32 Kitchen Storage Ideas

Nothing is worse than trying to cook in a disorganized kitchen. You spend more time looking for what you need than cooking. This problem gets even worse when you have a small kitchen and storage space is at a premium. You’ll end up preparing a meal that doesn’t meet your full potential, all because your kitchen held you back. That’s where we step in, with these kitchen storage ideas sure to help you get your kitchen storage spaces organized so that you can step up your chef game.

1. Clever Cabinet Kitchen Storage Ideas

The most popular storage method in kitchens is cabinetry. You can use lower cabinets to line the walls or to create a central kitchen island. You might also try ceiling-height wall-mounted cabinets hung at eye level for a more traditional approach.

Most people have these two separate cabinet units because they need the counter space between them for working. If you have blank wall space, you can create a single cohesive unit that extends from the floor to the ceiling. You can even purchase appliances with customizable doors to match the rest of your cabinets, creating a uniform look.

When creating your cabinet system, think about installing several different types of cabinets to allow yourself more freedom in how you use the space. You can have some larger cabinet spaces for an appliance garage to store your small kitchen appliances and smaller cabinets for kitchen utensils or cleaning supplies.

2. Embarce Modern Storage

If you’re considering a kitchen remodel, you need to look at modern kitchen designs first. Gone are the days of boring and empty storage cabinets. Today, you’ll find so many solutions for making your cabinets easier to use and more functional for everyday life.

These problem-solving ideas include upper cabinet shelves with guides to bring them down to eye level and deep cabinet shelves on drawer rails that come out. Instead of having a deep corner shelf, you can have a corner cabinet with drawers or a curved shelf that pulls out on specially designed hinges and hardware.

3. Space-Saving Options

If you have limited space in your kitchen, it’s time to get creative with storage. Start by looking under things as possible locations for space-hanging storage solutions.

Do you have a kitchen counter with an open underside? Do you have shelves or cabinets that you can hang wire baskets underneath? Maybe you have a tall ceiling from which you can hang a pot rack. If you have a blank wall, mount a pegboard for a customizable hanging space.

You can hang your cutting boards, pots, or pans. Wire baskets are great for holding your jars, spices, or even fresh fruits and vegetables.

4. Smart Organization Tips

Once you have your cabinets, organize them to maximize the space while also making it easier to use the kitchen. This means finding the right balance of organization and usefulness. Not every kitchen organization system will work for everyone, so it’s essential to know your style before you start putting cooking utensils away.

You can buy shelves that fit into your cabinets to create more room for storing multiple items in half the space. Use shelf risers for storing flatware. Consider installing a lazy Susan in your corner cabinet to prevent having to dig into the deep, dark back of the cabinet for what you need. You can also use a cabinet organizer to keep your pots and pans organized.

5. Creative Storage Container Options

Not everything you need to store in your kitchen is an appliance or utensil. You also need a way to keep commonly used cooking staples like flour and sugar. Whatever you use the most should be readily accessible so you don’t have to go digging through the pantry on a daily basis. Storage containers are a perfect idea because they’re not only functional, but they can be decorative too.

Start by deciding what ingredients or foods you use often enough that you’d like to have them ready and within reach on the counter. Then decide how much of them you’d like to have at any given time. Some baking staples you may use more of, so you’ll want a larger container. Whereas for items you only use a little at a time, a smaller container is sufficient.

6. Utilizing Dividers

Using dividers is the best way to organize your serving platters, cutting boards, and baking pans. These are all large pieces that are a bit awkward to store. Stacking them never works because they’re all different sizes.

You can have vertical dividers mounted into a cabinet or on a drawer so you can keep large flat items organized. To make this system work the best, look for contoured dividers. They should have an angled or sloped contour at the front to make it easier to access the items you’re storing.

7. Practical Drawer Storage Ideas

Drawers are one of the most common kitchen storage solutions. You’ll find many modern designers installing drawers behind a standard cabinet door, hiding them from view. This requires you to have to open the door and pull the drawer out to access your kitchen items.

Deep, wide drawers are perfect for storing pots, pans, or dishes. Shallow drawers are best for storing your cooking utensils and silverware. You can even use one as an alternative to a spice rack—just make sure the caps are tight before you lay any bottles down. When organizing your drawers, try to keep everything of one kind together and match the size of the items to the drawer’s width and depth.

8. Stylish and Functional Jar Storage

If you have a country, farmhouse, rustic, or French country kitchen, then embrace the mason jar trend. Gardeners and farming families commonly use mason jars to preserve vegetables or make jams and jellies, making them right at home in these kitchen styles. Just be careful though, as you don’t want it to look like you’re trying too hard or blindly following a trend.

You can use your mason jars to hold cooking utensils on the counter or to hold tabletop condiments. If you don’t like mason jars, there are plenty of other options with a more secure seal on the lid that can keep your spices, grains, cereals, and pasta fresh.

9. Maximize Space

A rack gives you a centralized place to store similar items. The most common racks you see in kitchens are the ones that hang from overhead. They hold pots and pans, drinkware, and even function as wine racks. They work best if you have a taller ceiling as no one wants to hit their head on your cast iron.

If you have lower ceilings, try hanging your rack over the island or other counter space. You can even have a small rack that hangs above the kitchen sink. No one walks under these areas, so you don’t have to worry about anyone banging their head.

10. Smart Storage Organizers

Without organizers, your kitchen storage is just large empty spaces. You need to add cabinet and drawer organizers to break it up. These organizers compartmentalize the spaces to give each item stored within them its own designated spot.

You can also use organizers to keep your silverware, cooking utensils, or spices neat. You can have one on your counter for easy-to-grab mixing spoons and spatulas. Perhaps an organizer in a cabinet will keep your pot lids neat. You might also consider one to organize your cutting boards.

11. Practical and Beautiful Pantry Storage

You need a place to store your dry and non-perishable goods. For most of us, this is a small closet in the kitchen. It probably has those old-school awkwardly-placed wire racks that are more trouble than they are worth. Well, it’s time to say goodbye and upgrade.

Start by measuring your pantry and knowing the total amount of space you have to work with. Then take stock of what you have and how much. You can then design a custom storage solution that works with your space and needs.

Look for ways to customize storage, such as a can organizer or bins for smaller packages. Create zones and store similar items together.

12. Streamline Your Kitchen

Instead of having a small pantry closet, go for pull-out organizers. From the front, they look like just another cabinet door. But open them up to reveal a gloriously large rack that glides outward. Instead of being a large flat shelf or drawer, it’s narrow and deep with rails to hold everything in place.

These organizers are excellent for storing your dry and canned goods or anything else you typically keep in your pantry. You can have more than one, and each can hold a particular category of items. These organizers can be any size you need to fit your space. Perhaps they are the height of your upper wall cabinets, or they can be floor-to-ceiling pull-outs in your wall unit. The options are endless.

13. Functional and Decorative Wall Shelves

Modern kitchen cabinet design trends rip the upper cabinets off of the walls and replace them with open shelving. While it looks beautiful in design magazines and on social media, it isn’t functional for most people in real life. The average family has too many cooking utensils and food storage requirements to use an open-shelf concept.

There are a few things to consider before you hop on the open-shelf bandwagon. Whatever you store on your shelves is open and exposed to cooking grease, dust, and dirt. Store your dishes on them, and you’ll have to wipe them off every time you go to eat. Anything else will need regular wiping.

You also won’t be able to load the shelves up like you would cabinets. With a cabinet, you close the door, and no one knows the chaos behind. With a shelf, everyone who comes into your kitchen will see the clutter and mess on your shelves.