Looking for kitchen cabinet space saver ideas? Here’s a list of 15 creative ways to store all your kitchen stuff!
We have kitchens on the brain this month as we finalize our design with our cabinet maker. I’ve been scouring Pinterest for creative cabinet space saver ideas. A few of the cabinet designs we’re planning:
- deep drawers for pots and pans
- big drawers with dividers for everyday dishes in the kitchen island
- open shelving for everyday glasses
- vertical storage for baking sheets and cutting boards
- an appliance garage
- pull-outs in lower cabinets
- a spice drawer
- a trash can you can open hands free with your knee (!)
- a walk-in pantry (!!)
We can’t wait to see how it all turns out!
In the meantime, we’re in a much smaller kitchen and utilizing lots of kitchen storage solutions to make this space work harder. Check out My Favorite Kitchen Organization Accessories too!
The kitchen is the heart of the home <3
And probably the busiest place in your house! From a drop zone for mail to preparing food to hanging out to making tea and coffee, the kitchen is a multipurpose space in most American homes.
Add to the mix the vast variety of tools and appliances available these days (Instant Pot! Air Fryer! Rice cooker!) most of our kitchens are busting at the seams.
Of course step one of any organizing project is to donate anything you don’t need or use. Read this post for tips on that: How To Declutter Your Kitchen Cabinets.
15 Kitchen Cabinet Space Saver Ideas
Once you’ve gotten down to the essentials, you’ll want to find a place for every kitchen item so you can keep your space tidy and organized. Different tools and items need different kinds of storage, so here are 15 practical and creative kitchen cabinet space saver ideas for your cabinets, drawers, and closets to help you maximize space.
1. Magnetic knife rack
One of my favorite ways to clear up counter space is a magnetic knife rack instead of a block. Not only do you replace the need for a big knife block, but you have super easy access to your knives. I love that you can hang them to dry! We are still TBD if we’re going to put our magnetic strip back up post-reno or go with a knife drawer with a special insert. In depends on if we need to prioritize the drawer for something else.
2. Organizing Kitchen Utensils
We have our most used kitchen utensils in a crock on the countertop, as I’m sure most of you do. (This holder is SO pretty!) I like a holder with a wide opening so the utensils fall out instead of up. This wooden one is gorgeous too.
And then the less-used bunch, including the smaller ones like a garlic press or pizza cutter, go into a drawer with metal dividers or a big organizer with sections like this. I know where everything is so there is never rummaging around to find something!
3. Use dividers for pots and pans
Caraway Home sends dividers with your set that are great to store pots and pans vertical on their sides – either in a lower cabinet shelf or in a deep drawer. Using a divider is a great way to avoid stacking pans so you have to move them to take out the lower bunch. You can DIY one with a peg board like this!
4. Utilize lazy susans for pantry
I love a lazy susan turntable that spins for olive oils and vinegars or spices. We have several in our pantry!
5. Add shelf risers to maximize vertical space
Shelf risers for spice storage, drinking glasses, or anything that is half the height of your cabinet. We used some shelf risers for our drinking glasses that I bought at IKEA years ago (this one is very similar). We used the in our pantry too (see photo above). These wooden ones are beautiful for plates!
There are also great under-the-shelf attachments like these beautiful ones from West Elm. And I will definitely be adding a water bottle holder now that I know these exist!
6. Spice risers
You can also use the smaller tiered shelf risers for spice storage so you can more easily see what’s hiding in the back. We have some of these in our rental cottage and the base expands to fit the width of your kitchen cabinet.
7. Add open shelves
If you have wall space, adding open shelves or even a big rack like we have at the rental cottage is a great way to maximize wall space! Add hooks on the base of shelves or a rack to hang mugs. I am LOVING having our drinking glasses so easy to reach and plan to do something similar with open shelves in our new kitchen.
8. Plate storage
Drawer dividers can be used for everything from dividing dinner plates in a deep drawer to holding your flatware. You can have custom ones made, buy free-standing ones like these or adjustable peg boards, or shelf accessories like this.
You can also use baskets or holders you already own to divide things – like this post of mason jar storage ideas! We use mason jars to hold corn holders : )
9. Add hooks everywhere
One of my favorite kitchen storage ideas: hooks everywhere! From hooks on the back of your under the sink cabinets to hold cleaning gloves or hang a dish rag to hooks under the cabinets for mugs to a big paper towel holder “hook” to get the paper towels off the counter, hooks a great way to clear your countertops!
If you don’t want to add hooks or are in a rental, an over-the-door organizer like this is another option.
10. Use divided lazy susans under the sink
Acrylic lazy susans are my favorite storage solution for under the sink. They can hold sponges, dish soap, countertop cleaner, and more all in its own spot. Make sure you have a sponge holder inside your sink too! Then you don’t have to look at it on your countertop.
11. Vertical storage for sheet pans and cutting boards
If you don’t have it built you, you can buy metal racks to help you organize like this pretty white one! Your cabinet design will likely dictate the height you can fit, but you can get creative with where and how you use these.
12. Food storage
An avalanche of food storage containers is everyone’s worst nightmare. My best kitchen organization solution for this is to buy a uniform set that nests and get rid of anything that doesn’t match.
We bought this set last summer and I love that there are only two sizes: small and large. I keep the lids stored vertically in a little wooden container, or you could get something pretty like this!
Any extra tupperware goes in an out-of-the-way place (like over the fridge) for less-used times like Thanksgiving.
13. Organizing kid stuff
We have one drawer dedicated to kids stuff, although that drawer is quickly shrinking as Birch has grown out of bibs and sippy cups! But during our peak baby phase, I had 4 smaller dividers in one deep drawer that sorted things like bibs from all the sippy cups and lids.
14. Baskets
Baskets are the answer for everything in the organizing world! Have a messy pile of mail? Make it look neat in a basket. Have a ton of extra tupperware? Hide it on top of the cabinets in a basket. Storing cloth napkins? Roll them in a basket! (This set is great for a kitchen.)
Baskets are usually lightweight enough store things up high that you can bring down when you need (like popsicle molds!) and pretty enough to be visible on the countertops too.
15. Kitchen island storage
Planning for a kitchen island was top priority for our renovation plans because of all the cabinet and drawer storage it adds. I know it’s not something everyone can just add on a whim, but if you are re-doing a kitchen, it’s the quickest way to double your lower storage and workspace. In ours we’re planning a separate recycling pull-out and deep drawers for our everyday dishes. Plus a cubby for the microwave so that won’t need to be out on the countertops.
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