Q: Counter space is so coveted in our house and both my husband and I hate the look of a utensil caddy filled with all our tongs and spatulas and ladles. Are there any creative ways to store commonly used utensils without cramming them all in jars on the counter but still keep them handy and easily accessible?
Sent by Jessica
Editor: Christine, sure! One of the most common ways to store utensils is to hang them. You can use a rail system attached to your backsplash, or hang the tools on a pegboard or directly on the wall. We like the look of this when it is done well; it can look very sleek. IKEA has their GRUNDTAL rail system that is fairly inexpensive, too.
The drawback to hanging utensils on the wall is that you need to have a fairly well-edited collection. If your spatulas and whisks are having babies then this probably isn't a good option for you. It is also a little tricky when it comes to things like wooden spoons or other utensils that don't have a hanging loop.
So another option is to just find drawer space. Do you have an extra drawer that would store your wooden spoons? Perhaps you could arrange some combination of drawer storage and a wall rail.
Readers, do you have creative ideas for utensil storage? What do you do in your own kitchen?
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My six most used tools hang on a rack, and the rest live in a caddy in a dreary corner of the kitchen. You could do the same and tuck the caddy out of sight in a cabinet or pantry.
I took an easy to reach drawer to the left of the stove and assigned it to larger cooking utensils. Sure it could have been another junk drawer, but I was quite strong willed with this decision.
I use the shallow drawers in a mechanics roll away toolbox for for the utensils and store scales, pots, rolling pins, and baking sheets among other things in the deeper drawers. The roll away also doubles as a second small island.
Here is the toolbox I use http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10155_12602_00913244000P?mv=rr
this isn't that creative, but i hang everything that can on a rack with s-hooks from ikea. i have 7 most-commonly used utensils a potholder above the stove, and 13 on another rack in the kitchen. anything without a hook goes into the drawer.
I have one shallow drawer, and a magnetic strip on the wall. I've found that almost everything you need can be taken care of with a couple good knives, a whisk, a wooden spoon, a flexible spatula, a ladle, a pasta spoon, and a serving spoon. If you keep it to the essentials it's not difficult to find space. Try whittling down what you don't use often.
I've replaced SO MANY of my old utensils with this one OXO spatula/turner and was able to really get rid of a bunch of stuff.
http://fantes.com/images/98573turners.jpg
i took the ikea cutlery caddy, put some of that 3M double sided super stick strip and attached it to the wall. be sure to have the short side facing the wall, otherwise it's too shallow to hold longer stuff. I put things like wooden spoons and silicone spatulas in it, and it works great. i like having it off the counter too.
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/26839609
I was seriously thinking about installing a magnetic strip, and was just about to get one for my pot lids (used to cover skillets, and the actual pot they came with) when I remembered "D'uh...Stainless steel is not magnetic" so I am still looking for a solution.
Of course, this is from the guy with a vertical cupboard next to the stove who stored baking sheets on the floor between the frig and the stove, and junk in the vertical cupboard until noticing the baking sheets and the cupboard were the same width...
www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/good-questions/good-question-best-appliances-for-small-kitchens-074888
I have no counterspace, I have the grundtal system from ikea, shelves racks dish drainer. I keep most of my utensils hanging and the rest in a teeny tiny drawer; wooden spoons, zester, mallet, peeler, scrubbie brush. I got rid of all the dupes and kept only my favorites.
P. S. I decided not to get the kitchenaid, making due with an imersion blender and elbow grease :)