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Kitchen Organizing

With the loss of a cabinet for the dishwasher, and my kitchen already having not much storage, I’m trying to get more organized.

We’ve had a garbage disposal in the past few houses but don’t here.  We have a septic tank and Vince refuses to allow a garbage disposal.  I think if he knew all the stuff I manage to poke down that drain, he’d be happy to have a garbage disposal.  Not having one leaves more room under the sink.  There was still stuff under there that the previous owner had left so I cleaned all that out and that gave me room to put the trash can.  We’ve ordered one of those slider things so it will be easier to pull in and out.

This little box is most helpful!

Packets

I use a lot of packets.  The whole front half is Kool-Aid.

Packets

We drink a lot of Kool-Aid!

All these packets had been in a drawer with nut – almonds, pine nuts, pecans, macadamia nuts.  I put all of those in a plastic box that seals and put them in the pantry.  By sticking all these little packets in this one box, it’s amazing how much room that left in the drawer.

Do you have any kitchen organizing tips you can share?  I have too much stuff in a too small kitchen!

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Comments

  1. Here is my kitchen tip….Stay out of it !!! hahahahahaha I really like to cook…but I like quilting more 🙂 I was on the truck for a couple of months. It was fun but now I need to catch up….More stitchin’ Less cooking for now.

  2. When we moved to Omaha from NY 7 yrs ago, we bought a house from 1992. I didn’t know what to do with all the storage! Whoever designed the kitchen island deserves a kiss. Instead of 2 cabinets of equal depth placed back to back, I have one that’s very shallow (perfect for those large spice bottles, cans, etc. one deep) and the one that backs it on other side is extra deep. I don’t bake much anymore but don’t want to get rid of the pans. (I come from a lonnnng line of proud pack rats). I bought plastic milk crates and store in them all the items that are rarely used…with a big label on the front, of course. I still have enough room to store my regular pots and pans in front. Storage trick I learned from my mother-in-law for all the frying pans and other long handled shallow pans is to hang them on the wall. She used the stairwell to the basement which was in her kitchen. My laundry room is right off the kitchen and I use the wall behind the door. I also store all my pot lids (except for the Le Creuset which stay with the pots) in plastic milk crates – one for small/medium and another for large/XL. Pulls out of the cabinet just like a drawer. I suppose I could get all those neat cabinet inserts but basically I’m too cheap and this system works fine.

    • We need visuals of that plastic milk crates for your lids and the wall behind the door in the laundry room. That sounds great.

  3. I hung my most used utensils on the wall where I could find them at a glance, then put herbs and spices in clear boxes on the shelves so I don’t have to pull everything out of the spice cabinet trying to find one particular bottle. Much easier to just pull one box out rather than have everything fall out on my head each time I open the door. Now I’m trying to figure out what to do with the millions of plastic storage containers and lids that I can’t make fit together. I’m considering file 13, then starting over with new ones and keeping lids with each container. Hope that helps.

    • We did the file 13 in our kitchen and started over. Ahhh much better!

  4. One more thought …I don’t know whether or not you like the contrast of the light outlet covers on your backsplash tiles. When we put granite on the countertops, we tiled the back wall with a tan tumbled stone tile. I found outlet cover in Lowe’s that also had a stone look and blend right in. Hubby replaced the white electric parts with almond. This was about 4 years ago and I haven’t needed to be down that aisle since, but I do think that they also had darker versions of the covers. I know how much Vince likes those “little” trips to the big box stores …

  5. When we replaced my old burners which was a unit built into the counter top and the wall ovens I lost some of my cabinet space. There was space on each side of the stove for narrow cabinets which hold all of my cookie and baking sheets standing on end. I like that better. I love built in’s but they are so expensive to replace.

  6. I put likes together in one big plastic container. Maybe four inches deep, cheap to buy. Stack like containers, but put all tops together as I find them easy to spot. Again, likes Like oils, vinegars, molasses etc. all in one container to grab when baking. Throw choc. chips, nuts, coconut all together in another box to grab. You ve made a great start with your little box of likes. Personally I love a small kitchen.

  7. I understand when the husbands say no…..you have to pick your battles…but we have a septic tank and have a garbage disposal…and never have had any trouble, but we are careful what we do put in the disposal….we have very deep cabinets and a friend saw me on the floor trying to look in one of the cabinets and he asked if I would like pull outs….he would make them for me……the best thing I have ever had…..organizes everything because you can see what you have…..Off the subject, but now that I have you on the line….LOL…..do you spray your veges with anything for bugs…..

  8. We always had a garbage disposal with our septic tank (the kind that’s a big hole with various sizes of gravel, etc.), never had a problem. There’s something we used to wash down the drain into the septic that accelerated the decomposition and was completely natural stuff, too.

    I have a small kitchen, about 10 x 10, with two doorways, and I struggle with it all the time. In the fifth wheel, while small, there was a place for everything. Here there seems to be a place for nothing!

