Suggestions for kitchen cabinet organizers?

[Hassouni]

The cabinets in my apartment kitchen are PACKED, spice on spice, rice on rice. The cabinets for plates/glassware and stuff like that are OK, but my problem is the spice/dry goods cabinets. Admittedly it's partially my fault for wanting to be able to cook Persian, Iraqi, Turkish, north and south Indian, Korean, Sichuanese, Japanese, Thai, Lao, Viet, Mexican, and "standard" Western food on immediate notice, because as you can imagine that requires a lot of stuff. Finding anything in the cabinets takes a while and requires care not to cause an avalanche of spice jars and packets/sardine tins/hot sauce bottles/etc.

 

One cabinet is a big, wide one with the door mounted on hinges at the top of the cabinet, with no divisions inside. The other is a more standard vertically-oriented cabinet with two shelves inside.

 

Anybody got any suggestions to tame the chaos? I'm interested in being able to quickly see what's in there, and to extract something without everything around it collapsing. Perhaps some pull out baskets or something?

 

I am not interested in a minimalist setup, before anyone makes that remark 

Edited November 11, 2014 by Hassouni (log)

[FauxPas]

Do you have a standard door near your kitchen? I'm not sure this would work on your cabinets (based on your description) but I used it on a pantry door in one house and it greatly increased the amount of storage I had. You can add extra spice racks to the standard configuration. 

 

Container Store Door Storage

 

The Container Store also has some in-cabinet storage solutions. It might be worth a browse if you haven't looked at their stuff before. 

 

Maybe a picture of your cabinets would make suggestions easier? 

 

Edited to say that the Elfa unit can also be wall-mounted, apparently. 

Edited November 12, 2014 by FauxPas (log)

[Hassouni]

I do not have a door, unfortunately. I have an oh-so-trendy-but-not-so-practical fairly small, open kitchen design. Here's a photo:

 

 

The cabinets in question are the one over the pot rack, and the one with those mirror-type things on it, above and to the left of the sink

Edited November 12, 2014 by Hassouni (log)

[FauxPas]

Can you attach anything to the walls anywhere? (Do you own or rent?) I think it's a lovely little kitchen, but I can see storage might be a bit limited. Can you use the bookshelves for spice/pantry storage with some containers? 

 

You could do a wall-mounted spice rack under the bar-height counter section (to the R of the sink). 

[andiesenji]

For "regular" spice containers  These

 

For different installations:  Check here    There are more pictures to click on lower on the page...

 

That wide cabinet above the pot rack - you can mount a sheet of steel and use the magnetic cans - they don't care if they are upside down or not  as long as the lids fit securely.

I have a friend who lives on a boat and has several of the flip-up cabinet doors with strips of steel and the magnetic cans for spices and in the "utility" area cans with screws, nuts and bolts and even those heavy things stay on the inside of the door, even when flipped up vigorously...

 

Or, you can have a purpose-built one made for the end of that bottom cabinet, mounted facing outward where you currently have the stack of plastic containers... 

 

 

There are hundreds of ideas here  perhaps some of these can give you ideas.

Edited November 12, 2014 by andiesenji (log)

[FauxPas]

There are products like this 'expanding' spice rack, which gets good reviews on Amazon. I've never tried it. 

 

Spice Rack for Cabinet

 

I bought one like this and mounted it on the outside edge of a cabinet (it could replace the mirror things, perhaps?) 

 

Wall-mounted spice rack

Edited November 12, 2014 by FauxPas (log)

[Hassouni]

Can you attach anything to the walls anywhere? (Do you own or rent?) I think it's a lovely little kitchen, but I can see storage might be a bit limited. Can you use the bookshelves for spice/pantry storage with some containers? 

 

You could do a wall-mounted spice rack under the bar-height counter section (to the R of the sink).

Heh, thanks. I own, so I can attach anything I want in theory (I actually installed the pot rack and cabinet above it). That photo was taken shortly after I moved in, over a year ago. Now, the bookshelves are currently full of books(!) and under the bar-height counter is another cabinet I installed, this time a glass-fronted one, just for tea and coffee. 

