Even the largest of kitchens can struggle to use space practically. With a larger family, the quick accumulation of food that comes with regular shopping often means the space in the your cabinets and shelving is not used effectively. If you’ve got a smaller home you may have found from the get-go that space in your kitchen is at a premium.
While organising your kitchen is one way to be efficient with the area you have to work in, that is often not enough. Relying on constant upkeep to keep all your food correctly stored, dishes cleaned and waste cleared away is never going to be a long term solution. However, whether you live in a studio flat or a 5 bedroom house there is almost certainly real estate in unused space and creative ways to get more storage in your kitchen.
NEFF in partnership with Appliances R Us has collected some of the best ways to effectively hack your kitchen storage space and get the best out of your current set up. There’s no expensive remodelling or installations here, we are going to give you some of the most cost-effective ways to get the most from your kitchen!
Use Tiered Shelving Inside Cabinets
One of the downsides of kitchen cabinet shelving is that it’s often the wrong height for most of what you actually want to store. When it comes to jars, spices and similarly sized produce you can find you are not using the vertical potential of your space.
Adding a full new shelf, or even adjusting the current height, can be a pain and should only be used as a last resort. Instead, we recommend using IKEA’s Variera Shelf Inserts which can be screwed together to create a tiered storage system that also allows you to store taller items in the same cabinet.
There are two sizes available and for £5 you can get one large and medium that will stack and give you plenty of room to play with.
Use The Doors Of Your Cabinets
Another seldom-used area of your kitchen cabinets is the doors themselves! Depending on what you store inside them you can be left with a lot of room to play with when it comes to door space. Understandably to keep your kitchen looking its best you may not wish to use the external portion of the door.
There is a range of options depending on your budget. The simplest of which is simply marking out a grid and adding sticky-backed hooks in whatever configuration you want. You can get a high quality 6 pack of plastic hooks from most home retailers.
Alternatively, you could also use a wire basket, this would be perfect for storing chopping boards in lower cabinets. Just remember if you’re using the whole depth of the cabinet that you the baskets will take up some extra space. You can even get a door spice rack that gives you a considerable amount of storage.
Lazy Susans For Awkward Cupboard Spaces
In deep cabinets or corner units space can be used but it often lost from frequent use and more as a dumping ground for seldom-used foods or items. A lazy susan is often associated with sharing dishes at a high-end restaurant, however, there are plenty of smaller options that are perfect for your cabinets in your home.
This smaller lazy susan from Wayfair is ideal for placing in awkward spaces. The handy non-slip rubber mat means that quickly spinning to access the back never means bottles or jars knocking over.
Pegboard Organiser Wall
Getting the most out of an empty kitchen could mean hanging multiple shelves, but a quicker, more flexible option is getting a pegboard organiser. As you’re able to hang it in less than half an hour you can quickly create a space to add whatever you need on the go.
There are a range of places you can find a pegboard for your home, we recommend getting a white one and then painting it in your chosen colour to turn an eyesore into a striking piece that enhances your space.
Shop around for the design that works best for you, the IKEA SKADIS is a good starting block, although the neutral colour does certainly need to be upgraded! Use your pegboard to store anything from colanders to your favourite utensils.
Knife Wall Block
While a beautiful knife block is often considered a staple in a kitchen setting, if you have limited counter space you may want to consider alternatives for storage of your knives. Fixing a magnetic knife wall block to a spare section of your kitchen wall is great way to store your knives and keep them on display.
For a highly durable aluminium magnetic wall block, we recommend Nisbets, which is known for providing this and other equipment to catering companies directly. Fixing on the wall is quick and easy with two screws, and the powerful magnet will hold even the largest carving knives.
Cleaning Supplies On A Rod
Under your sink can often become a breeding ground for disorganisation. While it may not be the first place you would look to organise in your kitchen it is essential. When moving quickly to tidy up spills and stains having the correct cleaning materials available easily is crucial.
One easy way to organise the array of cleaning materials is up using a metal rod across the top of your sink cabinet for storing your spray bottles. This not only gives quick access but also frees up lots of room in the base of your cabinet and reduces clutter. Installation is simple, we found a shower curtain rod from Screwfix that is ideal.
If you want to take your space-saving to the maximum combine your spray bottle storage with our earlier Lazy Susan for the base of your cabinet to take your home to the next level.
Store Plates Vertically For Easy Access
Once the washing up is done we store the plates vertically, this not only allows them to dry effectively but also gives easier access for putting them away. Why do we then place them in the cabinet is arguably the least convenient place? By stacking plates horizontally you create an annoying scenario every time you need a larger plate from the bottom of the pile.
Instead, store your plates in handy vertical racks. This not only makes better use of your space and gives easy access when setting the table, but also gives a much more organised look to your home.
While it’s a little expensive this Scandi-Inspired Plate Rack from A Place For Everything is ideal as it can be lifted out of your cabinet to move your place settings in one fell swoop thanks to the useful handles on either side. For a lower-cost alternative, you could repurpose a smaller drying rack and add it to your cabinet.
Scew Lids Into The Underside Shelves
The surface area on the top of your shelves is something we all use, for anything from crockery to decorative vases. How do you get more out of your shelving? Use the underside as well! Buying a set of identical screwtop of mason jars and using a home drill to secure them is as hard as it gets, and in the end, gives you a perfect spice rack.
Start by taking the lids off the jars and marking positions on the bottom side of the shelving. Once you’ve marked them and are happy with the positioning take a small screw and use it to secure the jar lid into the unit. Then all you have to do is fill your jars with your desired contents and you have a great way to show off your spices!
