Affordable Kitchen Storage Ideas
Keep your cash, and keep your kitchen organized at the same time. Implement these sanity-saving storage ideas that make a big difference but have a little price tag.
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A basic wood tray and charming pitchers are all you need to create a silverware caddy. These storage staples can be picked up inexpensively at thrift or secondhand stores. Use taller pitchers to corral bigger utensils such as spatulas and potato mashers. Petite pitchers, such as the ones pictured, are just the right size for organizing flatware.
Keep cookie cutters from getting lost in the bottom of a drawer by simply stacking them on a paper towel holder, readily found anywhere kitchen supplies are sold. If you have a large cookie cutter collection, group them by theme and use a different holder for each grouping.
Add more storage to your kitchen for less than $100. An armoire like this one can easily be found at discount stores and home centers. Look for one that has deep drawers, which are perfect for storing linens, dish towels, and baking sheets, and an upper cabinet with a clear door so you can show off and store pretty dishes.
A basic pegboard can transform your kitchen storage strategy instantly. It will occupy underused wall space and free up room in your drawers and cabinets. Outfitted with hooks, a pegboard is ideal for hanging small pots and pans, as well as utensils. Hang your storage board near your kitchen's prep space and you'll have all your tools as your fingertips.
Take a trip to the hardware store for a few basic supplies, and in just a little bit of time, you can have a customized utensil holder. Paint galvanized pipe straps and narrow strips of wood in desired colors. Once dry, screw the pipe straps into the wooden strips and hang on the wall or on the back of a door. Then, simply slip utensils through the pipe straps.
Fill in awkward kitchen corners with customized shelves you can make yourself. Cut boards to fit the space, attach shelf brackets to the bottoms and hang on the wall. Here, two narrow shelves beside the refrigerator and a longer shelf above it maximize the formerly unused space for more storage at a low cost.
Rethink how you use tension curtain rods. Place rows of the affordable window treatment hardware inside a cabinet to keep baking sheets and serving trays upright and well-organized.
Pot racks free up cabinet space and put cookware in easy reach. This pot rack is an old grate from an architectural salvage shop. It hangs from the ceiling by lengths of chain attached to hooks welded to the grate. Pans are suspended from the grate with metal S hooks.
Restaurant-style utensil racks can be pricey, but you can make your own from a nickel-finish curtain rod and four or five old forks.
Screw cup hooks into the bottom of a wall cabinet and use fabric strips to suspend the curtain rod from the hooks. Bend the forks in half using needle-nose pliers (you might need to experiment with where to place the bend so the fork will balance properly on the curtain rod).
Use the pliers to curl the tines, leaving one longer to make a hook for hanging the utensils.
Keep your cleaning supplies organized and ready to work with an over-the-door metal caddy like this one. The lower rack is perfect for holding bottles of supplies, while the upper rack keeps sponges and scrubbers at the forefront.
Shop flea markets and architectural salvage stores to find objects you can repurpose for distinctive storage. This piece of wrought-iron garden fencing stands on its end on the counter and holds dish towels and cooking tools.
Beside it, cast-iron tub legs serve as bookends to keep cookbooks upright.
A large bank of windows can bring much-needed light to a dim kitchen. To reclaim lost storage space where cabinets might have hung, install long shelves across windows. The open storage lets light in while offering space to house dishes, glasses, and more.
For an unexpected and functional break in a wall of cabinetry, remove the doors and let wicker baskets substitute for drawers. Choose matching baskets and use them to store anything from linens to root vegetables.
Don't overlook that extra space above your kitchen's doorway. Hang a shelf above the door and use it to store pretty china or serving pieces you use only occasionally.
A stainless-steel pot rack keeps your often-used pots and pans in easy reach. This cook's corner also features a butcher-block countertop with slots for knife storage along the wall.
If you have a large cookbook collection, bring a bookcase into the kitchen to keep cookbooks handy. Top it with stone surfacing so it can double as an extra countertop.
Hang a garden trellis on your wall and start growing your kitchen storage. Outfit the trellis with hooks for hanging pots and tools, as well as baskets for holding smaller utensils and cookbooks.
An average drawer becomes all the more purposeful with the addition of a drawer organizer. A compartmentalized insert such as this neatly stores utensils. Add labels to the compartments to designate spaces for specific items.
Start imagining new purposes for old things and you'll find new storage solutions. Here an antique sled becomes a pot rack when suspended from the ceiling. It provides a handy place to hang pots and pans while adding flea market style to the space.
Reminiscent of a candy shop, a row of candy-filled jars lines the countertop in this kitchen. You can find these gallon-size penny candy jars online, or check restaurant supplies shops. They're good for storing dry cereals, pet foods, and salty snacks, too.
