I just put nails in the wall to hang my measuring cups. It really keeps them handy and cuts down on the clutter in drawers.

I have a pantry in my kitchen that doesn't have a door (I have a semi-sheer curtain hung in the doorway, but it doesn't hide the pantry contents totally) so I use some square white baskets from Ikea to corral things like pot lids, measuring cups, and utensils that I don't use as often.

Also, yeah Old School Hardware travel mug! Mount Pleasant represent! :-)

We had a wall in our kitchen that had no upper cabinets, so we installed an Ikea Grundtal shelf and rail that have been a total life saver! We use the rail to hang pots on the wall above the stove and the shelf has my cookbooks, flour/sugar jars and other odds and ends on top and then below it has 2 hanging spice racks (AWESOME. Love these.), and other hooks for pot holders, mugs, and a cutting board. We saved SO much space doing this, I have no idea where I would have put all of this stuff if we hadn't put these in. We live in a rental, so we got permission to put these up since they're pretty permanent, but it will be a great thing for the next tenants and it wasn't that expensive.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00011428

Great big, built-in spice rack/shelves that's big enough for bottles of stuff that doesn't need refrigeration. It's not in the main prep area but we had limited storage and no pantry. I like to keep the counters as uncluttered as possible and we had a wall that couldn't be used for too much as most of it would be housing a pocket door. I'm also on the lookout for some nice, smaller, possibly steel containers for utensils. The stuff that I use daily (spatulas, tongs) can then be put in them, while the rest can go into drawers.

thank you for this post! just in time!

- A couple of lazy susans in the spice cabinet.
- big plastic containers for storing the cous cous and things I buy in bulk.
- bread bin and cool vintage flour and sugar containers for keeping things out in the open.
- a cheap-o pan/lid organizer from Wal-mart (lifesaver!)
- A place for everything and everything in its place (easier said than done).

I keep a plastic box in my refrigerator to corral all of my condiments - Salad dressings, pesto, mustard, etc.

@LSUgrad03 said it - making things return to their designated spot is the key. I'm on the verge of color coding everything to help my DH and children put things away. Any hints from others on maintaining kitchen organization?

My BF and I put up a pegboard pot rack on the wall the stove is on. I now don't have to lift 3 VERY heavy cast iron skillets off of the stove every time I want to cook. It was the best DIY ever!!!!!!!!

I have a plastic-coated-wire plate holder that holds plates standing on their edges - similar to a mail sorter, but larger. It has three sections, so I have 6 of each: small, medium and large plates, all on the bottom shelf, no stacking required. It's so easy to grab what I need. It's the best!

Great ideas! I have the mug hooks too, and really should get one of those shelves!

Each time I go to Value Village, I look for the tall, narrow, deep Tupperware containers. I have about 6 now, and am glad to pay $2 instead of $20 for Tupperware. Lazy_lurker, if you don't use those, I'd highly recommend them for helping hubby and kids to put stuff away and keep things neat.

Yup - I too have used all these things!

Coated wire baskets that fit exactly in 1/2 the space of each shelf of my lower cabinet. Instead of having to squat, peer, and root around on deep low shelves, I simply pull out one of the four baskets and choose what I need from the neatly organized contents.

@ lazy_lurker - Spice confusion drives me nuts. I add labels to the top of my spice jars and alphabetize them. A little crazy? Yes. But the system is simple so everyone knows where they go. Systems have to be super simple if you want other people to follow them.

we've put up pot holding hooks all around the top of our stove due to a lack of space, which then becomes home to the one pair of kitchen scissors as well as oven mitts. My husband put up ancient looking teal coloured blue shelves, which i thought were hideous at first but ended up bringing out the antique like theme of our kitchen- we used nicer brackets, and to brighten it up i put up gingham red cafe curtains.. functionality and colours.. love this post.

Chinook beat me to it, but check out that Old School mug! We're neighbors!

In my tiny Mt Pleasant kitchen, I definitely do the magnetic strip, the cabinet shelves, and over-the-cabinet hooks as well. This weekend I'm planning on installing a lid rack type thing on the wall to get our pot lids under control. We just don't have enough space to fit those and the pots in our cabinets.

Excellent. I am also 5'2" and have all the same problems. I will use all these solutions. Thanks!

We have a u-shaped kitchen, so we have two really deep base cabinets in the corners. To organize pot lids, we use a wire dish drainer and stand them up in it, so the whole thing can be pulled out, and you can see everything.

I also use the idea of larger plastic bins to organize things in (one for baking supplies, one for gadgets like stick blender and hand mixer, one for measuring cups/spoons in sizes I don't use every day, etc)... that allows me to pull out one big bin when I'm going to be baking, instead of rooting around for all the little ingredients.

