Adding space-saving organizers in your kitchen to maximize cabinets & create a custom look.
“A place for everything, and everything in its place.” Does that sound like your kitchen? If not, read on sister. I’ve got your back.
When we were building our home, I was obsessed with designing our kitchen. Like the rest of our house, it wasn’t big on size, so I had to be creative. I would think out exactly how to use my new fantasy kitchen on paper. Imagine diagrams of where the tupperware would go– that detailed. lol
Though I would change a few things about our kitchen in hindsight, the best design choices I made were our organizational products. Without a doubt, these upgrades made my small kitchen larger than imagined, creating a space for everything. Now to just keep everything in its place…
Watch this quick video, highlighting our kitchen upgrades:
In no particular order, let’s talk all about the kitchen upgrades you haven’t thought of: knife drawers, pull-out organizers, trash cans, drawer dividers, and food storage.
Knife Drawer
Having little counter space forces you to think of creative ways to keep them clutter-free. I chucked our knife block and opted for a knife drawer instead. This custom insert is cut-to-fit perfectly inside your own drawer. I love how efficient and clean this keeps our space. Not to mention, I have less worry with the kids accessing sharp knives.
From Home Depot, $68
Vertical Pan Storage
One of my pet peeves is stacks of inaccessible pans. It seems I always need the one on the bottom, forcing me to remove the entire cabinet’s worth of bakeware to get to my lowly sheet pan. Vertical storage is the key to maximizing your current cabinet space.
Our exact organizer was custom-made by our cabinet builder, with some specific guidance from yours truly. (I don’t know that he was really a fan of mine. hahaha) Instead of recommending you hire a frustrated carpenter, I found some nice online options that will serve you just as well.
Tray Divider From Home Depot, $195
Tiered Pull-out From Home Depot, $216
Cooking Utensil Dividers
A large drawer piled with spatulas, whisks, and spoons makes it hard to find what you need. By adding a drawer divider, you can keep like items together without making organization a chore. The size of this particular divider makes putting away dishes simple. If you get one with too many or small slots, organizing will become tedious. This one is simple and very effective. It is also a “cut-to-fit” model, allowing you to create the perfect custom size.
Drawer Divider, From Home Depot $38
Flatware Dividers
Doesn’t every kitchen have a flatware organizer? This model is the upgrade from the plastic catch-all version. It is cut-to-fit, like the other drawer organizers in our kitchen. The nature of its custom-size keeps the organizer from shifting inside the drawer. As a bonus, the maple finish makes it look high-end.
Flatware Divider, From Home Depot $62
Built-in Trash Cans
A hidden trash can is a luxury, y’all. And it was one that I designed first in our kitchen (right beside the sink where I would need it most). I love the double can models from Rev-a-shelf. They have a ton of different options and sizes to retrofit your current kitchen cabinets. Keep that unsightly can hidden!
Heavy-Duty Trash Pull-out, From Amazon, $330
Bookcase
Because I love collecting cookbooks, we opted to add a bookshelf on one end of our kitchen island. It has shelf pegs to adjust the height and extra shelves for various size books. Though this isn’t a purchasable item, I highly recommend a bookshelf addition to anyone renovating or building a new kitchen. Plus it can serve as another space for items typically kept on the countertop, such as canisters.
Canned Goods Storage
Our kitchen design left a small cabinet on a run of cabinets that couldn’t be used traditionally. This pull-out insert allowed us to use what would have been an awkward space. We use this organizer for canned goods, but it can be used in many different ways. The mechanisms on this pull-out are well-suited for heavy items.
Cabinet Pull-out from Home Depot, $165
Spice Rack
You can always find extra space…like the inside of cabinet doors. If your spice cabinet is over-flowing, opt to add a hanging rack on the inside of the door. I love how easy it is to find my most-used spices with this organizer. These spice racks also come in various sizes for different width cabinet doors.
Spice rack from Home Depot, $45
Pull-out Pantry Shelves
When a single cabinet is your only pantry, you need to use every square inch of it. Anyone else digging in the back of your cabinet right now, trying to remember what you have in there?
Custom pull-out drawers are a life-saver. They help you keep tabs on your food supply and maximize the space you have. Everyone asks why we did not include a walk-in pantry in our home build. But with the slew of pull-outs and drawers in our kitchen, we did not NEED one.
Our cabinet builder created these pantry shelves for us, but you can find similar custom-sized options through Home Depot. A program on their site allows you to enter your measurements and have them made-to-order.
Custom Pantry Shelves from Home Depot, $104
OR you can select from these ready to ship options:
Express Pull-out Pantry Shelf from Home Depot, $73
Another favorite:
In our laundry and bathroom, we included a tip-out tray beneath our sinks. Since we have an apron-front sink in the kitchen, we couldn’t use this option in that space. They are great for sponges, brushes, and even toothpaste/toothbrushes, in a typical location that isn’t utilized at all.
Tip-out Tray from Home Depot, $18
Did you get all that? Have you diagramed where your tupperware will go now? Get to measuring and put these organizers to use in your kitchen! Maximize cabinet space and create a place for everything.
I would love to hear if you use any of these products or if you recommend any others. Comment below!
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