Before & After: Eleanor’s Corner Kitchen Cupboard Clearout

published Aug 10, 2015
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(Image credit: Eleanor Büsing)

Like most people’s, or at least most avid cooks’, my kitchen never seems to have enough storage. I’ve mentioned my issues with kitchen storage and organization before, and it’s an ongoing struggle, but one of my cupboards has recently gone from hot mess to holy moly, that’s tidy!, all thanks to two cheap, simple products.

I share my kitchen with one flatmate, and we divide up our four cupboards like this: one for food for each of us, one for our dishes and glasses, and the large corner cupboard for baking stuff, shared spices, random jars of who-knows-what we’ve never opened, extra bottles of oil and vinegars… you get the picture. And if you don’t, the actual picture is above: it’s not pretty.

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Check it out! (Image credit: Eleanor Büsing)

My favorite tool for gaining more storage space within existing cupboards is by far the IKEA Variera shelf insert: it’s cheap, adaptable, and comes in a few different sizes. I’ve used it in other cupboards and rooms before, so this was the first thing I ordered when I decided to tackle our Corner Cupboard of Doom.

Another problem with corner cupboards is that they can be dark, so you’re never sure what out-of-date food or dusty pans are lurking in there. A cheap, adhesive-mounted LED light (mine was from Amazon and cost about £4) solved this problem.

Voila! Thanks to these two simple additions, my formerly terrifying corner cupboard is spic and span (and still looks like this a month later!).

Do you have any simple products or tips for gaining more storage in the kitchen? Share below!