Organizing and Storage

My poor mother. I can only imagine what it’s like to be on the other end of my texts messages: Hey Mom! Can you send me a picture of your pot rack? — Sure honey! Wait, will this end up on the internet?” But I had to show you her solution to a pot rack in a small space. It is brilliant and best of all, she never has to dry a thing! My parents have a long and skinny kitchen that doesn’t allow for an island or central work station.

When we talk about easy, inexpensive ways to improve the storage in your kitchen — any kitchen, even a rental — a pot rack comes up quickly. Hanging your pots and pans for easy access frees up cupboards. But what if you, like me, are just too short for a traditional pot rack? I have tall friends with racks that loom high over their island or stove, but I am not tall enough to manage that!

Stockpots, sauce pans, skillets, and Dutch ovens—they are absolute essentials in the kitchen, but they can be such a pain to store. Even if you buy a complete set from one company in one style, they still don’t fit together for easy storage. With that in mind, these five storage solutions make even those oddly shaped pans easy to store. Under the Island: We’ve seen plenty of pot racks hanging above a kitchen island, but rarely do we see them hanging below the counter.

If you do one thing for your kitchen this fall, let it be this: organize your spice drawer. We’ve got one super simple tip that will make finding spices in your drawer a breeze. If you store spices in a cupboard or on a spice rack at eye level it’s easy to see the labels on the jars. But it’s not quite as simple to see what’s what when your spices are stored in a drawer or down below.

Whether you have a lot of workspace in your kitchen, or just a little, keeping your countertop neat and organized is paramount. It’s just too easy to leave a jar of peanut butter or a bottle of honey out, push it back into the corner, stack up a few cans for a meal you’re going to make tomorrow — and before you know it counter creep leaves you with nowhere to work.

Who cooks and eats here: Jesa Henneberry, a personal chef and competitive athlete, and her husband Where: Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York Rent or Own? Own Jesa, a trained chef, spends her days working in other people’s kitchens. She prepares their meals, organizes their weekly meal plans, helps them with portions, and makes sure they eat well.

My husband and I have a mini coffee station set up in our pantry. We keep our burr grinder, coffee beans, hot water kettle, and scale grouped together for our pourover coffee, but beyond that it’s nothing fancy — nothing, in other words, like Victoria’s impressive (and beautiful) coffee cart station! Everything changed for Victoria of sfgirlbybay when she bought this kitchen cart from West Elm.

We don’t talk about larders very much nowadays. The traditional larder — a small, cool storage room used to keep foods fresh — has long been replaced by modern refrigeration. But larder love is still out there, only this time it’s more commonly seen in the form of a larder cupboard: A larder cupboard is a standalone unit that’s a cross between a kitchen cupboard and storage room. You might call it a “wardrobe for food,” as Homes and Antiques puts it.

Julia Badovinac’s open-plan loft kitchen required a bit of extra planning for storage, since the high-ceilinged space was once an industrial building with no built-in shelving or closets. Fortunately the owners installed a kitchen that ran from one end of the space to the other, and Julia and her boyfriend Julian added on from there.

My big project this month was to find a way to hang my pots and pans on a wall in my kitchen. After considering various locations, my husband and I ultimately decided to hang two rails around our kitchen door frame: a smaller rail to the right, and a longer one above. This weekend we finally tackled the installation. Did it work? Were we able to install pot rails without pulling out the wall? See for yourself: Yes, indeed!

Hope and Pete’s recent House Tour on Apartment Therapy is bright, colorful, and full of personality befitting the couple’s “laid-back bohemian aesthetic.” What really caught my attention, though, was their kitchen storage setup. IKEA’s Expedit bookshelf has been around for what seems like ages, but I can’t say I’ve seen it used very much in the kitchen. How is that possible?

If you’re renovating a kitchen, there are dozens of things to consider: what kind of countertop do you want? Where does the range go? But sometimes in the midst of materials madness, it’s easy to overlook the simple, smart design decisions — the ones that, ultimately, have way more effect on your day-to-day kitchen life than what kind of hardware you choose.

