Before & After: Watch How One Creator Transforms Her Kitchen into a Well-Organized Space for the Entire Family

No one sets out to be disorganized, but if there’s one space in our home that functions as a bit of a catch-all, there’s no question: It’s the kitchen. After all, it’s the space where family members gather for meals, homework, conversations and more. It’s also a place where chaos tends to multiply...and fast. But you don’t have to shudder every time you open the junk drawer. You also don’t have to bless this mess. As one of our favorite home creators, Lexi Poer, demonstrates: A kitchen and pantry “glow-up” via loads of smart organization solutions is within everyone’s grasp, thanks to the magic of IKEA.

It’s a familiar sight for any family: The kitchen—and its collective chaos—feels like an unintentional dumping ground for all the miscellaneous necessities of life. But it’s also one that relies on functionality. That’s why, post-holidays, Poer decided to give her space a rethink. “There’s no question about it,” she explains, “the kitchen is the heart of our home.” But the inside of her cabinets looked like a tornado hit. In her case, she had a mission for reclaiming the space. With her kitchen’s intergenerational use (nana wants to cook dinner, her girls want to pack their own lunches) in mind, she headed to IKEA in search of pantry and drawer solutions to take her kitchen from chaotic to clear and efficiently organized.

As you can see in the videos, the transformation didn’t require knocking down walls. Instead, it relied on smart and efficient organizing solutions from IKEA that helped her corral the clutter while giving all the nooks and crannies in her kitchen purpose, too. The result looks a lot more high end than the actual price tags, too. Here’s how she did it.

Function first—at least that was Poer’s motto when rethinking her kitchen’s organization. She wanted to create zones that worked for the user, meaning that whether her mom was searching for an ingredient or her daughters needed to quickly access their craft supplies, there was a dedicated space for what they were searching for. This is where IKEA comes in: Clear lidded jars like the KORKEN glassware helped organize baking supplies and create easy visibility while wire baskets like the RISATORP kept bulk items in plain sight so you weren’t scrambling or digging through ahead of a grocery run. The result? Everything in its place, which, for Poer, felt so satisfying.

An exercise in weeding out? Perhaps. But it’s ultimately a time saver to structure your setup so that the items you hold onto are easy to find. This is especially important for cabinets and drawers. When you slide them open, can you find what you’re looking for without wasting time? That’s always the goal. In order to execute this, Poer opted for the UPPDATERA flatware tray to help maximize her drawer layouts and found more smart solutions (such as the UPPDATERA plate holder and the CHOKLAHAJ food storage box), all available—and affordable—at IKEA.

Clear containers FTW. But seriously, whenever you can see exactly what you have at a glance, it’s much easier to find what you need, but also to enjoy the space. In Poer’s case, this was most important with her fridge. Clear storage like the KLIPPKAKTUS fridge basket made it so healthier ingredients were much easier to grab. Even something like the IKEA 365+ food storage containers can up the functionality and help create a space that is designed for how families like Poer’s actually live.

Having everything in its place is truly the best feeling. And Poer’s organization speaks for itself. The result makes it feel like all you need is your cabinet and drawer measurements and a trip to IKEA to achieve the space of your dreams. Ready to tackle your own blank space? Head to IKEA to find the best pieces for your own kitchen transformation—no contractor required.