4 Kitchen Storage Ideas to Prevent Falls
Who loves a clean organized kitchen? Photo of gorgeous kitchen by Unsplash.
Marie Kondo has taken the nation by storm!
If you haven’t heard about the author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering, Marie Kondo teaches people a systematic way to sort through and organize their personal belongings at home.
The main idea is to keep items that bring you joy. This process will result in feeling less stressed and more happy in your home!
Another bonus of this method is less stuff= less cleaning!
Of course there are some people, like my husband, who are scared that the Marie Kondo method forces you to get rid of all of your stuff. Definitely not the point, babe. You keep what sparks joy! Don’t get rid of everything!
Anyway, I digress. . .
I love the concept of tidying up your space at home because this process makes your belongings more accessible to you. For instance, Marie Kondo encourages people to sort through their personal items by category starting with clothing. She taught me a new way of folding clothing and storing it where you can see all of your clothes at one time in a drawer, on a shelf, or hanging on a rack. That way you use every single clothing item more because you can see it. You’re reminded that it’s there.
Organized scarf drawer a la Marie Kondo method. Picture by Maria Lindbergh
So now, I fold all of my scarves like this (picture to the right):
Today, I can see all of my scarves, so I’ve been wearing more of them lately instead of my top two!
The Marie Kondo method is inspiring me to rethink how I store my personal items in a way that’s easier for me to reach and use, which brings me to my most troubled spot in my home: the kitchen!
Semi-organized cast iron skillets, pots, and bowls in lower cabinet. Picture by Maria Lindbergh
My Kitchen Storage
A huge problem I have is storing my cast iron skillets. I have six of them in skillet, griddle, and biscuit mold form. They are super heavy!
I can’t store them in an upper cabinet because I’m klutzy and might drop them on the counter or my foot. I’d definitely break something.
At the moment, my cast iron cookware sits on the lowest shelf in my bottom kitchen cabinet out of pure fear of hurting myself.
The other problem is my lower cabinets are deep. They go way back! I have to practically put all of my upper body inside the cabinet to reach things I’m looking for.
Needless to say, I put the least used items in the back of the cabinet and more frequently used items up front. This is a go to strategy for organizing any household items: put the most used items within reach!
But my cabinets still seem cluttered and don’t fit my Marie Kondo aesthetic! It’s not pretty.
However, there are some excellent storage solutions for cabinets that work well to make things more accessible so that I’m keeping my pots and pans in their assigned place and not overreaching. Keep reading to see four kitchen storage ideas to help you live at home for a lifetime!
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1) Pull Out Cabinet Organizers
An inexpensive way to see all your kitchen supplies at once is to install pull out cabinet organizers. You can place anything to your heart’s desire on them like skillets, pans, cooking sheets, or pantry items. Plus they’re easy to clean and maintain!
Pull out cabinet organizers are made in a wide range of sizes, so you should find something that will work for your kitchen cabinets.
For my kitchen, I would simply measure out the dimensions of my lower cabinets then go online or to a big box retailer, like Home Depot or Lowe’s, to select the best pull out shelving for my cabinets.
2) Stackable Shelf Organizers
Another inexpensive organizing tip is using stackable shelf organizers on your kitchen countertops, cabinets, or table. You can store items on top of the shelf or underneath it!
Put the most commonly used items here, like your favorite coffee mug and cereal bowl. You want the things you use the most in the easiest to reach spots, unless you like to work hard during your everyday routine.
Luckily, you can find stackable organizers anywhere, even the dollar store!
3) Deep Kitchen Drawers
Notice there’s nary a lower cabinet in sight. It’s all drawers for lower kitchen storage, baby! Picture by Unsplash.
If you’re remodeling the kitchen, the very best thing you can do is to install deep kitchen drawers instead of lower cabinets. Kitchen drawers enable you to see all of your cookware, dishes, and utensils at one time.
I mean think about my kitchen storage situation with the cast iron cookware. I have to get on my hands and knees to reach waaaaayyyyy in the back of the lower cabinet to get the cast iron biscuit tray. That’s a workout in itself!
If I had deep kitchen drawers replacing my lower cabinet, all I would have to do is stand or sit there and pull out the drawer to pick up the cast iron without breaking a sweat.
Hell, I might bake more biscuits if I can see my cast iron biscuit tray more often! That would spark joy in my husband!
Deep kitchen drawers help you work smarter, not harder!
4) Pull Down Shelving
The last way to store your kitchen items is through pull down shelving for upper cabinets (AKA One of the greatest inventions ever of all time and space!) This is a great option for apartment living where you typically have small kitchens with minimal storage.
If you have any shoulder, neck, or upper back problems, you should really consider pull down shelving! Again, no overreaching here! You just pull down all of the shelves in your upper cabinet to the counter level.
You never have to worry about putting your most used items on the lowest shelf again!
For people like me who are average height or shorter, pull down shelves make it so I can get the things I need when I need it. I don’t have to wait for my six foot tall husband to help me.
Talk about independence!
Now, the pricing for pull down shelving is more costly. So you may want to do more shopping and research when selecting the best product for you.
Conclusion
How do you store your cookware and utensils? Are there any ideas you want to add to this list? Are you going to try one of the storage ideas?
Tell us all about it in the comments below! You may make someone’s day by sharing your experience!
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