For Spring Projects month this April, I’m tackling a project that’s been on my to-do list since last fall. My pots and pans take up too much valuable drawer space in my kitchen, so it’s time to get serious about hanging them on the wall! Last fall during The Kitchn Cure I bought a ceiling pot rack with plans to install it over our kitchen island. This idea was soon abandoned over concerns that our rental kitchen ceiling wouldn’t be able to handle the weight.

My three cast iron skillets are my most-used kitchen items. One of the skillets used to belong to my grandmother, which means the interior is super smooth (great for eggs). Because I use them so often, I keep my pans right on my stovetop, but that’s certainly the least exciting way to store them, as evidenced by the setups in these 10 kitchens: Cast iron pans actually look quite striking when displayed in the open, whether packed in clusters on a pot rack or hung side by side on the wall.

I admit that my spice storage is a mess right now. The bottles are not stored so much as piled together in a corner in my pantry. (Ugh.) Here’s one solution that could work, though, and it’s really smart: hang wire mesh drawer organizers (or pencil holders, depending on what you want to call them) on the wall! This super smart idea comes from Ashley of the blog Domestic Imperfection.

In the comments of this recent House Tour, several people remarked about liking John and Laurel’s vintage metal wire cookbook rack in their kitchen. It’s a classic workhorse of a shelf, storing one row of books at an angle that’s easy to read when standing in the kitchen. I scoured around and came up with five similar versions that are up for grabs: 1 Mid Century Modern Wire Shelf, $59 from VintageMementos on Etsy: very similar to the inspiration.

Remember this clever idea to use a magazine file for storing foil and plastic wrap? If the aesthetics of that weren’t to your liking, but the door storage bit was, then this project may be just what you need. Whitney of the blog Shanty 2 Chic built her own door organizer for all her parchment, foil, and plastic wrap boxes. It cost $10 and only took her about 10 minutes, and look how sleek it looks!

When we think of clever solutions for the kitchen, this is what we’re talking about. In a recent House Tour on Apartment Therapy, Jonathan Paul shares how he turned his large but underutilized Santa Monica kitchen into a space that triples as a place for him to cook, eat, and work. And he did it all with the help of a few IKEA butcher block boards.

Day 3 Task: Declutter appliances, gadgets, and tools The third task arrived, and I approached it with trepidation after my bruising experience in the pantry I learned from my last kitchen not to store the things I use most in any high or hard-to-reach cabinets. So when I set up this kitchen in June, I put all my glass food storage containers and my pots and pans in the large, low drawers. It’s worked out pretty well for the most part, but things do get messy.

Day 3 Task: Declutter appliances, gadgets, and tools I have a weird kitchen. At first glance, it looks pretty big. Then you start trying to put things away. My kitchen has surprisingly little storage space. (I have sexy, sexy fantasies about remodeling my tiny laundry room and adding a large pantry. These fantasies involve a handsome contractor…and winning the lottery.) This kitchen was designed for people who like to entertain and also enjoy the services of caterers.

There’s really no end to the yummy goodness you can make-ahead and freeze. Doing so can save you time and money, as well as guarantee a home-cooked favorite any night of the week. Over the years, I have experimented with freezing a lot of different items. Here are my top five items to keep on hand in my freezer: While I grew up eating canned soup, that’s not been the case for my kids. The canned variety is generally oversalted, oversweetened, and overpriced.

When I was first settling into my kitchen, I quickly realized that drawer space was at such a premium that I would not have room for an in-drawer knife block (my number one choice for knife storage). Ditto goes for the countertop. So I purchased a magnetic knife rack. But when it came time to hang it up, I faced, well, a bit of a hangup: Should it be vertical? Horizontal? Tucked into the backsplash between the countertop and upper cabinets or located on a more open wall? And at what height?

Do you have trouble remembering to take your lunch when you leave for work or school? There are few things more frustrating than spending the time to pack yourself a healthy, delicious lunch only to forget it in the morning rush. Here are five little tips to help you remember. • Put your keys in the fridge: If you need your keys to lock up or drive in the morning, put them next to your lunch in the refrigerator. Not keen on putting keys in the fridge?

