Dishes, glasses, and utensils. Food, beverages, and spices. Cleaning supplies, sponges, and towels. The list of what a kitchen contains goes on and on.
Of all the rooms in your house or apartment, the kitchen is home to more items than almost any other space. And whether you have a tiny kitchen in an apartment or a spacious chef’s kitchen in a huge house, it needs some organization to function well. To hold it all — you need storage.
Regardless of your style, kitchen size, or how much time you spend cooking, here are five storage solutions that can work in every kitchen.
1. Go Vertical
The smaller your kitchen is, the more critical it is to maximize space. One easy way to do this is to go vertical and turn wall space into stylish storage.
Mount ceiling racks to hold pots and pans. Attach floating shelves above or around your cabinets to hold cookbooks, spice racks, or put coffee cups and dishes on display. Add a shelf above your window for potted plants, herb gardens, or decorative items.
Are you limited on counter space?
With a magnetic knife strip on the wall, you won’t have to take up counter space with a knife block.
2. Don’t Waste Any Space
Even large kitchens often lack proper storage. The size of the room doesn’t matter nearly so much as the storage areas you create within the space.
And there are many ways that you can make use of unused, wasted space.
You can turn the undersides of your cabinets into a new storage area by mounting magnets beneath your cabinets. Use those magnets to attach spice jars or canisters with metal lids.
Do you have an end cabinet that isn’t next to a wall or an appliance? Turn it into a hanging storage center for small items such as utensils, spatulas, ladles, or dish towels.
To make better use of interior cabinet space, consider attaching over-the-door racks. You can use them to hold everything from food and spices to potholders and oven mitts.
Short on space in the cabinet beneath your sink? Adding an over the door rack inside your sink cabinet can create extra storage for garbage bags, cleaning supplies, or even a small recycling bin.
You can also create more cabinet space to hold cups, dishes, and bowls by adding risers to your shelves. With risers, you can create two tiers of storage for every shelf and eliminate any wasted space.
3. Add Canisters and Storage Containers
The only way to create an organized kitchen is to have a designated storage place for every single item, including items in your pantry.
Glass canisters and plastic storage bins are ideal for holding cereals, oats, grains, rice, and dried pasta. You can even use them to keep cookies, chips, snacks, and all sorts of dry goods. By stacking them, you’ll never have to waste an ounce of space.
You can also use clear storage bins and lidded bowls inside your refrigerator. Tossing fruits and veggies into your refrigerator bins can actually waste space. Instead, stack them in containers, so you don’t waste any space between your shelves.
4. Add an Island
Kitchen islands are both stylish and functional, and they’re ideal if you have a large kitchen with lots of extra space.
Invest in an island that has multiple drawers, doors, and shelves for the most function and versatility. You can use the top for meal prep or dining, and you can use the drawers and shelves to hold all sorts of items inside.
Take the pots and pans, bakeware, dishes, plastic bags, and cutting boards out of your cabinets and store them in the island.
Don’t have the space to add an island in the center of a room?
In a small kitchen, a rolling bar cart or a tiered shelf pushed up against the wall is a great alternative. Like an island, the more drawers and shelves it has, the better a storage solution it will be.
5. Organize Your Drawers and Cabinets
Drawers are best for storing small, flat, and slender items. But how you arrange them makes all the difference.
To turn your drawers into fully functioning storage systems, add drawer organizers. Utensil trays aren’t just for utensils — they’re also perfect for holding all sorts of household items.
Wine keys, corkscrews, bottle openers, and can openers will be easier to find if you sort them in utensil trays rather than just tossing into a drawer.
Do you have a kitchen junk drawer? Add a utensil tray to hold tools, batteries, flashlights, pens, and all sorts of other small household items.
It’s also essential to arrange items inside your cabinet in a way that maximizes storage.
Do you have deep cabinets that make it hard to reach items all the way in the back?
Pull-out shelves and slide-out trays make it incredibly easy to retrieve items from deep shelves. These are perfect for those lower cabinets that make it hard to access items stored in the back.
Pull-out shelves and sliding trays are also handy in the refrigerator. With one or two of these in place, you’ll never have to worry that food is spoiling at the back of the fridge.
In Summary
Designing your kitchen with storage as a priority is a must if you want an organized space.
If you’re ready to create a better storage system in your kitchen, here’s what to do:
- Make use of vertical space with wall shelves and hanging racks
- Turn unwanted space into functional storage by adding magnetic strips and over-the-door racks
- Use canisters and clear storage containers to organize items in your pantry and refrigerator
- Add an island or a freestanding cart with multiple shelves and drawers to maximize storage
- Use utensil trays to organize flatware and other small items in kitchen drawers
Putting just a few of these practices in place can turn your kitchen into one of the most organized rooms in your home. And the more time you spend cooking, the more enjoyable it will be.
[Author Bio]
Angus Flynn has five years of Property Management experience working primarily in high-end apartment community living. His ability to consistently deliver white-glove service to his residents and prospects has propelled him in a successful career that now finds him leading the team at Turtle Creek.