Storage Kitchen Ideas

As the years go by,  most people acquire a lot of kitchen items. ranging front the small appliances they cannot live without to individual pots,  serving platters, and utensils that they use only once a year. Well-planned storage will allow you to easily find and use the items you need and to keep them in a sensible place.

A well-planned kitchen not only provides enough storage space to house all the items you have or would like to acquire but also places that storage so that any item you need is readily available. Saving time is a major consideration in our lives. Proper storage cuts down on cooking time because it saves extra trips around the kitchen to gather what you need to perform various tasks.

Good storage planning also recognizes that the items you use most frequently should be stored between the knee and shoulder level for a minimum of stooping, squatting, or bending in base cabinets, or reaching or climbing up to wall cabinets.

Fortunately, designers and manufacturers have now devised many storage options that maximize the potential of cabinet and counter space. Some examples include deep pull-out drawers for base cabinets; lazy Susans and swing-out shelves for corner cabinets; tilt-out bins for flour, onions, and potatoes; under-sink tilt-outs for soap and sponges; built-in spice racks: and built-in utensil racks.

Reviewing your kitchen inventory is the first step toward developing a storage plan for your new kitchen. Excluding cookbooks and collectibles, there are seven separate categories of storage inventory. all of which have their own requirements. Here are some suggestions for the size and placement of storage of each.

Cooking Equipment

Pots and pans are best stored close to where you prepare and cook meals. Unless you prefer to hang them from a rack above the cooktop, a good place to store pots and pans is in base cabinets below the cooktop. For ease of use. the drawers can be pull-outs, so that you don't have to bend over and reach back to retrieve heavy equipment, If you have a stand-alone Stove. today's versions often have storage drawers included.

For cooking equipment that you use less frequently, such as a large stockpot, fish poacher, or slow cooker, storage space can be provided above the shoulder-height "comfort level. " This kind of equipment can often be stored above a wall oven or over the refrigerator in a 24-inch-deep cabinet.

Pot lids, cutting boards, and trays are awkward items to store. Store them vertically, in a so-called "tray" cabinet with vertical dividers. Lids can also be stored in racks on cabinet doors if the corresponding pull-out shelves in the base cabinet are slightly recessed. If you can't accommodate lid storage in a deep cabinet drawer. consider hanging lids on a wall rack (available at hardware or kitchen specialty stores). These systems can be made of stainless steel or slatted wood with hooks. They can be used to store other small items, especially in kitchens where space is limited. 

Food Preparation Equipment

Like pots and pans. the tools you use to prepare meals should be stored close to the preparation center. Drawer dividers can be used to separate long-handled tools so that they don't become hopelessly jumbled and difficult to remove when you need them. Dividers can be supplied by cabinet people, bought in hardware stores, or put together by a reasonably handy person, 

Spices can be grouped and stored in a number of ways: in a base cabinet drawer adjacent to the range, tilted slightly upward on wooden slats so that you can see the labels easily; on a rack on a wall cabinet door close to where you prepare meals; or on a built-in shelf or "cubby" along the backsplash, spices should not be stored so close to the cooktop that the heat will affect them.

Microwavable bowls, casseroles, lids, and wax paper or wrapping paper should be stored together, close to the microwave oven, in an easily accessible wall or base cabinet.

Small Appliances

For often-used (but not necessarily attractive) smaller appliances, such as the toaster, coffee maker, and food processor, an excellent design solution is an appliance “garage," built into the countertop (at the food preparation center). The garage fits against the standard 12-inch-deep backsplash under a wall cabinet. door can be either a tambour or a flat garage door. If you prefer, the garage can be located in a corner, Width can range from 1 2 to 36 inches. Electrical outlets should be installed in the backsplash behind the appliances in a horizontal strip. There are also under-cabinet versions of many of these appliances. which can bc permanently installed. 

Baking Equipment

Baking equipment can be stored together close to the ovens. If you are an avid baker and plan a countertop of special height, consider installing a plastic or wood tilt-out bin for flour and sugar in the base cabinet below the countertop.

Tableware

Everyday dishes, glassware, and utensils should be easily accessible from the dining area (whether it's a separate table or a countertop snack bar) as well as from the dishwasher. Even among everyday items, there are some that are used constantly—keep them on the lowest, most convenient shelves. Tablecloths, placemats. napkins. and napkin rings should be stored together. accessible from the dining area so that the table can be set easily while other activities are taking place in the kitchen.

You may want to display your fine china and crystal or store them separately along with "special occasion” silverware in the dining room.

Cleaning and Recycling Items

A broom closet of some kind is almost a necessity. It should be tall. narrow. and shallow space to store vertical cleaning items such as brooms, mops, and dustpans with long handles. An ironing board can be stored here. in the laundry area. or built into the sewing center.

leaning supplies, buckets, and twine for tying up newspapers can be stored on a shelf inside the closet or on shelves built into the door. depending on space availability. Additional “hidden storage" spaces can be built into a banquette section. in small shelves or cubes between counter and wall cabinets. or under a snack the counter or kneehole desk.