Storage, maximized.
Jenny Chang / BuzzFeed
1. Install kitchen sink drawers that tip out.
installing-kitchen-sink-tip-outs.html“>domestically-speaking.com
2. Keep an over-the-sink cutting board handy to temporarily expand your counter space.
If you have a tiny kitchen, you know that counter space comes at a premium. Get this one for $39.73 here, or one without a colander here.
3. Maximize your under-sink storage space with a pocket organizer.
Got sewing machine skills? Here’s a tutorial for making your own custom-size pocket organizer. Otherwise, you could buy an inexpensive over-the-door shoe organizer (like this one, $12.19), and cut it to fit — it has enough pockets to cover at least two different doors.
4. Make the under-cabinet vertical space work for you with the help of two Command hooks and a small basket.
uheart-organizing-think-to-organize.html“>iheartorganizing.blogspot.com
5. You can also repurpose old magazine holders as Ziploc bag and aluminum foil holders.
inspire-to-create.blogspot.com
Command strips are basically the easiest and best route for attaching storage to the inside of your cabinets. Here’s the tutorial.
6. If you’re a go-big-or-go-home type, invest in a rolling shelf system.
You can find dozens of pre-made rolling cabinet storage options, like this one, $79.98. Or, carpenters can build it themselves with these plans from Family Handyman.
7. Create extra counter space by buying an over-the-sink shelf.
This one is $29.99, here.
8. Give the bare sides of cabinets (like those that face your sink) a purpose.
See how to make this happen with IKEA products here.
9. If cup and glass storage is at a premium, you can also install small shelves.
Barn Light Electric / Via houzz.com
Pretty glasses optional. From here.
10. If space above your sink allows, you can hang a simple rail from your ceiling.
Kristina S. / ikeahackers.net/01/grundtal-pot-rack.html
This one’s from IKEA, $6.99. Pot rack problems? Solved. From here.
Jenny Chang / BuzzFeed
11. Hang corkboards on the inside of your cabinet door to take advantage of every bit of space.
You can use hooks to hang measuring cups, like here, or to pin recipes and coupons. From here.
12. Keep measuring equivalents and measuring cups handy with some hooks, chalkboard paint, and a chalk marker.
It’s amazing what chalkboard paint can do, and a chalk marker (like these, $12.34) won’t smear when you accidentally brush it with your hand. From here.
13. You could also hang a sheet of tin on the inside of your cabinets to create a magnetic spice rack.
Cork in some cabinets, spice rack in others. See the tutorial here.
14. Naturally, a magnetic spice rack would also work well on the side of your fridge.
Learn how to make these cute magnetic spice holders (from baby food jars!) here.
15. This version uses baskets instead of individual jars.
Get the directions here. You can find similar small plastic baskets here for $1.49 each, and a pack of sticky magnets here for $2.99.
16. Use screw-hooks in the top of an awkward corner cabinet to turn it into a pot rack.
From here. Screw hooks are a little over $6 for a pack of 25, here.
17. Or, invest in a Lazy Susan cabinet to make all of that awkward corner space more accessible.
18. Use Sugru (a moldable glue) to make customized pot lid holders on the inside of your cabinets.
Get some here, $22 for a pack of 8, and find the tutorial here.
19. The insides of cabinets are also great places to put hooks for rags, gloves, and pot holders.
Get similar hooks here, $9.58 for a pack of 18.
20. Put shelves on top of your shelves.
Use all of that vertical space. These start at $11.99 here.
21. OR put shelves UNDER your shelves.
These undershelf baskets start at $6.99 here.
22. Make it easier to find the pan you need by stacking them using pan dividers.
23. Organize lighter items like baking sheets and cooling racks with a dividing file rack.
24. Make up with shelves what you might lack in cabinets.
Especially helpful if someone forgot to build a pantry in your apartment. Learn how to keep all that uncovered shelf space looking nice here.
Jenny Chang / BuzzFeed
25. Get a table that folds into the wall, like a murphy bed.
26. If you have the space, a kitchen cart can serve multiple purposes.
It can serve as an extra counter, an extended storage area, or a temporary bar for entertaining. This is from IKEA, $179 here; styled by a blogger here.
27. Even a small, narrow rolling cart can majorly up your storage.
thelittlefrenchbullblog.tumblr.com
Stick it in a tiny awkward space that wouldn’t serve any use anyway. Get a similar one for $24.99 here.
28. Hang pots and pans somewhere up high.
Yeah, pot racks are usually reserved for expensive, fancy-ass kitchens, but if you’ve got the space above your head, why not use it for storage? This version is downsized for small kitchens, and is $59.95 here.
29. Make yourself a pegboard wall organizer.
Sarah Coffey / apartmenttherapy.com-to-install-a-pegboard-105114
Great for when you don’t understand why there aren’t cabinets on blank walls, or when you have walls too small for cabinets but wide enough to hang a pot. See the step-by-step tutorial here.
30. Line the area right underneath the ceiling with shelves, especially if your cabinets don’t reach all the way up.
See how they built this one here.
31. Skip the counter-hogging knife block in favor of a magnetic knife strip, especially if counter space (and drawer space) comes at a premium.
Sherrie and Oliver / apartmenttherapy.com-sherries-mini-bronx-loft-house-tour-198266#gallery/45966/4
Put your backsplash to work instead. Magnetic knife holders come in a variety of price ranges, like this one for $16.99 and this one for $49.95. Or, get a tutorial for how to make your own here.
Like what you’re reading? Subscribe to our top stories.
Discussion about this post