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How to Store Everything in the Kitchen

A Checklist for How to Store All of Your Kitchen Stuff from A-Z.

By , About.com Guide

Your soup-to-nuts guide to how to store everything in your kitchen. Got a tip? Add it to the Kitchen Time Savers and you may see it included in this guide.

Appliances

KitchenAid Artisan Red Stand Mixer from Crate and BarrelPhoto / KitchenAid Artisan Red Stand Mixer from Crate and Barrel
Like most items, deciding how to store kitchen appliances is a decision made based on their size and shape, but also how often you use them. I have a whole guide on How to Store Kitchen Appliances, which offers tips on the best way to store items.

Baking sheets

Pan DividersPhoto /The Container Store

There are two options for storing baking sheets.

1. If you have enough height in your lower kitchen cabinets, store them upright. This means store them on their side to maximize space in your cabinet or pantry. A few options:

2. You can also store them on top of each other in the pantry which will make them harder to retrieve, but easier to put away.

Canned goods

Fridge Bins and Organizer and Tray from Crate and BarrelPhoto / Fridge Bins and Organizer and Tray from Crate and Barrel
It's not essential to do anything beyond simply stacking your canned goods, but it does make you pantry and fridge look amazingly organized, and saves a tiny bit of space.

Casserole dishes

Roll Out Kitchen StoragePhoto / Lynk Professional

Hands down the best way to store these heavy items is in the lower kitchen cabinets. You can either nest them together with the pot lids removed, or you can store them with the lids on lined up next to each other.

The third option is to use roll-out storage. This makes it easier to grab an individual dish because you can visualize the entire cabinet drawer.

Colanders

Stainless Steel 3 Piece Mesh Colander Set from Williams SonomaPhoto / Williams Sonoma
I have 4 different-sized colanders and here's how I store them:
  • I nest them together in the same cabinet as my cutting boards, right under the drawer where I store knives.
This makes the most sense to me based on how and when I use them. Do you need 4 colanders? Certainly not--if I were trying to streamline my kitchen organization, I'd just have one big colander. You really only need one, and you need to store it where you use it most often, which is probably pretty close to your cutting boards, knives, and right near the sink.

Cookbooks

Art of The Cookie Cookbook from Williams SonomaPhoto / Williams Sonoma

Sort your cookbooks into two piles: frequently used and rarely used. Store the frequently used cookbooks on a kitchen shelf or in a cabinet so you can easily retrieve them. The others can go on a bookcase outside of the kitchen. Just make sure you know where they are, meaning, keep cookbooks together so you're not hunting and pecking for them when it's time to cook Thanksgiving dinner. Related: How to Organize Your Book Collection

Cooking tools

All Clad Stainless Steel 7 Piece Cooking Tool Set from Williams SonomaPhoto / Williams Sonoma

Spatulas, tongs, slotted spoons -- these should be stored very close to the stove in an upright, topless container. That sounds more complicated than it needs to be: Put them in a jar or similar (like the image to the left), on the counter top, near the stove, so you can easily grab them. Here are some options:

Tip: Consider getting a dishwasher safe container so you can throw it in the dishwasher once a week.

Coupons

13 Pocket Coupon Organizer from the Container StorePhoto / Container Store

Two things to look for in a coupon organizer: one, make sure it's functional enough to use in the kitchen (i.e. when you're clipping coupons, it's easy to slip the coupons into and has a pockets for built-in organization), and make sure it's light enough to travel well (since you'll be using coupons outside of your home).

Try this simple 13 Pocket Coupon Organizer

Cutting boards

Bakeware Holder from the Container StorePhoto / Container Store
Store cutting boards vertically. I've seen people use a bakeware holder (pictured left), a file folder rack, and a dish rack, but the best and simplest method is to just prop it against the cabinet wall for easy retrieval.

Food

Modular Canisters from the Container StorePhoto / Container Store
There are so many options for storing food, and this is by no means an exhaustive list, but these are the products I recommend because they are 1) square, and therefore maximize space and 2) the right size. There's even an organizer to organize your food storage containers: Mesh Food Storage Container
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