Another good one is one of those adjustable tiered stands from the container store that I put cans and other pantry items on. That way I can see what's in the back of the cabinet, and it keeps everything organized. (http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/cabinetOrganizers/upperCabinets?productId=10000696&green=25176285101)

And my last big tip is... if there is something you use every day, it is worth shopping around for an option that is both functional AND beautiful, and display it proudly right out in the open - like I got these cute little ceramic measuring bowls that work with the colours in my kitchen, and look so adorable sitting on my counter. That way I don't have to put them away and get them out again all the time - they just get washed/rinsed and stacked right next to my chopping block again. I can't remember where I found mine, but Anthropologie has really cool ones. (http://search.anthropologie.com/controller?N=0&Ntk=primary&Nu=p_group_id&Np=2&Ntt=measuring%20cups)

Just a heads up - you can get those same under-shelf baskets at almost any Dollarama for $1.25 a piece instead of $7-$9 at the Container Store.

lazy_lurker you need labels on everything. It's best if they're easy to read and in the same style. I make labels in 36 point font on regular paper and cut them to size. I attach them to Mason jars with clear packing tape. This comes off very easily when I want to re- label.

Also, I'm 5'2", too. I've always had a footstool somewhere, but recently I bought several little folding footstools that I've distributed wherever I need one. It has made a huge difference and I can't figure out why I never thought of it before. I get mine at TJ Maxx or Marshalls for about $10 each, but here is an online link:
http://www.amazon.com/Kennedy-Home-Collection-Aqua-13-Inch/dp/B003M8GI7Q/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1306519248&sr=8-5

We did the same as kerry81480 and put two Grundtal shelves in our kitchen. One is over the stove to hold our recipe book holder, a couple cutting boards, and oven mitts and to hang measuring cups/spoons, and our big pizza slicer. The second holds all our pots and pans and their lids, and it hangs over a tin-topped table that holds our knife block and toaster oven.

In addition, we bought a two-tiered Lazy Susan, which we use to store our spices.

We just moved from a 4 bedroom house with a large kitchen, to a 1 bedroom apartment with a tiny kitchen. We went to Ikea and got some hanging pot racks that we mounted on a wall (and bought magnetic strips so the pots won't bang on the walls), we mounted a lid organizer on the wall, we bought some shelves to display some of the nicer kitchen things and cookbooks, and have many drawer organizers. I love all the ideas I've read, and am making a list of things that will help with our space even more!

In my old kitchen I had only 4 open shelves and NO drawers or counter space and a tiny apartment-sized stove and tiny fridge. I did the Julia Child thing with the peg board above and to the side of the stove, very handy and w/ the addition of the Chinese steamer baskets and pretty pot holders, even attractive. It had a magnetic knife holder as well. I built an island with open shelves underneath on all sides and kept everything in pretty rectangular baskets with lids, so I only had to wipe the baskets down to keep things clean, and each basket held like-used things : baking, pot lids, silverware etc. A pottery jar held wooden spoons and spatulas near the stove. I built low bookcases with tiled tops to go around the perimeter of the room so I had more counter space and a place to keep cookbooks and decorative vases and bowls. Then I built a little pantry and sized all the shelves to fit the height of what I needed to store. Flat Tupperware boxes held pasta etc., labeled, and could just be pulled out. Rolled down brown paper bags made convenient bins for potatoes and onions and garlic. I built the door 4"deep and put little shelves w/ wooden dowels across, sized to hold cans and spices. Did a lot of good cooking in that primitive little 1909 kitchen that had once been a parlor. And I built it all my self !

In my big new kitchen (1930's w/ an early 60's add-on), I have a walk-in pantry ! But the spices and herbs were inconvenient stacked on top of and behind each other. I got wooden spice racks from IKEA and screwed them to the inside of the door. Each shelf holds a different category : savory herbs, baking spices, peppers, etc. Sooooo easy to grab what I need. And I love my stainless chef-prep table, also from IKEA. It gets scratched, but I decided early on that I would just think of it as patina, like a David Smith sculpture. And since I now am celebrating a plethora of drawers, I lined them all w/ adhesive backed cork and found stainless dividers at the dollar store. And I installed my magnetic knife holder flat inside one of the drawers so I can just reach in and get the one I need and don't have to have them out on the counter. Yaay ! Happy cooking, all !

I love this thread already!!

I use these cheap plastic organizer bins to organize everything. I have 3 in the kitchen cabinet that I use to organize all my gladware/tupperware containers (and keep the lids with the right ones!). I use them in the pantry to keep like items together - one for all my baking stuff, one for all the pasta in the cupboard, one for dip/sauce/gravy mix envelopes, etc. I use the small ones in drawers to organize little items like cheese spreaders, bottle stoppers, etc. I use them in the bathroom to organize makeup, floss, hair clips, etc. They are truly my secret weapon and they are no more than like $2 each. They kinda look like this http://www.organizeit.com/blumz-plastic-storage-basket-clear.asp?cmpid=SLI and I find them at the dollar store usually.

I bought an over-the-door pantry organizer to use as a spice rack. It frees up an amazing amount of cabinet space i used to use for spices.

I have a can rack to store canned goods in the pantry. It wasn't cheap (Organize It All 1866 Soup Can Rack on Amazon) but it's very sturdy and it was worth the money. Makes it easy to find and inventory canned goods!

last but not least I bought a 3 tier organizer shelf hoping to use it for my plates & dishes. It was too big for the cabinet. I found another great use for it though - I have about 6 different frying pans, omelet pans, etc. and I use it to stack them up so now it's easy to get to the type & size I need without pulling out a stack of 6 frying pans.

