“The more storage you have, the more stuff you accumulate.” – Alexis Stewart
Nothing is worse than trying to cook in a disorganized kitchen. You spend more time looking for what you need than cooking. This problem gets even worse when you have a small kitchen and storage space is at a premium. You’ll end up preparing a meal that doesn’t meet your full potential, all because your kitchen held you back.
These kitchen storage ideas will help you get your kitchen storage spaces organized so that you can step up your chef game.
1. Kitchen Storage Cabinet Ideas
The most popular storage method in kitchens is cabinetry. You could use lower cabinets to line the walls or to create a central kitchen island. You might also try ceiling height wall-mounted cabinets hung at eye level for a more traditional approach.
Most people have these two separate cabinet units because they need the counter space between them for working. If you have blank wall space, you could create a single cohesive unit that extends from the floor to the ceiling. You can even purchase appliances with customizable doors to match the rest of your cabinets, creating a uniform look.
When creating your cabinet system, think about installing several different types of cabinets to allow yourself more freedom in how you use the space. You could have some larger cabinet spaces for an appliance garage to store your small kitchen appliances and smaller cabinets for kitchen utensils or cleaning supplies.
2. Modern Kitchen Storage Ideas
If you’re considering a kitchen remodel, you need to look at modern kitchen designs first. Gone are the days of boring and empty storage cabinets. Today, you’ll find so many solutions for making your cabinets easier to use and more functional for everyday life.
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These problem-solving ideas could include upper cabinet shelves with guides to bring them down to eye level. Or you could have deep cabinet shelves on drawer rails, so they come out. Instead of having a deep corner shelf you could have a corner cabinet with drawers or a curved shelf that pulls out on specially designed hinges and hardware.
3. Hanging Kitchen Storage Ideas
If you have limited space in your kitchen, it’s time to get creative with storage. Start by looking under things as possible locations for space hanging storage solutions.
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Do you have a kitchen counter with an open underside? Do you have shelves or cabinets that you could hang wire baskets underneath? Maybe you have a tall ceiling from which you could hang a pot rack. If you have a blank wall, mount pegboard for a customizable hanging space.
You can hang your cutting boards, pots, or pans. Wire baskets can hold your jars, spices, or even fresh fruits and vegetables.
4. Cabinet Organization Kitchen Storage Ideas
Once you have your cabinets, organize them to maximize the space while also making it easier to use the kitchen. This means finding the right balance of organization and usefulness. Not every kitchen organization system will work for everyone, so it’s essential to know your style before you start putting cooking utensils away.
You can buy shelves that fit into your cabinets to create more room for storing multiple items in half the space. You can use shelf risers for storing flatware. Consider installing a lazy susan in your corner cabinet to prevent having to dig into the deep, dark back of the cabinet for what you need. You can also use a cabinet organizer to keep your pots and pans organized.
5. Kitchen Storage Containers Ideas
Not everything you need to store in your kitchen is an appliance or utensil. You need a way to keep commonly used cooking staples like flour and sugar. Whatever you use the most should be readily accessible so you don’t have to go digging through the pantry on a daily basis. Storage containers are a perfect idea because they’re not only functional, but they can be decorative too.
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Start by deciding what ingredients or foods you use often enough that you’d like to have them ready and within reach on the counter. Then decide how much of it you’d like to have at any given time. Some baking staples you may use more of, so you’ll want a larger container. Whereas other items you may use a little at a time, so a small container is sufficient.
6. Kitchen Storage Dividers Ideas
Using dividers is the best way to organize your serving platters, cutting boards, and baking pans. These are all large pieces that are a bit awkward to store. Stacking them never works because they’re all different sizes.
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You could have vertical dividers mounted into a cabinet or on a drawer so you can keep large flat items organized. To make this system work the best, look for contoured dividers. They should have an angled or sloped contour at the front to make it easier to access the items you’re storing.
