Photo by Dominic Morel via stock.xchng
Ever had to interrupt the flow of your cooking to search for the oregano or grope for the pot lost in the back of a messy cupboard?
No room in the house needs more organization than the kitchen—chaotic spice drawers and unruly pot collections can threaten to overwhelm even the most in-control home chef.
There are many creative ways to put things in order, but certain kitchen dilemmas deserve the most prominent attention. Here are some neat ideas to get those trickiest of items under control.
POTS AND PANS
Pots and pans, and especially their tops, are notoriously difficult to organize. A wall-mounted pot rack is a common solution. For smaller kitchens, try installing one inside a cabinet with the shelf removed.
Getting the lids in order is more than half the battle. Creative solutions include using a magazine rack as pot-top holder or a peg rack to keep them organized. If you keep your pots inside a deep drawer, you can keep the tops out of the way and pressed against the side of the drawer using a short tension rod.
KNIVES AND FLATWARE
While most find traditional cutlery trays useful, there are alternatives. Silverware can go in containers attached to the wall or vertically in a deep drawer.
Knives can be a little more trouble, since the sharp edges must be protected. On-counter knife blocks work if you have the space, but if you need a tidier solution, try an in-drawer knife organizer. If your wall space is more voluminous than your drawer space, a wall-mounted magnetic knife strip will fit the bill.
BOARDS, TRAYS, COOKIE SHEETS
Cutting boards, trays, cookie sheets, and other large, flat items can be some of the most unwieldy items in the kitchen as far as storage is concerned. Luckily, their regular shapes suggest many good solutions.
A rack on back of cabinet door can keep these snug. If you keep them stacked sideways on a shelf, consider using short tension curtain rods to create dividers to organize them. If your cabinet space is limited, a colorful solution is to affix a wide loop of fabric to the wall, which creates a sling that can cradle several cutting boards or other flat items.
SMALL ITEMS
The army of small kitchen items can be the undoing of a home cook’s sanity. Where’s the teaspoon? What about the cinnamon? Small things and odds and ends can be organized using hooks and containers inside cabinet and closet doors. For example, try hanging measuring cups and spoons on little hooks inside a cabinet door.
A back-of-the-door shoe organizer can also hold many small things, including spices and other condiments. Another useful way to store herbs and spices is the magnetic spice rack, which you can easily make yourself.
How have you creatively organized your kitchen or pantry? What are your challenges to staying organized in your kitchen? What is your next kitchen project?
