When you have a small kitchen, it can be hard to imagine how you are going to fit everything into a small amount of space. These easy kitchen storage hacks will open your eyes to a whole world of opportunities even the smallest of kitchens has for storage with a little bit of imagination and investment.
These solutions will turn your kitchen back into the space it should be. A space for your family to gather and cook together, make messes, learn new things, enjoy each other’s company around the table and invite guests into your home. These things become more stressful than joyful when you have a hard time keeping your kitchen in order and aren’t sure how to store everything you need in such a small space. However, putting in the work of figuring it out will let you live in your home feeling freer and at ease, knowing everything has a place and your space is no longer cluttered.
How Do I Get More Storage in My Kitchen?
There are a number of small kitchen storage ideas to help you become more efficient when you are cooking and decrease stress for you and your family when working in the kitchen. When your kitchen is on the smaller side — even if it’s only small in proportion to the size of your family — these tips will help you maximize the storage space you do have.
1. Do Some Spring Cleaning
No matter what time of year it is, the best way to set yourself up for success when tackling a new kitchen organization system is to take inventory of everything you have and throw away what you don’t need. This includes food as well. Look through all the food you have and check the expiration dates, throwing out what has gone bad. This will leave you with a clear picture of what you need to store and keep you from overbuying in the future if you utilize all your storage space for exactly what you need.
2. Customizable Drawer Organizer
Drawers get cluttered and unorganized so quickly when there are no dividers or an organization system. To prevent yourself from having to dig and dig to find the right tool or utensil, building your own drawer organizer or buying one from the store can prove very beneficial.
Make sure whatever option you choose is customizable — like a divider for a utensil drawer that you can easily adapt to fit your drawer’s dimensions — so you can create an effective space for what you will store inside it.
3. Roll-Out Cabinet
Investing in a cabinet that rolls out gives you visibility you don’t otherwise get for items in a small kitchen storage cabinet. You can utilize a roll-out cabinet to store pots and pans, spices or pantry food items. Roll-out cabinets are available in a variety of sizes giving you flexibility for where you want to use one and what you want to store inside.
4. Lazy Susan
Lazy Susans are found in a corner cabinet or in the corner of a pantry. They feature several spinning shelves, with one side cut out to allow a door to fit tightly against the shelf itself. It allows you to store more things on the shelves and see everything much more easily.
5. Over-the-Door Organizer
Over-the-door organizers are traditionally used for shoes but also make great use behind your pantry door. Especially if you have young children, stocking it with snacks gives them easy access and frees you up to focus on other things. It also lets you save space and avoid storing snacks in clunky boxes in other areas of your kitchen.
You could also use an over-the-door organizer for kitchen staples like aluminum foil, parchment paper, plastic wrap and cleaning supplies.
6. Peg Board
This is a really unique idea for your kitchen. If it fits your kitchen’s style, it can be a functional way to get various utensils out of your drawers and cabinets. You can use bars that loop through the holes and through the handles of your pots, pans, graters, strainers, large spoons and anything else you want to hold up on the board.
7. Labeling
Labeling your kitchen will make a huge difference. It will help you and all your family members know exactly where things go so you can stay organized longer. You can invest in a label maker or hand-make labels and save money. You can even paint labels directly on drawers, shelves and cabinets for a personal, aesthetic touch.
You can label individual utensil drawers and cabinet or label small bins to keep inside the fridge, cupboards and pantry for easier access. Sometimes homeowners take labeling to a whole new level by creating their own labels and containers for spices, cereals, snacks and other items in their kitchen they frequently use. There is a balance here between making the labels strictly for aesthetic purposes and functional purposes.
8. Look Above Your Cabinets
There is often space above your cabinets that goes unnoticed. This is a great place to store miscellaneous items you don’t need often as they will require some work to get them down.
You can use tubs to store smaller items above your cabinets without creating a cluttered feel. It is also a great place for larger appliances to sit until you need them. Cookbooks would also make a nice, stylish addition.
9. Hang Spray Bottles
A creative way to organize cleaning products stored underneath your sink is to install a tension rod and hang the spray bottles by their handles on the rod. This helps you see them all at once and leave the floor of the cabinet free for other things you want to store there.
10. Pull-Out Trash Can
Storing your trash can in a cabinet leaves the floor of your kitchen feeling much more open and less cluttered. If you don’t already have a drawer meant to store a trash can, you can get a roll-out bin that will let you push it in and out of a cabinet while keeping it behind the door.
This will also keep your kitchen smelling nicer and looking more sophisticated. Though it may decrease the size of trash can you were able to have on the floor, a roll-out bin lets you have a bigger size than if you were to have it in the cabinet by itself.