I'm moving soon and am now inspired to try hanging hooks for my measuring cups! I'm tired of digging in the drawer for something I use everyday.

Metal shelves that your put in your dish cabinets or pantry. Items can be stored under the shelf and on top using as much vertical space as possible, avoids stacking different plate types/sizes on top of one another.

Plastic baskets to store small items in freezer or pantry.

Matching stackable container sets (i.e. tupperware/snaplock/rubbermaid). For the lids, I use a pot cover organizer.

Oxo stackable storage plastic containers for everything from crackers to flour. Mason jars (all different sizes) for smaller stock. I also use small mason jars for homemade salad dressing.

Shelf dividers (the type you use in closets to separate stacks of clothes/handbags). I use these so I can stand cutting boards, baking sheets on their sides. Also holds soft bagged items like chips.

Oh, one more thing, I never put bottles right on the shelf in the pantry. Oils and vinegar go on flat plates/round platters. Keeps the shelf clean. I also can slide the plate over if I need to grab something from behind it. Can also pull the whole thing out to clean or rearrange.

Three words: magnetic spice rack. I literally have no spices in my cupboard anymore except for those I keep in bulk. This has saved a TON of cabinet space. We bought metal tins of various sizes from Ikea and a company online called custommageticspicerack.com that also provides you with custom labels. Now, one entire side of my fridge is covered by spices which are easy to find, at the ready when I need them, and are obvious when I'm running low of something.

learn from my mistake: don't store your knives in that area above the stove. I did that on a magnetic strip, just like you have in the picture, and now the handles of my expensive knives are cracking and falling apart. major bummer.

I have - honest, I kid you not - a kitchen in the hallway, and a pretty narrow hallway at that. So there are no overhead cabinets at all, no space-over-the-sink or space-over-the-stove. My main problem is where to hang the Kitchen Towel. No peg-boards or any kind of hanging things. No stove-fan, therefore no frying bacon. Main solution: keep it simpler than you can possibly imagine. I'll have to post some pictures for y'all's amusement.

Went to 5 Below and bought plastic baskets for my "pantry cupboard." (It lacked everything but shelves that were too deep for access.)

One for different oils; one for condiments; etc.

Pasta, rice, and other staples are all in containers from which air can be let out and stored on a shelf lengthwise from front to back.

Even hubby admires the organization in my cupboards and drawers. :)

1. hanging pot rack
2. lid rack
3. magnetic knife holder
4. spinning 4"x4" spice rack

I have a small refrigerator, and I have adopted trays. I use those is my china pattern, both rectangle and round, as well as pirex. They slide out for easy access to those items usually at the back of the refrigerator, and I can pull out a whole tray if I want to pick and choose. I especially like my retanglular tray for eggs. It fits the carton size perfectly. I remove the top of the egg crate, and slide out the tray when I need an egg or two. No more risk of dropping an unbalanced crate of eggs, when more eggs have been removed from one end than the other.

I live in a motorhome so my kitchen is super tiny. I have two favourite tools:

1) the magnetic bar over the sink where the knives and the beer bottle opener live;
2) a giant crock (former cookie jar) in which I keep my large cooking implements at hand.

Love this piece. I like to consider small gadgets that make a big difference. Here is what I do in my tiny kitchen.
1) Use the fridge space as much as possible. My fridge is large so I store more than necessary in there, e.g., all boxes of almond milk before opening, cans of nuts, condiments that don't all need to be stored in there.
2) Lazy Susans in cupboards, as others said too.
3) White or glass dishes that can be displayed nicely if necessary. All my vases are white or clear and are on top of the cabinets. So it looks nice.
4) Magnetic menu rack on fridge for ordering take out and food coupons. Plus magnetic list on fridge.
5) Don't forget the drawer UNDER the oven for metal trays.

About 20 years ago at Lowe's I bought wire baskets on metal sliders (like drawer sliders) for my bottom cabinets. It takes some time to put them in, but they are invaluable for keeping the bottom cabinets neat and accessible. I even removed them all and installed them in my new(old!) house when I moved. I can pull out the wire baskets and reach everything in the cabinet without standing on my head or getting down on my hands and knees.

Another vote here for the magnetic spice rack. All my spices are on the side of the fridge in sight and within easy reach. I also picked up 2 fancy glass door medicine cabinets at a thrift store, which I use in the kitchen to hold tea, mugs, and various other stuff that I had no cabinet space for.

@kerry81480 would love to see pics of your setup.

kitchen pantry cabinet
We just moved from a 4 bedroom house with a large kitchen, to a 1 bedroom apartment with a tiny kitchen. We went to Ikea and got some hanging pot racks that we mounted on a wall (and bought magnetic strips so the pots won't bang on the walls), we mounted a lid organizer on the wall, we bought some shelves to display some of the nicer kitchen things and cookbooks, and have many drawer organizers.