How do you organize your dried herbs and spices? In a drawer? On the wall? We’re always so impressed when our readers send in their own organizational accomplishments — but Tyler really wins the award for most awesome (and most nerdy!) approach! Read on for more…Tyler sent us these photos and told us: I designed this magnetic spice rack after searching fruitlessly for a creative way to display all my spices.

When I first moved into my 1920s rental apartment, I was horrified by the built-in mirrored cabinet above the sink. Wouldn’t it be awkward to stare at myself while doing dishes? Yet this little cupboard unexpectedly became the most joyful feature of my kitchen (and it has nothing to do with vanity!).Such cabinets are not uncommon in Los Angeles kitchens of this era and most people I know use them to store spice jars.

I am in the process of setting up a new kitchen, with all the decisions, indecisions, and rearrangements that settling into a new cooking space entails. Every time I start in a new space, there’s fresh resolve to fix the things that drove me crazy in the last one. This time, for instance, I decided to create order out of the tangled mess of my measuring spoons. Here’s how I organized them, and why.

January is the perfect time for a kitchen tune-up. A new year has dawned, and with it the possibility of new cooking adventures. If tackling your kitchen seems overwhelming, start with one (or all) of these eight tips for a neater, cleaner, and more organized kitchen.1. Get rid of plastic packaging in the pantry and store your food in clear containers. Nothing breaks up the flow of a pretty pantry more than a mess of plastic packaging piled one on top of the other.

The momentum of the new year has me inspired to do a clean sweep in my kitchen, so I can start 2013 with a pantry, fridge and freezer full of fresh and inspiring ingredients. Unfortunately, I don’t have a full day to tackle this project, so I’m breaking it down into steps that can be completed in 20 minutes or less per day for five days. Want to join me? Start today and by Monday morning your kitchen will be cleaned out and ready for a new year of cooking.

Recently we shared a pro tip for using masking tape to label food and containers in the kitchen. Here’s a similar tool that’s incredibly useful for kitchen labeling and organizing: blue (or green) painter’s tape!In my kitchen, I use painter’s tape and a permanent marker to label everything from mise en place to leftovers, infusions, pantry jars, and more.

We’re always looking for ways to improve kitchen organization — especially when it comes to spices, which can easily get cluttered and disorganized. Personally, I love stashing my spices away in a drawer, but my spice drawer never looked this good. Take a look at reader Kavita’s freshly-organized spice drawer — isn’t this inspiring?

Baker Mary Wolf, aka Miss Treats, has been sprucing up her Los Angeles rental kitchen and we love her DIY solution for storing and displaying KitchenAid attachments, measuring cups, and spoons.Cooking tools like mixer attachments and measuring cups can be a challenge to store in a small kitchen. Mary came up with this functional and attractive way to keep them at easy reach while baking her scones, biscuits, and cakes. (Quite scrumptious baked goods, we might add!

When a reader recently left a comment stating that they had made a great under-the-cabinet knife rack, I didn’t think much of it until I saw the genius that it truly was. Instead of putting a rack on your backsplash (which still prohibits you from putting anything in front of it), check out this under-cabinet trick!Kaela over at Local Kitchen left us a great tip a few days ago when we were busy chatting about awkward kitchen spaces.

Kitchen pegboards are awesome. They can hold and organize anything in the kitchen, from pots and pans to your iPad. Julia Child made them famous, and others followed suit — we showed you a pegboard in the kitchen of her editor, Judith Jones. Today we have some tips for creating and hanging your own pegboard, from Kate Payne of The Hip Girl’s Guide to Homemaking. Our new kitchen pretty much trumps all kitchens in my checkered past of rental kitchens.

“Clean as you go” is a piece of cooking advice I took to heart years ago, so when I’m in the kitchen with someone who doesn’t follow the same principles, my stress levels rise and I start looking around desperately for a sponge. Are you the same way?When I first starting cooking, frequent cleaning was a necessity; I had a single two-foot-long counter in my kitchen, so I didn’t have space for a mess.