 

At this point, additional storage space probably isn't going to happen without building it (which may happen at some point). I'm really interested for the time being in better organization of the stuff inside the storage space available to me.

Edited November 12, 2014 by Hassouni (log)

[djyee100]

... Finding anything in the cabinets takes a while and requires care not to cause an avalanche of spice jars and packets/sardine tins/hot sauce bottles/etc.

 

I've been there, I feel your pain. I suggest a tour of The Container Store when you have time, not limiting yourself to their kitchen section. I recently had to organize the chaos in my clothes closet and office closet, and found all kinds of handy things in the garage, bath, and laundry depts also.

 

When it comes to kitchen cabinets, I find their shelf/turntable inserts handy, and stackable bins and baskets.

Like the things on this page:

http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/cabinetOrganizers/viewAll

 

The shelf inserts create extra levels in cabinets, and you can stack them above and below with stackable, see-through containers or bins.

 

**Measure your cabinets before you go, and bring a tape measure to the store.**

 

You can also ask if any of their Elfa storage solutions can provide a built-in system for those cabinets.

 

After my tour at the Container Store, I then cruised through Lowe's and Home Depot for items that were similar, if not as aesthetically pleasing. I did save a few bucks that way. But more often than not I found the Container Store items to be well-made and well-designed, and worth the extra money.

 

You can also consider if all those dry goods and spices need to be in the kitchen at your fingertips. Do you have a spare high shelf in the closet? space under the bed for a storage box? (Container Store has big shallow plastic boxes for storage underneath a bed.) You can use the outlying areas for specialty items that you would only take out once as you do prep for a  particular dish.

 

good luck, pls let us know how it goes.

 

ETA: Container Store has an annual sale on Elfa shelving, so you can ask when that is.

Edited November 12, 2014 by djyee100 (log)

[LizD518]

In the cabinet above the pot rack how about starting with something simple that wouldn't require a huge investment?  I'm thinking shoe-box sized containers (or...shoeboxes) that are divided up either alphabetically or by cuisine/purpose (I do sweet vs savory) and stacked.  They can be labeled on one end so you can pull the ones you need.  This could include things like dried herbs, spices, bags of things like sugar or cocoa powder, noodles, or other fairly small pantry items.  Then you could refine the system from there.

 

Edited to add: I find that I buy many spices in jars or bags that are too large to then be transferred into something like small magnetic spice containers.  What do you do with the extra then?  Either you have to store it somewhere or discard the rest.

Edited November 12, 2014 by LizD518 (log)

[Hassouni]

In the cabinet above the pot rack how about starting with something simple that wouldn't require a huge investment?  I'm thinking shoe-box sized containers (or...shoeboxes) that are divided up either alphabetically or by cuisine/purpose (I do sweet vs savory) and stacked.  They can be labeled on one end so you can pull the ones you need.  This could include things like dried herbs, spices, bags of things like sugar or cocoa powder, noodles, or other fairly small pantry items.  Then you could refine the system from there.

 

Edited to add: I find that I buy many spices in jars or bags that are too large to then be transferred into something like small magnetic spice containers.  What do you do with the extra then?  Either you have to store it somewhere or discard the rest.

 

I like your idea, and ditto re: magnetic jars

[Hassouni]

I've been there, I feel your pain. I suggest a tour of The Container Store when you have time, not limiting yourself to their kitchen section. I recently had to organize the chaos in my clothes closet and office closet, and found all kinds of handy things in the garage, bath, and laundry depts also.

 

When it comes to kitchen cabinets, I find their shelf/turntable inserts handy, and stackable bins and baskets.

Like the things on this page:

http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/cabinetOrganizers/viewAll

 

 

 

These also look very promising, thanks!

