Have you ever wished you had more storage in your kitchen, bath, or other room? I suspect your answer is in the affirmative. Well, you already have the space and simply need to reorganize it. Organization is the key word here.
Let us look at kitchen storage first.
Cutlery Dividers
How do you organize silverware? There is a multitude of options available from polystyrene pre-sized dividers that can be cut to fit in various drawers, simple wood dividers, double tiered wood dividers that offer two levels of storage where you can keep the good silver in the lower tray and the everyday flatware in the upper tray.
You can also use one level for the steak knives or serving pieces. You can customize the sizes of each compartment for your individual needs or make the drawers from walnut or other exotic woods to create interest. You see it is not just a drawer with a plastic tray anymore. Our flatware needs to be organized for efficiency and to look good.
Trash Cans
The next most valuable area in the kitchen to organize is the trash or recycling bins. Again, it starts with a small pullout trash receptacle under the kitchen sink and includes a variety of bins and sizes all the way to a 4-bin storage system with lids that open when you open the drawers, they reside in. storage of trash, recyclables, compost, and storage of the associated trash bags are popular today.
Spice Storage
How do you store your spices? Remember they have a shelf life that does best when not stored in heat or above the cooktop or moisture in and around a sink. The most popular ways are in a drawer on an angle, racks on the back of a door, graduated shelves within a wall cabinet or pull outs close to the cooktop or freestanding range.
Pots and Pans Storage
Pots and pans can present challenges as they should be stored close to the ovens or cooktops where they are needed. Adjustable shelves allow more storage heights which is nice, but you still need to reach down low to find them. Pull out shelves that are adjustable are the next step up as you can have more shelves with little lost space. Drawers are a fantastic way to shore as you simply open the drawer with 1 step and find the pot or pan desired, then simply close the drawer. You can store the lids with partitions or nest them with the pots as we prefer. You can also hang them on a pot rack or using hooks above a cooktop or on a backsplash. This is certainly accessible and easy to reach.
Appliance Storage
Heavy appliances are also easy to store on a shallow shelf in a pantry, a pull up mixer shelf where the mixer stays while using it or in a niche such as an appliance garage or in a backsplash if you can utilize a deeper wall behind your base cabinets. This is also great for food processors, toasters, and coffee machines. Toaster drawers are also a terrific way to store the toaster with a special drawer box allowing the controls to be exposed. You simply open the drawer when using and close it after the toaster has cooled.
Tray Storage
Tray storage is easy. Why have a bunch of flat pan and trays or cookie sheets all nested within each other when its simple to find that hard to reach cabinet above the wall oven and use multiple vertical partitions to organize each type of tray or pan. If you can reach the bottom of the pan, you have access to all the storage above.
Make Use of Islands
Utilize the backs of islands to include shallow cabinets to store items that are used less often or bulk storage items. It can also house Reverse osmosis systems behind the main sink thus not using valuable space in the sink cabinet.
Tupperware Storage
Have you ever wondered how to store Tupperware efficiently? We certainly have. In fact, it has kept me up at night on occasion, but the solution is quite simple. Throw way all the mixed versions of Tupperware and the missing lids and bowls and start with a new set. If you have shallow storage spaces keep all the lids and various sized bowls nested within each other. Another way that works is to have a designated drawer to keep items segregated and organized.
Plates and Bowls Storage
Plates, bowls, and dishes are another area. Most still want to store them in wall cabinets where you need to reach out to get them. If getting a stack of 10” dinner plates at once, you could hurt your back. Consider drawers with storage pegs or organization dividers to separate and keep them organized. Open shelves or floating shelves are also smart as you simply remove them from the shelf with no doors to open or close.
Cookbook Storage
Where do you store those cookbooks that are needed to get Mom’s favorite recipes? It needs to be near the area where you prepare; a bake center or area where the work gets started. Open shelves are a great option as we may want to have free access to the books and be proud of the collection we have.
Pantries
Canned foods including fruits, vegetables, sauces, and condiments may seem a challenge but again the solution is simple. Consider the size of the cans first. If they are all the same size, it is easy to calculate storage. Most however, range in size from 2-3/4” to 4” in diameter with the most popular size being 3”. Do not worry about heights at this point but concentrate on the diameter of the cans. It’s good to only have 3-4 cans deep storage as things get lost in the back to easily. You can also have sliding shelves which are available today with glass fronts and sides making it easy to see the labels. I also like canned food storage racks on the backs of doors like pantry or wall cabinet doors using glass fronts so you can read the labels.
Lazy Susans
Do you have areas that may be difficult to access for storage such as a corner or even a blind corner? If so, then help is here. The old Lazy Susan’s still exist in various methods as shown in the pictures below as well as a full access cabinet with doors opening for full access to this difficult area. Also consider corner drawers as shown below. The dead corner cabinets of yesterday have multiple solutions as well including the lemans and magic corners.
Doors and Drawers
Using doors, drawers and tall storage options can present differing opinions. Note that doors have been prevalent since the inception of cabinets with pullout shelves later added as a convenience to access items located behind the doors. Present day thoughts have evolved more toward drawers as a better means of storage. The fact is that we need both. Base cabinets with doors are a good place to store small appliances or bulky items and using a pullout shelf continues to be popular, however drawers are more convenient for most items. Most items including pots and pans, plates, bowls and dishes, and various other items simply are more convenient in the base drawers. The use of more drawers and less doors is prevalent today. Even pantries today are more convenient with drawers below.
Cup Drawers
Incorporating appliances into the kitchen as storage? Think of warming drawers used to store coffee cups? A Warm cup for coffee in the morning excellent. Consider using a warming drawer with wood panel to seamlessly fit into your kitchen below the coffee machine as one option or a drawer designed specifically to warm cups below the coffee machine as well. Also consider a standard warming drawer below a cooktop where you need the appliance. I see so many warming drawers below double ovens such that the appliance is near the floor. Why spend money on an appliance that is not convenient? Locate warming drawers where they are convenient in a top-drawer location or below the top drawer, so it blends in with the kitchen and becomes a practical location.
LED Lighting
Floating shelves are a genuinely nice touch to add storage as well s create an interesting look by using tile, LED lighting and various color and textures. It does not have to be just a shelf. Consider using various lengths or staggered applications to store dishes, wines, books or simply as an accent that has storage.
Serving Trays
There are also more unique storage options including pull out tray storage where the serving trays are built into the cabinets. These serving trays are typically a bit deeper and the beauty is they can be custom built with exotic woods or used as an accent piece.
