Your hands are full of clutter. How do you deal with it? The kitchen’s primary function is not to be a storage room full of all kinds of things but rather to be used as a place for cooking and storing food. There are plenty of ways to tackle clutter, but not every method has the same effect. A practical way to deal with the mess is through a proper organisation system. When your space is limited and the items are many, you need to think outside the box and aim for smart storage and organisational tools. Many solutions won’t burn a hole in your pocket. Here are a few of them:
Pull-Out Pantries
А pull-out is a kitchen drawer especially designed to hold small or sometimes bulky objects. It can be used to store spice jars and bottles or any other items usually stored in smaller drawers. It can easily fit into every tiny space you have in your kitchen between the cabinets and is, therefore, a great space-saver. As with any other space-saving tool, making sure that you do not leave things in them that could damage them over time is crucial. Also, keep them away from the oven and any heat sources. The high temperatures can damage the pantry, or your products will spoil way faster than they should.
Use the corners as well
The perfect way to utilise standing space in kitchens is by using lazy susans. An affordable, workhorse item that can be positioned almost anywhere, a lazy Susan is flexible and doesn’t take up much room. It can also be played with like a puzzle piece to store casserole dishes and sauces. Pie cut turntables are ideal for the kitchen as they rotate foods across the surface, creating a fun dining experience. They are both cheap and a fantastic way to organise the clutter in your cupboards. If you want to spend a little more, you can get an organising wall unit. It’s probably the best organisation option of its type presently, as it allows easy access to the whole unit without you having to bend and stretch to get what you need.
Repurpose big cabinets
Ample cabinets are useful, but they can be hard to work with due to space issues and clutter. That’s where larders come into play. If you have too much stuff in your cabinets, make sure to get yourself a larder. Larders give you more room for more stuff — keeping everything in order and out of the way. There are even shelves for storing odd cutlery and cookery products. It can also act as a pantry of sorts, where you keep all your canned and packed goods. It’s pretty easy to DIY a larder, and plenty of budget options are available on the market.
Smart shelving
There are many benefits to using single, wall-mounted shelves. One thing you might not know is that installing single shelving units is relatively easy and inexpensive. No drilling of holes is required, so mounting them is clean and quick. And if you have a small space for storing all your goods, single shelves can fit under your tops and at the same time serve as a base for other products such as storage baskets.
A little ingenuity and creativity will bring you a long way with shelves. The usual wall hooks and mount plates can be used to hang cooking pots and pans, but you can also install various shelving units, specialised hooks, and other hardware for all kinds of containers. You can find a range of creative storage ideas online.
Counter and cupboard organisers
With all these new trends in home organisation, it is just as important for homeowners to get creative in their kitchen storage. Because rentals are changing the way people live, mobile stack shelving units are an excellent choice for anyone who cannot afford to purchase new cabinets. They are basically shelves that you put on your existing cabinets and countertops. They are pretty cheap, and you can place them both on the inside and outside of your traditional kitchen furniture. They aren’t the most elegant solution, but they keep everything contained and will prevent messes from happening.
Repurpose old boxes
Every household has boxes lying around with no use. You can make them useful in the kitchen by placing small kitchen gadgets inside them. This way, they won’t clutter your entire drawers and cabinets. You will be surprised at all the great applications for old shoe boxes, such as storing food items. With the help of some crafting paper, you can turn them into colourful storage containers for anything you may need.
Kitchen trolleys
Kitchen trolleys are indeed a tremendous asset in your kitchen organisation battle. You can use them to switch between cleaning and cooking tasks easily, and they will help you move from one side of the kitchen to the other with ease. Most have wheels so they can be rolled around effortlessly, and some are compact enough to fit inside of a cabinet or under your counter. The best part about them is that they’re mobile and super durable, so you can easily carry heavy things and perform mundane household tasks more quickly.
Use magazine files
Magazine files are a simple way to store things like aluminium foil, plastic wrap, baking paper and even plastic bags. To make things more visually pleasing, hang these files to the inside of your cabinets so that they will be hidden, and you will have a whole new look, which is perfect for storing essential supplies.
Pot lid storage
Pot lids are hard to store in a kitchen, especially in a small space like a drawer. The handles mixed with the shape of the covers make it all very uncomfortable and quite tricky. In this case, you could consider using tension rods across the lid’s handle, creating support that would hold the lid vertically. They will also be easily accessible every time you need them.
Creative ways to store odd cutlery
Every kitchen contains things that cannot fit in a drawer, like wooden spoons and wooden stirrers. But the fact is, you can’t store them in drawers or boxes because they’re always needed immediately while you cook. For this purpose, you can hang rails on the wall next to the oven so that they’re still within reach but out of your sight. Instead of searching for these objects time and again, they’ll be just hanging by your side.
Author bio: Jane Wilson is a devoted mum, a blogger and a marketing executive situated in Melbourne. She works for the local Fantastic Cleaners office. She also runs a small blog called Modern Housewives, where she shares all kinds of home improvement and parenting tips.