7. Kitchen Storage Drawers Ideas
Drawers are one of the most common kitchen storage solutions. But, you’ll find many designers installing drawers behind a standard cabinet door, hiding them from view. You have to open the door and pull the drawer out to access your kitchen items.
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Deep, wide drawers are perfect for storing pots, pans, or dishes. Shallow drawers are best for storing your cooking utensils and silverware. You could even use one as an alternative to a spice rack — just make sure the caps are tight before you lay any bottles down. When organizing your drawers, try to keep everything of one kind together and match the size of the items to the drawer’s width and depth.
8. Kitchen Storage Jars Ideas
If you have a country, farmhouse, rustic, or French country kitchen, then you could embrace the mason jar trend. Gardeners and farming families commonly use mason jars to preserve vegetables or make jams and jellies, making them right at home in these kitchens’ styles. Just be careful; you don’t want it to look like you’re trying too hard or blindly following a trend.
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You could use your mason jars to hold cooking utensils on the counter. Or they could hold tabletop condiments. If you don’t like mason jars, there are plenty of other options with a more secure seal on the lid that could keep your spices, grains, cereals, and pasta fresh.
9. Kitchen Rack Storage Ideas
A rack gives you a centralized place to store similar items. The most common rack you see in kitchens are the ones that hang from overhead. They hold pots and pans, drinkware, or even function as a wine rack. They work best if you have a taller ceiling; no one wants to hit their head on your cast iron.
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If you have lower ceilings, try hanging your rack over the island or other counter space. You could even have a small rack that hangs above the kitchen sink. No one walks under these areas, so you don’t have to worry about anyone banging their head.
10. Organizer Kitchen Storage Ideas
Without organizers, your kitchen storage is just large empty spaces. You need to add cabinet and drawer organizers to break it up. These organizers compartmentalize the spaces to give each item stored within them its own designated spot.
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You can also use organizers to keep your silverware, cooking utensils, or spices neat. You could have one on your counter for easy-to-grab mixing spoons and spatulas. Perhaps an organizer in a cabinet will keep your pot lids neat. You might also consider one to organize your cutting boards.
11. Kitchen Pantry Storage Ideas
You need a place to store your dry and non-perishable goods. For most of us, this is a small closet in the kitchen. It probably has the old-school awkwardly-placed wire racks, and you decided to make them work (you’re not alone). It’s time to say goodbye and upgrade.
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Start by measuring your pantry and knowing the total amount of space you have to work with. Then take stock of what you have and how much. You can then design a custom storage solution that works with your space and needs.
Look for ways to customize storage, such as a can organizer or bins for smaller packages. Create zones and store similar items together.
12. Kitchen Storage Pull-Out Organizer Ideas
Instead of having a pantry closet, you could have pull-out organizers. From the front, they look like just another cabinet door. But open it up, and it’s a gloriously large rack that glides outward. Instead of being a large flat shelf or drawer, it’s narrow and deep with rails to hold everything in place.
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These organizers are excellent for storing your dry and canned goods or anything else you would typically keep in your pantry. You can have more than one, and each can hold a particular category of items. These organizers can be any size you need to fit your space. Perhaps they are the height of your upper wall cabinets, or they could be floor to ceiling pull-outs in your wall unit.
13. Wall Shelves Kitchen Storage Ideas
Modern kitchen cabinet design trends rip the upper cabinets off of the walls and replace them with open shelving. While it looks beautiful in design magazines and on social media, it isn’t functional for most people in real life. The average family has too many cooking utensils and food storage requirements to use an open shelf concept.
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There are a few things to consider before you hop on the open shelf bandwagon. Whatever you store on your shelves is open and exposed to cooking grease, dust, and dirt. Store your dishes on them, and you’ll have to wipe them off every time you go to eat. Anything else will need regular wiping.
You also won’t be able to load the shelves up like you would cabinets. With a cabinet, you close the door, and no one knows the chaos behind. With a shelf, everyone that comes into your kitchen will see the clutter and mess on your shelves.
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