11. Utilize Wall Space
You can utilize wall space in a wide variety of ways all over your house, including your kitchen. Kitchen wall storage ideas come with a number of different shelves and storage options you can buy to mount on your walls. Some are unique and aesthetic, and you can combine them with plants or paintings to bring a flare to your kitchen. Vertical storage hanging on your walls lets you store utensils without taking up valuable counter space. This is the biggest way to keep your kitchen looking clean and organized — keeping the counters as clean and empty as possible.
12. Repurpose
Maybe you’re looking to make small changes to your kitchen organization structure for a very low price. If you’re willing to take on the challenge, turning old items into extra space for your kitchen can add a unique and fun look.
For example, you could turn old shutters into a way to hang all kinds of kitchen items, from towels to knives. Adding a magnetic strip will allow you to hang knives and other magnetic kitchen items. You can also add mountable hooks if you have items that won’t hang directly on the slats. Hooking baskets onto the slats is another way to add more storage options.
13. Vertical Organizers
You can use vertical organizers like bookends to store your cookie sheets, cutting boards and other flat appliances and cookware perpendicular to the bottom of the shelf. This lets you store way more in a cabinet, as they will stay more upright thanks to the bookends.
14. Racks
Racks are a cool way to store wine or anything else you want to use it for. They allow you to store multiple items safely and in a way where you can easily see and access them. Building a rack above an open counter helps the workflow in your kitchen go more smoothly and gives you another storage option for your space.
You can use spice racks in different ways to keep your spices together and organized. Wall-mounted wooden spice racks keep your spices out of your cupboards and off your shelves while providing an organized and easy-to-access place for them. You can also purchase in-the-wall wooden spice racks to keep your spices from taking up any space in your kitchen, as they will be flush against the wall.
15. Cutting Board Over Your Sink
This is an incredibly simple way to increase the counter space you can utilize while you are cooking. Invest in a new cutting board large enough to cover your sink, allowing you to use the other counter space for other parts of the process. Some cutting boards intended to go over the sink even have a built-in colander, making the process easier and more efficient.
16. Hooks for Mugs
Mugs bring a fun element to your kitchen. You can use their aesthetic to your advantage since it doesn’t look bad to have them exposed and uncovered. Hang your mugs on hooks under your cabinets so they can be seen above your counter space. You can also hang your mugs in your cabinet by placing the hooks underneath the shelves. Mugs can be difficult to stack, and doing so often leads to broken or forgotten mugs. Hanging them keeps them safer and much more organized, wherever you choose to place them.
17. Open Shelves
Open shelves can seem intimidating as they can quickly look and feel cluttered and unorganized. The most important thing to keep in mind when installing an open shelf is to store things on it that you use frequently. You want there to be a benefit to the easy access the shelf provides, and storing your most used items on them will keep you from adding things that shouldn’t go there.
You can also add a personal touch to your kitchen by adding decorations to your open shelves. It can be helpful to have a place to tuck away small appliances while keeping them readily available.
18. Under Shelf Baskets
Using baskets that hang underneath shelves lets you store dishes in a unique way. This is especially helpful if your kitchen is small and you don’t own a lot of dishes. The storage space in your cabinets and shelves will increase greatly, but it will not add a cluttered look or feel to your space. Meanwhile, your storage capacity essentially doubles.
19. Hang Your Stemware
Stemware racks can add a classy touch to your kitchen organization. Stemware is any sort of drinkware that stands on a stem above a base. Instead of storing your stemware in a cabinet, these racks allow them to hang upside down underneath a shelf or cabinet. The racks double as a drying rack, so your stemware can air-dry where they are already meant to be.
20. Use Your Windows
A lot of kitchens boast a large window. As nice as is to have the natural light in your kitchen, it causes you to lose valuable cabinet space. However, you don’t have to lose all the space if you can use the windowsill. You can also hang pots and pans in front of the window, adding a unique look to your space without blocking too much light.
Unsure Where to Store Things in Your Kitchen? Let WG Wood Products Help
At WG Wood Products, we offer more than 10,000 items to make your space as unique to you as it can be. We continually add products to our website and encourage you to call if you can’t find what you’re looking for. Over 1.5 million people have relied on our products over the years since we began in 2002. Of those customers, 99% of the feedback we receive has been a rating of five stars spanning across all of our channels. We are able to get these ratings because we always listen to our customers and implement their feedback whenever we can, which sometimes leads to new products.
Contact us today to learn more about how our products can transform your space into an organized kitchen. Submit your quote request and take the first step in making your kitchen into the one you’ve always dreamed of.