[bokreta]

I was in a similar position (very limited storage for a seemingly unlimited number of spice) and I landed on LizD518 solution, more or less.  It works for me rather well, and I will probably keep the same system even when I move to a situation with more space available.  As an example, I have one container that holds the daily or near daily spices (oregano, lemon pepper, salt, black pepper, a greek blend that I use on popcorn, etc), one that holds the hot peppers and paprikas, one that holds more infrequent western flavors (thyme, saffron, tarragon, dry mustard, sumac, specialty salts, etc), one that holds Latino flavors (adobo, cumin, ground chiles, epazote), one for Indian things (curry powders, garam masala, mustard seed, cumin seeds, asfoe-however-it's-spelled-ida, turmeric, etc), one for East Asian (curry leaves, szechuan peppers, tamarind, etc).

 

Mine aren't labeled, because I'm lazy and they're nearly clear plastic so I can see which is which fairly easily.  I don't stack them because they don't have lids, aren't uniform height, and are already almost to high for me to reach comfortably anyway. 

 

In short - I recommend this system.

[dcarch]

Your bookshelf is basically empty.

 

 

dcarch

[Kerry Beal]

Perhaps a look at Lee Valley's catalogue for pantry items.  Something shorter but with this sort of a set up to hold a maximum amount of stuff in a minimum amount of space.  Perhaps some of their shelving could be retrofitted into your existing cupboards? 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Hassouni,

 

If your finite cabinet space is already cram packed, and prone to avalanches, it will be tough to find any organization system that will provide easy access within that same space. I think you may want to expand beyond those cabinets and maybe beyond your kitchen.

 

I know other eGulleters have kitchen supplies and equipment stashed all over the house like I do.

 

I have a big screen TV in the dining room, but the cabinet in the stand under it holds kitchen equipment, not DVD's. The two microwave carts in the kitchen/dining room hold more kitchen stuff. I have a four shelf pantry cabinet in the foyer crammed with more kitchen stuff. The laundry room has one wall with floor to ceiling shelves and about eight feet long in all, crammed with more. There's another shelf in the laundry room with three shelves that's about 4 feet high and a little over 3 feet wide with even more.

 

I have a mirrored wash stand (not antique) with a two-shelf cabinet underneath that is, you guessed it, crammed with butter warmers, a bundt pan, a rotisserie for the grill, custard cups, a hand mixer, and everything else I can get in there.

 

Upstairs, I keep things in the linen closet that I use infrequently like a huge V-roasting rack, paper plates for power outages, larger pots and pans, and holiday baking pans and stuff. I even have some stuff in my bedroom crammed in the wasted space behind my water bed where you can't see it.

 

I don't like storing spices in glass or plastic in wall racks because light exposure degrades them, but I do have one in a corner of the dining room that never gets direct sunlight.

 

I have two over-the-door storage units. One is in an upstairs bedroom closet, so even though you don't have a door handy near the kitchen, you might find them of use anyway.

 

They have wide, flat enameled steel hooks that go over and are bent to the shape of the tops of the door, and enameled steel pipes suspended from the hooks that support six basket down their length, which goes to within a foot of the floor. You can adjust the spacing of the baskets for different height bottles and cans. The baskets are about two feet wide, and deep enough and sturdy enough to hold 28 oz. cans. Where the steel pipes bend into the door, they have flexible plastic caps so there is no damage to the door at all. They have held up for over twenty years, and I have really loaded them down. I was worried about the door hinges not handling the weight at first, but no problems with that either.

 

I also have a couple Rubbermaid turntables for spices I keep in a cabinet for the spices I want at my fingertips every day. These have held up over 20 years, too, but I've no idea if their products are still made here and haven't turned to cheap, disposable junk like so many goods available now.

 

You might want to start thinking outside the box (kitchen) and see if you can utilize space in other areas of your home for your cooking supplies. If you can use more distant space for storing less frequently used things, you can free up storage for every day stuff in the kitchen.

[Hassouni]

Your bookshelf is basically empty.

 

 

dcarch

 

Read the whole thread.

 

Hassouni

[FauxPas]

Wow, Thanks for the Crepes has really covered the bases for finding additional storage in one's home. I can't really add much to that list, but I'll mention that I converted a linen closet to food storage in one rental place and it was a huge improvement. I also found a funky little 'antique' sideboard that I could use in the dining area for a lot of dish/glass storage and that freed up room in my kitchen cupboards. And it looked really good. 

