Smart Storage: Totally Genius Ways to Customize Kitchen Cabinets

Especially if you cook a lot, there’s nothing quite so satisfying as a well organized kitchen. Having everything you need easy to find and easy to reach makes cooking that much more of a pleasurable experience. With that in mind, we’ve rounded up 12 genius ways you can customize your cabinets to get the very most out of them. Some of these are ideas you’ll want to bookmark for your next remodel, but a few are things that practically anyone, with a little bit of DIYing, can implement in their kitchen.

In this image from IKEA (via Kitchn) a slide-out tray keeps silverware, and other small utensils, neatly organized and within easy reach.

Having appliances that you use often out on the countertop is awfully convenient — but it’s also a little unsightly. To cut down on clutter but still keep appliances within easy reach, consider an appliance garage, like this one from Design Dazzle. You can lift up the door when you’re using the toaster or can opener, and close it to give your kitchen a streamlined appearance when you’re not.

Also from Design Dazzle comes this clever idea for lower cabinets — pull-out shelves that allow you to store quite a few pots and pans, but also to access them easily when you need them. (You can build these yourself, or buy pre-made pull-out drawers from manufacturers like Rev-a-Shelf.)

Things like turners and whisks can get jumbled up and lost in drawers, so if you have quite a few, consider this solution from The Home Depot Blog — a narrow pullout cabinet with canisters for storing tools upright.

Also from The Home Depot Blog comes this idea for a toekick drawer, which is a great way to recapture unused space in your kitchen, and also a great spot for storing things like muffin tins and baking sheets.

Another option for storing baking sheets (and cooling racks and cutting boards, too) is a traditional cabinet outfitted with vertical dividers, like this DIY setup spotted in the kitchen of contributor Rachel Jacks.

Spices are easy to inventory, and easy to reach, with a custom drawer insert like this one from Anne Hepfer Designs.

If you bake a lot, a drawer with built-in flour bins, like this one from Maison & Demeure, might be a real boon.

Drawers are an excellent place to store dishes, but how do you keep everything from sliding around? One way is with a customizable drawer organizer, like this one from House & Garden.