Storage Hacks for Your Kitchen
POSTED ON Wednesday, May 29, 2019 IN Kitchen
There is more than one solution for your storage problems
As a homeowner, you’re in your kitchen every day — and you either love it or get in and out as quickly as you can before the organized chaos can begin to come apart. But no matter how you feel about your kitchen, chances are good that it can be improved, especially when it comes to how everything is organized.
If you’ve been considering a remodel or redesign of your kitchen, you’ve likely already started thinking about the improvements you’d like to see made. But even if you’re a homeowner looking to make only minor alterations on a conservative budget, you’d be surprised by how big of a difference a small (but simple and effective) change can make.
It’s natural for your first thoughts to lean towards the aesthetic and design of your kitchen, but don’t forget to focus on the organization inside your drawers and cabinets. What items do you use everyday and where should they be stored? Are there certain items you store in your kitchen that only get used rarely? Positioning kitchen utensils, dishes, pots and pans, cleaning supplies, wine glasses, knives, and even towel storage and hotpads help you be more efficient when working in the kitchen.
To declutter your kitchen, it comes down to your everyday needs. How often do you use your kitchen, and what do you use it for most? How often do you cook? Do you eat in the kitchen, as well? These are all important questions to consider as we work our way through the storage options that can help improve your kitchen organization and make your life easier.
Choosing between cabinets with drawers and doors with interior shelves
Drawers or shelves? It’s the quandary of every kitchen. Every homeowner has had to make the choice when designing or remodeling the space where they cook their meals or entertain. More than a few will make a decision without first weighing the respective benefits of each option.
Drawers present ease of access, especially for storage below the waist. Rather than having to kneel low to the floor and rummage through a base cabinet, drawers offer access from above, especially for items like silverware or knives, dish towels, or hot pads. There is also a certain aesthetic appeal that drawers bring to a kitchen. Imagine how your kitchen could look with a bank of symmetrically-designed drawers, complete with smooth hardware. It can hold a lot more visual appeal for some homeowners, compared to a bank of base cabinets.
Alternatively, base cabinets with shelves or roll trays typically offer a greater volume of space. This allows you to store large items such as pots and pans. There are large and deep drawers that can be installed to accommodate these types of items, but organization can be a challenge.
Organizing the clutter of your kitchen drawers
Regardless of whether you have opted for more drawers or more base cabinets with doors and interior accessories such as roll trays in your kitchen, both present an opportunity to get creative with how you organize your storage.
Everyone has that drawer that has become a catch-all for miscellaneous items. Instead of haphazardly cramming everything in, consider using drawer dividers to clear the clutter. These can be especially helpful if you are dealing with a lot of small items of uncommon size. Wood or plastic utensil trays also offer a clean and simple way to organize your cutlery.
Kitchen drawers are not reserved solely for utensils, either. Drawers with a sliding top can be used to store breads and other perishable items, rather than being forced to store those items where they might seem out of place or be crushed among heavier items.
Deeper drawers, in general, can be customized to provide a unique storage space or even a two-tier divider for knives or other utensils. Some even allow you to store utensils vertically, making it easy to find what you need at a glance.
Take advantage of the depth of space in your kitchen cabinets
If you are looking to maximize the space in your base cabinets, adjustable wood shelves can effectively double the amount of vertical storage available to you. Wire baskets, stacked one on top of the other, can be used to the same effect. Wicker baskets offer a more elegant solution for open front cabinets or behind glass doors.
Remodeling your base kitchen cabinets offers the opportunity to indulge in more creativity. You can incorporate into your cabinets a smaller hidden drawer within a large drawer, a decidedly modern example of maximizing your storage space. There are also pullout drawers or roll trays that can be built into your cabinets beneath the counter, serving as a pantry where you can store your cans, spices, and boxed goods all in one convenient and organized space.
Because cabinets are most likely where you’ll be storing your pots and pans, clutter can often feel unavoidable. But pull-out storage racks, tension rods, and pre-made organizers are all ways to avoid the mess that can come from your larger kitchen items.
Making the most of your kitchen pantry storage
Kitchen pantries come in all different shapes and sizes, from a walk-in room to small closet to a simple cabinet storage space. Not everyone has the luxury of a walk-in kitchen storage area, but there are certainly solutions to maximize the space of even the smallest pantry.
Consider the Lazy Susan. Featuring a rotating set of shelves, as opposed to your standard stationary shelving, the Lazy Susan is a simple but effective storage solution. Take full advantage of the depth of space that a Lazy Susan provides and rotate the shelf to reach what you need, rather than having to unload everything and put it back in.
The Lazy Susan is a unique tool that makes the most of every square inch of space.
Tall pullout shelving can also help you organize the various items in your pantry cabinet. You’d have the depth of space that a base cabinet provides and the ease of access that drawers provide, allowing you to pull out each drawer to find what you need rather than having to rummage through every shelf and pull out items to find what you need.
If your budget is tight, you don’t have to break the bank to improve the organization of your pantry. Sometimes, all you need to do is look around the house. It can be something as simple as adding a storage caddy or organizer to the door of your pantry. Multi-purpose bins, frequently used for magazines and other household items, can also be repurposed for canned goods.
Tension rods can be fashioned to create customizable cubbies to organize cutting boards, sheet pans, serving platters and other items that need to be kept standing up.
Finding a place for the garbage and recycling
Whether you like it or not, you have to have somewhere to put your garbage and recycling. It is one of those kitchen essentials that feels like all function and no style. How creative can you be when it comes to finding a place for your wastebasket and recycling centers?
You’d be surprised.
Before you go about picking an empty corner or check to see how much space you have under the sink, consider designing a cabinet designated for garbage and recycling as part of your kitchen remodel. Base cabinets with a pullout wastebasket or recycling bins allow you to more effectively integrate these two essentials into your kitchen and ensure a more organized and sanitary space. There are even different variations of recycling centers, depending on your preference.
To explore our kitchen storage accessories for yourself, visit our nearest showroom.
RECOMMENDED