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6 Ways to Maximize Storage Space in Your Kitchen

If there’s one thing that nearly all homeowners can agree on, it’s that there’s never enough storage space in your kitchen. After all, today’s kitchens often need much more space for all the electronic gadgets and appliances that weren’t available in generations before. (Hello, electronic rice makers and stand mixers!) But designers and contractors don’t seem to have gotten that memo. As a result, many homeowners face constant frustration with the lack of space in their kitchens.

Fortunately, there are things you can do to get the additional storage space you need. Start by trying these six ways to maximize storage space in your kitchen.

1. Remove Unnecessary Items

The first way to maximize storage space in your kitchen is by removing unnecessary items. That’s because kitchens often become a catch-all for whatever we need to set down. From school papers to mail and files, it all seems to end up in the kitchen. So if your kitchen is feeling cluttered, go through and remove anything that doesn’t truly belong there. That way, you have more space for the things that do.

2. Find Another Place for Seasonal Items

If you have holiday-themed cookie cutters, platters, cookbooks, or other seasonal items, it doesn’t make sense to store them in your kitchen all year long. Instead, keep your valuable kitchen storage space for regularly used items. Anything seasonal is better off stored with your holiday decorations and only brought into your kitchen for the time period you are actually using it.

3. Utilize Your Wall Space

Often, kitchens have large areas of empty wall space. And that translates to a wasted opportunity. Just imagine if all that empty wall space could be turned into storage space instead. Fortunately, it can! And one of the best ways to do that is by installing custom kitchen cabinets. That’s because custom kitchen cabinets are built to fit your room, so you get usable storage space from floor to ceiling. And there’s no better way to maximize storage space in your kitchen.

4. Add Organizers

Add organizers to your kitchen to instantly create more storage space. Drawer inserts, lazy Susans, spice racks, and wine racks all help you store more items without making a jumbled mess in your cabinets or on your counters. Choose knife racks, lid organizers, and racks for pots and pans to store awkward items. And don’t forget about corner and base cabinet organizers! They’re perfect for corralling the inevitable mess of plastic containers and lids that too frequently take over cabinets. And they’re great for storing large appliances, too!

5. Get a Kitchen Island

A custom kitchen island is one of the best purchases you can make for your kitchen. After all, a new kitchen island instantly gives you more counterspace and storage space. Plus, today’s kitchen islands often include cooktops or home bars, so it’s easy to make them into exactly what you need for your kitchen. And because they’re customizable, all the storage and organization options available for cabinets are also available for kitchen islands. Wine racks? Spice racks? Drawer inserts for all your utensils? Done, done, and done.

6. Use Pull-Outs and Pull-Downs

Are you tired of seeing unsightly trash cans and recycling bins in your kitchen? Or is it hard to move around in your limited space because of them? Then, use pull-outs and pull-downs to discretely store your garbage and recycling out of sight. Pull-outs are also excellent for making better use of large or awkwardly shaped cabinets. That’s because they allow you to pull items forward instead of reaching (or climbing!) into the back of your cabinet and fishing around for what you need.

Your kitchen is the heart of your home, so it should feel warm, welcoming, and inviting. But it’s hard to feel a sense of peace when there’s clutter all over your countertops and table. Fortunately, gaining storage space in your kitchen is easier than you might think. Just try the above six ways to maximize storage space in your kitchen. And when you’re ready for some professional help, let us know! We’d love to help you design your dream kitchen and maximize your storage space!

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Kitchen Storage Ideas Whats In and Whats Out

Kitchen Storage Ideas – What’s In And What’s Out

Kitchen storage ideas are everywhere, but which ones are best for your kitchen? It’s a good idea to take a look at what works and what doesn’t before you invest in any kitchen cabinet remodel.

The most important rule when it comes to kitchen storage is to do what’s most practical and convenient for you. After all, it’s your kitchen and you want it to be easy to use.

As you try to decide, consider ideas that work for all types of kitchens. Also, consider ideas that look great on paper, but rarely work out well in an actual kitchen.

In – Retractable Pan Racks

Stacks of pans are never fun to deal with. They’re heavy and you can easily scratch your pans. Instead, opt for a retractable pan rack that slides into your cabinet. Store your pans and their lids neatly. Simply slide out the rack to get the pan you need.

Out – Space Above Cabinets

On the surface, this might seem like one of those absolutely genius kitchen storage ideas. After all, you can use the space to store decorative items or items you don’t use often. In reality, that’s just space collecting dust. You could use it for taller cabinets and an extra shelf inside those cabinets to store more items without worrying about your kitchen turning into an army of dust bunnies.

In – Under Cabinet Hanging Storage

For some, this idea might seem more like an out. However, if you have ample space between your upper cabinets and your countertop, adding a rail to hang commonly used cups and cooking utensils can be an ideal way to save space and quickly reach kitchen items. You can hang items directly from the bottom of your cabinets, but a rail along the wall or under the cabinets looks neater.