  9. I have a small galley kitchen and have to use every spare inch. I use plastic dish pans to group small things in for lower cabinets. The slide in the door space fairly well with the give of the side. I found a pull out that fits under the disposal for cleaning supplies. We had a disposal with a septic tank for 20 years with no problem. Vince needs to do some more research! My spices are on turntables with two shelves. I am going to pick up a couple of plastic baskets for a couple of ideas I have seen here. The back of lower cabinets are getting hard on this old back!

  10. We have a septic also and a garbage disposal. In nearly 15 yrs, we have never had any issue with it. You must, however, be aware of what you are putting down the disposal.

  11. I’ve doubled the storage space inside my cabinet shelves by purchasing lots of those white wire shelf dividers from
    Wal-Mart. Also, my spices and other baking items are arranged on white wire graduated shelving inside my pantry. Most items are not tall enough to take up the entire height of a cabinet shelf, so I can stack plates underneath a wire rack and still have a whole area on top of that for bowls, etc. I also use a clear bin like yours for packets, etc.

  12. My mother had a little cabinet built that was about 12 inches wide that fit between the stove and refrigerator and she used it to store her skillets and lids (on their sides) and also the cookie sheets. It had a drawer that was good for some utensils for the stovetop cooking and Salt and pepper. It was very handy since she didn’t have countertops near the stove.

  13. my best find was smoke detector display boxes from a big box store. they were there all lined up so nicely holding their little supply of smoke detectors, and there were several empty ones so i scooped them up and asked if i could have them. they fit the packets of stuff so nicely.

    my best kitchen organizing tip was to get different colors of gadgets. i have a beautiful raspberry pink can opener. a pastel pink peeler, lime green spatulas, orange different kind of spatulas, etc. I used to have all nicely matching black ones and i could not find anything to save my life in that drawer. now, each thing just shouts out “here i am!!!’ matching isnt all its cracked up to be…..

  15. We live in a OLD farmhouse. My kitchen is the farm’s original log cabin, and the newest addition was finished in 1870. We had a picture of my husband’s great-grandmother as a teenager in front of it! My kitchen in large, but terrible. When I get all my kids through college. I am would love to remodel. 🙂

  16. I’m going to have to come back to this post to see what tips are added.
    I’ve only had one kitchen that had enough storage in it–in the first house I purchased about 20 years ago. I do have a pantry the size of a small closet, and I built shelves in it, but it still has problems. Then I realized that my friends with organized kitchens have garages and basements–I don’t. So, I’m always on the lookout for better storage ideas. Glad you posted this, because with all your readers, there should be lots of comments so I should get more ideas.

  17. What has worked really well for me has been cat litter boxes. New and unused of course. They are the perfect depth for your base cabinets. Just measure to be sure they will fit thru your doors. Just pull out to get to what you need.

  18. When we moved into our current house, I was amazed at all the cabinet space. I didn’t think I could ever fill it up. I was wrong….
    Plastic tubs are great for holding packets, like you discovered. I don’t really have many tips to use.

  19. I have no tips, as my kitchen functions (barely) for me and the way I work, but probably not for anyone else, though for all those packets, I just used an empty box that was around at the time and just have never replaced it. I do have to chuckle though about the Kool-Aid. Growing up, that’s pretty much all we had to drink other than water that came from a spring that filled a big tank up on the hill. When we mixed up our K-A, we only used 1/2 the amount of sugar as required and that’s how we got used to drinking it. Anything more than that and it was way too sweet. and when pre-sweetened came out, yuk, nasty stuff. Probably haven’t had K-A now in 30 years or more.

  20. I just need to know where you got that little gizmo for the packets….:)

  21. I turned my linen closet into a pantry. It’s right outside the kitchen. I got the idea from a friend.

    • I was married about 35 years before I got a dishwasher.
      the salesman talked my husband into the gargage disposal,
      which I was thrilled with. It didn’t last all that long. I did
      everything I was supposed to but, it broke and we didn’t replace it, just took it out. I am glad it broke!!! I started composting all the non-oily/vegetable stuff and it makes the best dirt. When we remodeled my families old farmhouse, I have nothing but drawers under the counters. Absolutely, love them. There are 3 “regular” cabinets, one under the sink, one next to the stove for cookie sheets and one lazy Susan, amazing how much you can get into one of those! I HAD a shallow desk drawer and decided recently that it would be good for my spices, laid on their sides. the desk was always a mess.Works good because you can see at a glance all the labels, everything is easier to find. (just checked, there are about 38 jars and a stack of yeast packs and pkgs of mixes.It helps to have other rooms for storing. I have a cedar chest that holds crock pots, blender, and a lot of small appliances that
      you seldom use but are handy when you do!! there are other places, too, that I keep seldom used stuff…….but this
      has gotten too long. Sorry! Judy, love your blog. So does my friend……hi, Linda!

  22. Judy, I have my frying pans that I use the most on hooks on the wall. It frees up a lot of cabinet space that would be lost if they were stored flat.

