Kitchen Organizers
Over the years I’ve had many different types of kitchens, mostly small, and quite a few kitchen organization products. I finally got a big kitchen and things just don’t seem to fit right in some of the drawers and cabinets. So, for six months I experimented with kitchen organizers. Talk about fun!
Shortly after getting the big house with the large kitchen, we moved. I have a nice, compact kitchen. It took a little creativity, but with the right tools, I was able to do wondrous things!
CountertopsSuper fun for me…my dad bought me a stand mixer for Christmas. It is beautiful but so heavy! I found these simple Kitchen Appliance Mats for Moving Small Appliances to help the mixer slide back and forth on the counter. So far so good. I cut them to be the size of the appliance I put on top of them. Note: If you cut these down to size, make sure not to cut them too close to the edge. You also might want to leave a little flap in the front to help you pull out the appliance. Also, the mats shown are not the same as the mats I’ve linked to on Amazon. The ones I purchased are no longer available. I think the new mats are better because they are heat resistant and mine aren’t. I do not own the mats that are in the Amazon link.
Drawers and CabinetsIn my latest home, there were just plain, open cabinets. These are my solutions. While the images might not be that fancy, the outcome of organization works great. Click on the images to go to the Amazon product page.
My previous kitchen was absolutely beautiful! However, the cabinets were not deep enough for my nice dinner plates and were too deep for some of my containers. I ended up purchasing several different containers and had to get creative. The picture below is a snack drawer. My criteria: BPA free & airtight. This set was reasonably priced as of the writing of this post. UPDATE: Not all of the food items you see in the photo above were in their own plastic wrap. These bins were in storage for a few weeks while we moved. When we got to the new home and opened up the containers to eat the food, the food that was “not” wrapped in plastic, smelled and tasted like plastic. I am still using the containers, only now, I keep the food in their plastic wrap or box. In the pantry of my current home, I have a couple of Lazy Susan’s. (I resent that name, so I go by Susie 😉 ) Mine are very old and from my mom’s house. I almost bought the ones I show here, but I don’t need any more and I like to use what I have. There is also a photo of my pantry. I’m not the type that needs a perfect pantry with lots of space and fancy containers. I’m more utilitarian. After all, the pantry is to store our food and kitchen items and that’s what I use it for.
Notice that I’m not using but a few bins like the ones in the snack drawer above. I have them stored on the top shelf. This is the second refresh of the pantry. I’m trying canning jars for storage and am happy with how my pantry came out. I’d love to see how you organize your pantry. The only foods that are an issue are the chips and pretzel type bags. I’m working on a plan for those. In my pantry, I have wire racks – shelves. You can see one of them on the lower left shelf. Some items don’t sit well on the wire slats. Click here for the mDesign one size bins that help If you want different types and sizes, Click Here for mDesign multiple size bins I can’t tell you how much I LOVE the EVERIE Pot Lid Organizer Holders. I bought four of them in two sizes. Another brand I purchased was quickly sent back because it was metal and scratched the sides of my pots and pans. This one does not scratch my pots.
After working with the under the stove and Corning Ware cabinets as you see directly above, I’m considering purchasing the below pullout shelves. Kneeling down and reaching to the back is not very easy on my husband and me. I’ll post if I go that route. If you’ve gotten this far, you know that I ended up purchasing the pull out shelves from the info I posted above. Only, they ended up going into the newest home. 😉 For your pantry or refrigerator, this Stackable Can Rack Organizer adds a little more space. If you have a wire pantry organizer, it may not work without Shelf Lining. I use 2 different size Shelf Organizers – Spice Racks with 3 Tiered Levels for vitamins, spices, and anything else I need. I also added a clear organizer that has a lip, keeping the spices in place. However, if you have different size bottles, it may not work. Make sure to measure all spaces before buying any kitchen organizers, or any organizer for that matter. These are some of the types of shelves I have around my home. When I first purchased shelf racks, they were coated wire or aluminum. Then someone came out with different ones that don’t have slats for your things to fall through. I haven’t tried the ones that don’t have slats, but the wire ones are great for dishes. In fact, I just ordered another one to stack my Juice Plus. Under Kitchen Sink OrganizingYou know how you have everything just sitting on the floor underneath the sink? I measured and found a few products that would work. Here are the ones I ended up purchasing. The silver one is under the bathroom sink now that I’m in a new home. The darker one is under the kitchen sink. I must say that the darker one is not as sturdy as the silver one. While the top shelf slides out, if you put anything heavy on it, it tips forward. I only have sponges, a scrub brush, and few things that don’t weigh much. Check out some other awesome products here: Homesteading |
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