Maybe giving someone an organization gift feels passive-aggressive in nature. But I think that's only true if you give them to your disorganized family member, along with a little snide comment about how you can never find the right spices in their cabinet when you're cooking with them. Your friend who obsessively watches fridge organization TikToks, though? Your mom, who creates spreadsheets and timelines to plan every holiday meal? Those people want gifts—not to get them organized but rather to fuel their favorite hobby—reorganizing the pantry so it looks like it belongs on a blog. Here are some presents for those delightfully neurotic people in your life, the ones who keep their kitchens as organized as the pros in restaurants. (And okay, for the people you love who could use a little boost in the tidiness direction when it comes to their kitchen). We've said it before and we'll say it again: Organized cooks are better cooks.
For more organized kitchen prep
There's a reason you see ingredients on cooking shows perfectly prepped and laid out in little bowls—it makes cooking more seamless, and you're less likely to make mistakes if you read the recipe in full first and lay out everything you need in the quantity you need it. Below, find a few tools that will keep you organized as you prep ingredients in the kitchen.
Navaris Hanging Kitchen Waste Bins Set of 2
I love having a little scrap bowl that hooks over my countertop. I put it out while I'm chopping produce so I can quickly swipe away the scraps and free space on my cutting board for more knife work, without cluttering my countertops or making trips back and forth to the trash can.
OXO Good Grips 8-Piece Glass Prep Bowl Set
It's also nice to have prep bowls with lids, in case you need to save a small amount of sauce from a dinner, or don't quite use all of the cilantro garnish you prepped for your chili. Simply store it in the fridge with the lid, and you can pull it out to garnish leftovers the next night.
For more organized cabinets
The gift recommendations below strike that perfect balance between being genuinely pretty objects (and therefore genuinely fun gifts) and practical ways to make ingredients more accessible in your pantry.
Like-It Wood Shelf Risers
Shelf risers help make use of vertical space in your cabinets so you can store more fun condiments and spices and won't have to shove things aside or pick them up off of one another to get what you're looking for. These are stylish enough to look great on open shelving—and to be gift-worthy.
Hold Everything Stacking Spice Jars
It's not always necessary to decant your spices. Let's face it: It can be a time suck, and it can also lead to wasted product. But for the person on your list who's obsessive about uniform-looking shelving, these bottles are stylish, and their wide mouths make it easy to decant into them without losing spices. It's also easy to dip a tablespoon into them and scoop.
For a fridge that makes you feel like an influencer
Fridge organization is all about wrangling ingredients together into neat containers—baskets, bins, etcetera, that way you can easily pull them out and get what you need. Stylish containers and baskets are gifts that keep on giving—your organized friend will think of you lovingly every time she pulls out a fancy probiotic soda.
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Utopia Kitchen Clear Soda Can Organizer
Can organizers are the kind of thing that feel really frivolous to buy for yourself (though I have done it, because I am frivolous), which makes them the perfect gift. Trust me: this is a simple plastic container that will bring the organization-obsessive you give them to So. Much. Joy.
Open Spaces Medium Baskets, Set of 2
A food editor I used to work with liked to store her eggs in baskets in her fridge, that way she could simply grab them out without fumbling with a carton. You could opt for something specifically designed to hold eggs, but I think a basket has a chicer look. You can also use these baskets to wrangle bottles, sauces, snacks, or packed lunches.
Countertop organization tools
For anyone in your life who has trouble wrangling all of the junk that can accumulate on kitchen countertops, give the gift of designated spaces where they can collect that junk. Designated spaces, of course, that look stylish and sleek, and like they're part of the overall design of the kitchen.
Tower Countertop Drawer with Pull-Out Shelf
This steel countertop drawer provides extra space to stash my utensils while also serving as a pedestal or shelf for other kitchen storage—a water carafe, perhaps, or your fruit basket, or bottles of oil.