Even though you can’t eat them and you don’t really serve food out of them, somehow, flower vases seem to end up being stored in the kitchen. If you’re lucky enough to have a china hutch, they might find a corner to call home, but in my kitchen, my vases always seem to be in the way!My last several homes have all been open loft style apartments or homes.

Last week Ohdeedoh featured a bathroom cabinet with a pull-out step — a great use of normally discarded space. These slide-out drawers for your kitchen are no different. If you put drawers under your cabinets, you can find great extra storage, even if you rent!Our friends at Charles and Hudson shared this great project over at The Family Handyman. It’s an improvement that is nearly invisible and in a kitchen where space is short (aren’t they all?), it’s a great addition!

Where do you store your cookbooks? Do they live in the kitchen, or somewhere else in the house? Cheryl Sternman Rule at 5 Second Rule has a unique way of storing and displaying a rotating selection of her cookbooks. She puts them up, face-out, on shelves right in the kitchen! Cheryl shows off her wall o’ cookbooks in a post on recipe organization and searching. She puts up the books she’s currently cooking out of (see all those sticky notes and tabs in the pages?

Looking for the perfect way to organize all the recipes you find as you wander around the web? This new Recipe Box app might just be the answer to your prayers.I admit that I was pretty skeptical of this app at first. Between Google Reader and EvernoteIt took me all of five minutes for The Recipe Box to convince me of its charms. The app opens to a standard Home screen, like you see in the screenshot at the very top of this post.

Q: I know you’re supposed to store tomatoes on the counter to prevent them from developing a mealy texture.But what about tomatoes you’ve already cut into? Sometimes I just want a couple slices for a sandwich, and it seems like the fridge is the best place for the leftover tomato — is it?Sent by ClaireEditor: Claire, we often wonder this same thing!

Q: I have a problem with storing the blades for my Cuisinart DLC. The shredding and slicing blades come with the fixed rods that are difficult to store safely. Right now, I have been keeping them in the Styrofoam block they came in, but that is not very space-efficient.Do you or the readers know of any other cases or easy DIY fixes? Thanks in advance!

[Today organizing expert Stacey Platt shares a few tips on finding more space in the kitchen. Stacey is the most organized person I know, but understands with great compassion how unorganized many people can be. Here are some ideas from her new book, What’s a Disorganized Person to Do?. Welcome, Stacey!]Now, thanks to The Kitchen Cure’s Week #2 assignment, your kitchen de-cluttered and you’ve probably freed up a lot of space.

We were tired of our kitchen towels constantly slipping off the oven handle and winding up on the floor, so we devised this handy solution. It works quite well and we think it looks pretty cute, too!All this takes is a few lengths of leftover ribbon or yarn and some bull clips. Tie the ribbons in a square knot around the handle (“right over left, leftover right, makes the knot tidy and tight!”) so the ends lie flat and the knot stays tight even after repeated use.

Back in September, reader Theresa showed us her DIY over-the-door pot rack. We decided to make a similar version in our own kitchen, and while our pots are nowhere near as nice and shiny as Theresa’s and our rack is slightly crooked at the moment, it’s already made a big space-saving difference.I (Joanna) installed my pot rack on an exterior door that leads to the back porch of my apartment. (We’ve joked that it doubles as a DIY burglar alarm.

Removing the measuring spoonsrightThis is one of those simple and rather obvious tips that really makes such a difference. Single measuring spoons are a lot easier to maneuver into small jars of ingredients, and we’re not constantly trying to keep used measuring spoons from touching the clean ones. We also use the tablespoon and teaspoon measure the most, so there’s really no need to mess with the entire set every time we cook.

Let’s help Kitchen Cure-taker woodnymph here with their refrigerator and freezer issue. This was their note to me along with the above photos:fridge (notice the gross spill in the bottom – who knows how long that’s been there?)door (thing often fall out when you open or close it)freezer (no idea what’s in back) We need to help this person get their Cure going!What are your favorite tips for organizing your refrigerator and freezer?