Ten Organizing Ideas for Your Kitchen

Check out all of Lea Schneider's helpful home and kitchen columns at Organizing Kitchens, Pantries, Menus and Meals.

Sure we need to look at the big picture. The big picture is all about getting organized so that we have the time to do the things we want with the people we love.

But, sometimes, lots of little things influence the big picture. Here are several teeny tiny organizing ideas that just make life in the kitchen that much easier.

1.  Find Lids

Oh, if only you could find the lid to the container, life would be easier.

Add a basket that clips on your shelf. Stow the lids under the tubs.
 

2.  Stop a Mess

From loose peas in the bottom of the freezer to rice scattered about the pantry shelf, things like to escape from their packages.

Grab one of those tubs without a lid and put it to use.

Save rubber bands and twist ties for use in holding together open packages.

3.  Maximize Freezer Space

Freeze your bags flat then they will stack like these bags of chicken broth.

To start this process, place the first bag on a cookie sheet or tray in the freezer. Once frozen, remove the tray.

You can then lay another bag on the first frozen one. This will create flat, stackable bags.

4.  Make Overhead Space Work

Adding a turntable to the cabinet over your stove hood makes it a really workable space.

I can’t reach the back of my cabinet but I can reach everything by spinning around this turntable.

5.  Stacking your Plates

Cabinets have three choices. You can either make a dangerous tower of plates, which must be juggled to access a bottom plate, or you can waste half the cabinet.

Or, you can add a plate stacker. This added wire shelf nearly doubles the space in any cabinet. Use it for plates, bowls, mugs, casserole dishes or anything.

6.  Permanent Markers for Labeling

These tall shopping-club size spice bottles don’t fit well in any cabinet.

They do fit in this deep drawer.

A permanent marker helps us grab the right spice even when we can’t read the label buried in the drawer.

7.  Upright Rack Storage

Adding a rack for trays or baking pans makes cooking so much easier.

It’s easier to grab a baking pan or a cutting board when they are in this rack.

8.  Try Peg Board Storage

Grilling tools can be difficult to organize. Most often, they are too long to fit in ordinary kitchen drawers.

Adding a piece of peg board to the garage wall nearest the kitchen door gave us grill tool storage.

9.  Keep Snacks  Fresh

If you are like me and tired of wasting snacks that turn stale, invest in a few
of these snap-lid canisters.

Open bags of chips go stale but goodies in these canisters last and last.

10.  Running Grocery List

Add a pad to the fridge to jot down things as you think of them or run out of them.

Having what you need is one way to de-stress time in the kitchen.