  23. Good hints for storage! Surprised so many use a garbage disposal. We purchased a couple of black composting bins thru our city (also sold by hardware stores). Each spring our city advertises a variety of composting options and has a one-day sale on the bins, etc. City is trying to reduce disposal costs. All of our kitchen food waste–fruit/vegetable peelings, coffee grounds, etc., get put in and we end up with great compost for flower gardens.

  24. I converted a cast off cassette storage rack into a spice rack on the wall (just had to remove a few slats).IMO the very best “new” thing in kitchen design is deep drawers in the lower cabinets instead of shelves. You might want to have that in the dining room unit that is on hold. As others have already mentioned… those wire racks for extra shelves in upper cabinets and the lazy susan. One huge convenience over a cooking utensil drawer is an on-the-counter crock near my stove top. You would be amazed at how many things are right at your fingertips..

  25. I would store nuts in the refrigerator or the freezer so they don’t get rancid

  26. I am with Vince on the garbage disposal gadget. You and Vince would be careful of what you put down the drain and into the septic system. But what about guests? Particularly guests who live in the city and have sewer systems to take away the debris? I have seen people put hot grease, potato peelings, tea bags, onion peelings, meat, all of the thing that went bad in the refrigerator, and eggs into the disposer. Even broken up by the disposal blades this stuff has a hard time just reaching the tank.
    I like your clear plastic container and have a similar container. Two items that I find very helpful are a double-decker Lazy Susan for the spice cabinet and pull out wooden drawers for the cabinets. I think Rubber Maid made the Lazy Susan that I use . I have noticed that Lowe’s has a display in their woodworking area on making wooden pull outs – the heavy duty one is suppose to take up to a hundred pounds of weight. Might be something you and Vince could talk to the carpenter about.

  27. I use two double lazy susans for my spices and little jars of cake sprinkles and such in an upper cabinet. Wire racks and wire dividers hold cake pans, pie plates, and casserole dishes in a lower cupboard. A skinny cabinet next to the diswasher is perfect for my cookie sheets, pizza pans, and cutting boards.

  28. My favorite cabinet has pullout shelves. It is a 36″ base cabinet and the top pullout is mounted about 6″ from the top. Its where I keep all the boxes of ziplocs, glad wrap, waxed paper, aluminum foil, parchment paper crock pot liners and the rolling pin.
    The next pullout shelf holds all the baking supplies, flour, sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar (all in straight sided canisters from bed bath and beyond) baking powder, baking soda, dry milk, bakers chocolate, cocoa, dried fruits, raisins, etc. and the flour sifter and the measuring cups. The bottom pull out shelf contains all my really large mixing bowls and the attachments for my kitchen aid mixer. However organization is a much bigger challenge in the 5th wheel. The rubbermaid storage containers with the red lids are my favorite because the lids stack and snap together and the containers stack and snap onto the lids.. The smaller sizes, lids and all fit into the next larger sizes in a stack. They are awesome and only require the space of the largest container and the variety of sizes is great. My spices are in small Milk crate style containers that stack and one containes baking spices and the other containes herbs and seasonings. The frying pans and their lids and the griswold iron skillets (that I cannot live without) are stored in a bottom cabinet in a wire lid rack (walmart or target) on edge. I cannot stand wasted space in drawers. Most are too deep to be efficient, so Chuck built (out of 1/4″ plywood) a divider 1/2 the depth of the drawer for less frequently used tools and a flatware tray that fits on top. He did the same thing for the second drawer and the top tray is fitted with a magnetic knife rack to hold the knives. The third drawer just has a 3 section divider and no tray for larger items and the bottom drawer has no divider. The wood is finished with polycoat and I put that rubberized liner in the bottoms. In both the 5th wheel and the kitchen the best product I have are storage baskets that are a Command product made by Scotch and sold at Joanns fabrics and Michaels in the picture framing departments. I mount them on the cabinet doors and they hold the measuring spoons, collapsible measuring cups, liquid flavorings and most used spices. In fact I use them everywhere in the house. They come in a variety of sizes and for a variety of uses including a small shelf with pegs for hanging underneath and just pegs for hanging plus individual hooks that don’t require putting a hole in the wall. Ice Cream buckets are great for cleaning supplies and those packet trays are great. My baking pans all nest and fit in the srawer under the stove and the round pans and pie pans stack together. It also helps that we have minimal specialty appliances, a toaster, waffle iron, coffee maker, crockpot and hot pot. Both home and the 5th wheel have kitchen aid mixers. Chuck and I both cook and I bake. We seldom if ever eat out. Organization takes a lot of time and constant effort and a never ending willingness to make changes. Good luck.

  29. A magnetic knife rack on the wall is wonderful, if you have the wall space. It keeps the knives close at hand without using any counter space, and avoids the bad, quick-dulling drawer option.
    I had to smile at your packet box. I use a topless Hershey’s Instant (cocoa) box that I inherited! I also JUST bought some plastic bins for bagged goods: one for snacks on an upper shelf (chips, pretzels, trail mix), one for dried fruit/chocolate chips/baking things, and a small one 🙂 for candies.

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