3 space-saving hacks for kitchen storagefeatured
People enjoy hacks
I can take a hint. Turns out, people really like space-saving tips n’ tricks (and ugh- hacks) and, overwhelmingly, people’s kitchens are the source of much (much) clutter. I’ve got you.
Hack #1: Charging cord wrangler
Once upon a time, I tried letting the kids charge their devices in their rooms, but all that ensued was a pile of Kindles on the ground and nary a charging cord in sight. Plus, since all devices “nap” in the kitchen overnight, it made sense to keep everything together.
I love Command products. (Love them.) I picked up a few of these easily adjustable, easily removable hangers, and used a few color-coded pipe cleaners. (You can skip the pipe cleaners if you like- twist ties or other clips work well to secure the cord bundles, but I just really enjoy pipe cleaner hacks.) Place those Command hanging strips somewhere popular (we use an over-counter cabinet like the ubiquitous “junk drawer”, so its door was put to good use). Once you’ve wrapped the cord to your liking, twist a loop onto the end of the exposed pipe cleaner and hang those cords!
Last step: Remind all involved parties that the cords live here now. This is their home. After all, you live in your home, and can usually be found there. If people don’t put things in their home, they don’t get to ask where things live. (We used to keep our tangled charging cords in a shallow bin. I can’t imagine why that system didn’t work.)
Hack #2: Food storage shelves
Remember those shoe shelves that were popular in tiny college dorms (alongside cinder block risers for lofted beds)? These days, I use actual shelving in an actual closet (and my bed is supported by an actual frame), but those adjustable shelves still have a- haha- shelf life.
Snuggle them into a deep drawer or skinny shelf for food storage lid wrangling, and keep the really tiny ones in a takeout container. This a) allows for more visibility, and b) prevents those infomercials scenes where a hapless homeowner pulls the entire shelf’s contents down around him like a pathetic avalanche.
And hey! While you’re hanging out with this stuff:
- Match up all lids and containers. Even though they’re not being stored together, you need to know that you’re not holding onto mismatched, ultimately unusable containers. (Do this a lot.)
- Be realistic about how much food you actually need to contain. If you cook every night- which I do- you’ll need deep, secure containers of multiple sizes. That said, unless you prepare a Thanksgiving feast every night- which I don’t- you can probably toss at least a third of your container collection. (And don’t underestimate the beauty of storing things flat in freezer-proof bags, like soup.)
- Not sure what to do with those extra containers? Make a triple batch of something- and send those filled rectangles out in the world to sustain friends, neighbors, and your favorite bloggers. (I prefer split pea.)
Hack #3: Roasting rack lid holder
This one hit me like a thunderbolt of inspiration/smack to the head. (Sometimes hacks are right in front of your eyes, people, and gathering dust.) I use our roasting rack insert maybe once every two years. (Excellent for a turkey, terrible for taking up cabinet real estate.) And, as anyone who’s ever attempted to stack pan lids knows, pan lids don’t stack. May I present: cast iron storage!
This thing is heavy duty enough to not topple or travel with the weight of the lids, and wide enough to allow for a multitude of lid shapes to play here. (Other options that could jive: stainless steel dish racks, open-ended CD holders…)
Again, this is a great opportunity to match up those pots and lids and sort the ones that actually get used from the ones that hold the dreams of meals yet to come. (There’s a missed opportunity Dickens novel, right there.)
Dig these? Have ideas for storage projects to tackle?
Comment below!
