If your kitchen is a little more cluttered than Marie Kondo’s, a few simple changes will keep it organized. Check out these tips to keep your cabinets tidy and accessible.
1. Store Staple Foods in Clear Bottles
If your kitchen cupboards are cluttered with half-empty bags and boxes, it can be difficult to tell exactly how much you have in stock. For a better view when opening the door, dry goods can be poured into jars or plastic containers.
Choose transparent storage tanks instead of opaque ones so you can see at a glance how much of each ingredient is left. And label them (and maybe the date) so you can immediately put your hands on the desired item.
2. Display Your Shopping List
It’s convenient to have a surface near your locker where you can write so you can jot down what you’ve used up. A chalkboard on a door like this one is ideal, or you can hang a shopping list notepad on the inside of a cabinet door.
Take a few minutes a week to check the contents of the pantry and quickly update your shopping list.
3. Add an Extra Shelf
With shelf inserts like this one, the space in the cupboard can be used more efficiently. The extra surface here allows for glassware, but the idea works just as well for a pantry.
If you typically have a large number of cans and jars stacked on top of each other, adding an extra shelf or two will help keep everything organized and prevent items from tipping over.
4. Homogeneous Storage
Small containers and packages are difficult to store side by side, resulting in a range of mismatched items. To keep all your belongings tidy and easily accessible, place small storage baskets in your cupboards to keep similar items together.
Here, homeowners use white plastic containers and label each container. It is especially effective for items that can’t fit in jars, such as noodles, or baking tools, such as cookie cutters.
5. Take Advantage of the Door Space
When making the most of every inch of space, don’t forget about the cabinet doors. You can buy a shelving unit that hangs on top of the door, or install a system like this with rails and wire baskets.
When consolidating door storage, it’s important to consider the internal shelves. If the shelves extend all the way to the front of the cabinets, you need to place the shelves so that they are between the shelves. Alternatively, you can ask a carpenter to scrape one or more shelves off a bit.
6. Use a Turntable to Make Small Items Easier to Access
Bottles and small jars can be tricky when storing because it’s hard to find what’s behind the shelf without knocking over other items. In this case, the carousel is your friend.
These round trays can rotate in one turn, which means you can place items on top and still have easy access to each one.
7. Consider Pull-Out Storage
If you’re lucky enough to have a floor-to-ceiling pantry, the idea will make life easier. Store heavy objects such as potatoes in a pull basket or box at the bottom.
In this pantry, homeowners store bulky items in crates on wheels that can be easily rolled in and out.