Out – Storing Items Too Far Away

One of the top kitchen storage mistakes you can make is storing items too far away from where you’ll use them. For instance, if you store most of your dishes in the dining room, but usually eat in the kitchen or living room, you’ll waste a lot of time going back and forth. The same holds true if you store your favorite pot on the other side of the kitchen from your stove.

The best kitchen storage ideas make it easier to use your kitchen. Always organize your storage so items are close to where you’ll use them the most.

In – Side Cabinet Storage

Side cabinet storage is one of the top kitchen storage ideas that never goes out of style. While you can go overboard with this one, it’s a great way to store smaller items. Adding small shelves, racks or hooks to the sides of cabinets allows you to gain more space for spices, cookbooks and cooking utensils. You can also add small herb pots on cabinets near windows to grow your own fresh herbs all year.

Out – Relying On Organizers

Cabinet and drawer organizers are great, but not if they take up all your space. Only use these if they help. Adding too many plastic organizers and Lazy Susans can harm your storage potential. Use these sparingly and opt more for built-in storage options.

In – Inside Door Storage

Prefer kitchen storage ideas that hide your items? Add small racks and baskets to the inside of your cabinet doors. While you shouldn’t store anything heavy, this makes a great place to store small or thin items that could easily get pushed to the back of your cabinets. Storage bags, cutting boards, spices and cooking spoons all store well on the inside of cabinet doors.

Out – Too Much Open Shelving

Open shelving is one of those brilliant kitchen storage ideas that gets overused. Having a few open shelving areas works well for commonly used items or even a few knick-knacks. However, this is also an opportunity for things to get knocked off easily or gather dust. Use glass doors to store items you want to see without the risk of them getting broken or lost. Save open shelving for very specific items that you’ll use almost every day.

In – Other Great Kitchen Storage Ideas

If you’re looking for even more inspiring kitchen storage ideas, use the following resources:

Now that you’re feeling inspired to add different types of storage to your kitchen, contact us today to learn how we can build custom kitchen cabinets for your unique storage needs.

Image: Josh Hemsley

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Kitchen Cabinet Organization Tips

Tips For Getting Your Kitchen Cabinets Organized

Do you keep misplacing things in your kitchen on a regular basis? Are you tired of having to search for things you need constantly? Would more useable storage do wonders for your food and sanity? Here are some good tips to help keep your cabinets organized so instead of spending forever looking for what you need, you can be cooking instead!

  • Do it once and be done: Don’t waste time by going through parts of your cabinets at a time. Set aside a few hours one day, and go through every single thing in every single cabinet. You’ll thank yourself later when it’s all done and you don’t have to worry about it anymore. It is a pain, that’s why you need to knock it out. Anything you probably won’t need or is old needs to just be thrown out. Don’t hold on to stuff unnecessarily.
  • Keep an eye on dates and quantities any time you use anything: The best part about doing one big cleaning is that, as long as you’re mindful and pay attention from then on, you’ll never have to clean it again! Just check dates when you use things, put pans and other cooking gear back where it belongs every time.
  • Only purchase what you need: Buying the right amount of food is hard, it’s so easy to buy too much or too little. Most people end up buying too much. This makes it hard to organize their cabinets since there is not enough space to keep it all, and it also means you risk things expiring before you get the chance to use them. It’s a good practice to plan your meals out so that you can know what exactly you need to buy. This will also help you reduce waste and increase your organization space. Make sure that you rotate your food storage so that nothing expires or rots before use.
  • Make sure that you group similar objects: Divide your belongings into categories such as pans, pots, baking items, and even spices, among other things. This will make it easier to find your items.
  • Designate a container or bin for loose items: Most people have very random items in their cabinets. Make sure that you put your foodstuffs in clear and similar containers. This includes things such as baggies, utensils, snacks and kitchen essentials such as pancake mix, sugar, and flour. Using mismatched boxes just makes your cabinet look cluttered and fuller than it is. If you need the recipe on the box of the cereal, you could cut it out and glue it to the clear storage box or keep it in a drawer with other recipes.
  • Label the containers and bins: Once you place the items on the containers, make sure that you label them. You could use a permanent marker and tape for this. Make sure that label faces outwards to enable you to read it without having to move anything around.
  • Hang items on the cabinets: Make sure that you hang the items in the inside of the cabinets such as potholders, cups or spoons. They will take up way less space and will make it easier to locate the things you use most.

The best thing you can do for yourself is clean out your cabinets one good time, and then keep them clean and tidy from then on. It’s easier to maintain something than to have to do it from the beginning. It may seem like a daunting task but if you set aside an entire day and just get it done, you’ll thank yourself so much down the road. Take the step, go ahead and do it! If your cabinets are old and you think new custom made cabinets could do you a lot of good, we can help you out with that! 

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