[CatPoet]

I second Elfa shelving!  If you can get that you are in luck.  My whole storage life has been based on that, anything from small string basket, bookshelf, linnet closet, spicewracks.

[djyee100]

... I find that I buy many spices in jars or bags that are too large to then be transferred into something like small magnetic spice containers.  What do you do with the extra then?  Either you have to store it somewhere or discard the rest.

 

I keep extra foodstuffs in large, see-through canisters on the high shelf of a utility closet. When the jars in the kitchen are empty, I refill from the canisters. I've kept things like extra bulk spices, rice, beans, dried mushrooms, and dried fruit there. The various foodstuffs are packed well in their own plastic bags and can be combined into a single canister.

 

My canisters are like the biggest one in this pic. These canisters have silicone gaskets for a tight seal.

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/1/272996-oggi-acrylic-canister.html

 

Like ThanksFTC, I've used various non-kitchen areas for kitchen storage. If you are storing food outside cabinets, though, be careful to use sealed containers to discourage pests.

[gulfporter]

In pic, to right of sink, you have some free standing stacked storage.  But they aren't taking full advantage of that space.  Why not ditch the small units and add shelves there that take up the full space?

[dcarch]

Read the whole thread.

 

Hassouni

 

I see.

 

I have a few suggestions that will solve your problem, and more. I will have time this weekend to tell you.

 

dcarch

[Hassouni]

In pic, to right of sink, you have some free standing stacked storage.  But they aren't taking full advantage of that space.  Why not ditch the small units and add shelves there that take up the full space?

 

That's now occupied by a cabinet mounted to the wall that does take up most of the space. (I've been away from my apartment for a few days and don't have a photo of it). That's currently being used to store mostly tea, and a bit of coffee - as you can see in the photo, I have a Zojirushi water boiler and a samovar and some Arabic coffee pots above it - that's my "hot drink station".

 

Long term I'm considering adding cabinets above the sink, but for now I have to deal with what I have.

 

My closets are unfortunately full of non-food items (like, tons of booze and hookah gear, what I dub my "vice closet"). However, perhaps stuff hanging on the doors might work for my least-used stuff.

 

I also really like the shoebox/stacking clear container idea, and it sounds like I'm due for a visit to Container Store to check out some Elfa stuff.

 

I also have an IKEA grundtal rail that isn't installed, my idea is to install it below the pot rack (it's will be pretty flush to the wall) - I can probably hang some baskets on hooks of that, assuming there's still room for my fridge and washing machine doors to open.

[andiesenji]

I just looked at the photo again.

What did not jump out on my first couple of views is that you have a considerable soffit covering the area above the dropped ceiling in your kitchen area and which is only a couple of steps from your prep area.

 

Since your space is so very limited, why not make use of that space.  There is room for either open, fully visible storage or for something with doors if you want to keep things hidden. 

Right now - unless you have mounted something else there since this photo was taken - that is simply wasted space - an empty canvas, so to speak.

[Hassouni]

I just looked at the photo again.

What did not jump out on my first couple of views is that you have a considerable soffit covering the area above the dropped ceiling in your kitchen area and which is only a couple of steps from your prep area.

 

Since your space is so very limited, why not make use of that space.  There is room for either open, fully visible storage or for something with doors if you want to keep things hidden. 

Right now - unless you have mounted something else there since this photo was taken - that is simply wasted space - an empty canvas, so to speak.

 

Not quite sure what you're referring to (I've seen "soffit" refer to so many different things before that I'm never clear what it means) - do you mean the surface that the sprinkler is mounted on?

 

Nothing else has been mounted except for the cabinet under the samovar/zoji water boiler.

[andiesenji]

Not quite sure what you're referring to (I've seen "soffit" refer to so many different things before that I'm never clear what it means) - do you mean the surface that the sprinkler is mounted on?

 

Nothing else has been mounted except for the cabinet under the samovar/zoji water boiler.

Sorry.  I got my terms mixed.  I should have said fascia or "dropped bulkhead" -  with the sprinkler.  It looks like it is curved and there are several possibilities for both decorative and utilitarian applications.