposes. I currently use a spare one to hold rice.
2. Large Utensil Drawer Organizer
I love having a dedicated drawer organizer that’s big enough to hold all of my baking utensils, including my spatulas, rubber scrapers, and measuring spoons.
Try to find a drawer organizer that contains sections of varying lengths and orientations. And make sure it’ll fit in your drawer by measuring ahead of time.
My Pick: Pipishell Expandable Bamboo Drawer Organizer
This cutlery organizer is both beautiful (who doesn’t love bamboo?) and convenient. The sides of it can expand (or contract) to fit various drawer sizes, making it a great long-term investment.
I have two — one for each of my large kitchen drawers — and primarily use them to hold my wooden spoons, offset spatulas, rubber scrapers, measuring spoons, measuring cups, and bench scrapers.
3. Cookbook Stand
If you have tons of cookbooks like me but haven’t invested in a cookbook holder yet, now’s the time.
In the past, I simply left my cookbooks open on my countertop as I baked. But inevitably I’d find water, batter, or something else wet and sticky stuck to an open page — and it drove me crazy.
A cookbook stand can help you avoid accidental splatters, make it easier to read your recipes, and give you back countertop space for prepping. You can also use your stand to hold a phone or tablet.
My Pick: SupeDesk Adjustable Book Holder With 360° Rotating Bases
This sleek, multifunctional book stand is compact and looks great on my countertop (I’m a sucker for wood grain). What I particularly love is that it rotates with ease and comes with elastic clips to prevent pages from flipping and your book or tablet from falling.
You’ll be surprised by how much weight it holds, too. I’ve put some of my heaviest, most awkwardly shaped cookbooks on it (including a binder filled with recipes), and it’s had zero issues with balance or rotating smoothly.
4. Cooling Racks
I tried to get away with avoiding cooling racks for a while (before I got more serious about baking), but hastily trying to make room for dozens of hot cookies on a countertop humbled me pretty quickly.
If you haven’t invested in a good set of cooling racks, do so now.
In addition to helping cool your baked goods faster, cooling racks are typically stackable, ensuring you have more usable counter space and keeping your kitchen a little less messy.
My Pick: Wilton Excelle Elite 3-Tier Cooling Rack
You can’t go wrong with Wilton. This sturdy, easy-to-use cooling rack set is the perfect size for cakes, cupcakes, muffins, and cookies (what I bake most often). I’ve also used it to cool loaves of bread.
It’s super convenient to store, with each rack folding up neatly. And it’s easy to clean, too, thanks to its nonstick coating.
5. Magnetic Measuring Spoons
I hate when measuring spoons get all mixed up in my drawer. But I also hate having to open and close that annoying metal clip most sets use to hold them together.
Magnetic measuring spoons have made my life 1,000% better. They keep your set of spoons together, and you can easily remove whichever ones you need for your recipe by simply pulling them apart. It’s chef’s kiss.
My Pick: BIDFUL Magnetic Measuring Spoons Set
I couldn’t find the exact set I have on Amazon (I bought it years ago), but this BIDFUL set is the closest to what I have. And it’s at a fantastic price!
This set comes in silver, multicolor, or gold and includes all of the basic measuring spoon sizes you’ll need for most recipes.
Hannah is a passionate amateur baker, a prolific writer and editor, and the founder of Kneady Livin’. She is committed to providing fellow home bakers with tips, product recs, and helpful how-to guides. Her favorite baked goods to make include cakes, cupcakes, sourdough bread, cookies, and muffins. She hopes to open up her own cottage bakery in the near future.