Kitchen Storage Ideas
No matter how big or small your kitchen is, most people find that there never seems to be enough storage space. If you are in the process of designing your kitchen, then one of the most important aspects of this is researching kitchen storage ideas. It’s always best to plan ahead so that you have adequate space for all your kitchen utensils, tins, packets etc. If you don’t give it proper thought you will be annoyed with yourself and will be frustrated that you have to get rid of a lot of items you simply don’t have storage space for.
Thinking about kitchen storage solutions can be quite a daunting task if this is your first time. The best place to start however is to look at your current kitchen and make a list of everything that you are unhappy about. Think about how you cook, prepare and eat your meals. Think about equipment you use such as blenders, toasters, coffee makers and juicers.
When you have finished this, head out to your local DIY stores and have a look around at the kitchens on display to see what storage solutions are available. There are also lots of home décor magazines and internet sites that detail various kitchen storage systems too. If you see something you like the idea of, cut it out of the magazine or print it off the internet to create an ideas book. There are so many storage solutions out there it can get very confusing, so having a book that you can refer to for everything can be a great help.
If you don’t feel confident about designing the kitchen yourself there are plenty of companies who offer custom kitchen design. They have lots of experience with designing kitchens and storage units so will be able to advise you and answer any of your questions. There are so many storage racks, shelves, organizers, jars, baskets and bins to choose from, here is a brief introductory guide:-
If you love to cook and often follow recipes you will want somewhere to store you cookbooks for easy reach. You might therefore want a bookcase installed to house all your cook books. These can be built into a kitchen island, cabinet or wall.
Another accessory you can buy for your cook books is a cookbook rack. It simply attaches to the underneath of your kitchen cabinet or on the wall, giving you somewhere safe to keep your cookbook whilst in use.
Anyone who cooks will want to have somewhere for storing all their herbs and spices. You can have spice tins, racks, jars and other containers. There are even ones which are made from stainless steel and the spice containers have magnet on it allowing you to attach them magnetically.
Our kitchen drawers are used to hold so many items such as rolling pin, cookie cutters, spatula and whisk. The problem is that they can become so full and cluttered that you have trouble finding where you put anything. There are drawer dividers available which are designed to organize your drawers much better.
When deciding on the size of drawers to choose, you might want to buy ones which are different depths. This way you can have items such as potato peelers and wooden spoons in the shallow drawers but larger items like pots and pans in the deeper drawers at the bottom of the unit.
If you find yourself with an area only suitable for a very narrow drawer you’d be amazed at how much storage space you can get from this. There are baskets which are attached to runner that can be pulled out. This is ideal for items you don’t use everyday such as tinned foods and spices.
With everybody so conscious of the environment, most people are now recycling items such as cardboard, glass and cans. If you are not able to get to a recycling facility everyday these items can start to mount up. That’s why you should look to buy storage boxes for this purpose as they also allow you to sort the waste into different types.
Wine is such a popular drink and most people like to have at least a few bottles in case any guests arrive unannounced. There are wine racks you can have built into your kitchen and there are also wine fridges if you are particularly fond of a bottle of wine.
If you have pets there are drawers that can be built under the cabinets which pull out and contain a dish for food and a dish for water. This can help keep your kitchen clean and presentable looking.
You should pay particular attention to how you store knives as these are obviously very sharp implements and should never be within reach of young children. You might want to avoid knife blocks as these can arbour dirt and many germs.
This is only just a selection of kitchen organization systems available. There are so many more and kitchen designers are constantly coming up with new and improved gadgets to help you store your utensils and other items easier
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March 15th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
Creating more space and organizing an area is always daunting. I agree with you, however, that solving kitchen storage problems is probably one of the most daunting. Planning ahead is important, but most often there are a lot of items in the kitchen that are no longer used: utensils, small appliances, even dried and canned food goods (probably, like me, purchased more than a year ago and then found while organizing my kitchen). Therefore, planning and purging is a very important first step. Who knows, there might end up being so much space that buying new storage systems won’t be necessary. Another big dent in kitchen storage issues can be made with Kitceh Cabinet Organizers. These organizers can transform kitchen cabinets.
Very good post. Thank you.