# Storage help - I'm up for ideas



## legend_018 (May 16, 2010)

I have a decent amount of under the counter space I think. However, I'm always battling having enough room for everything. Things I always end up using too. Like turkey Roast pans, a crock pot, waffle maker, nice griddle flat longgg pan my dad bought me that I use to make pancakes or lots of eggs and bacon, a big skillet that is also nice that my mom bought me, the kind that plugs in, toaster oven, regular pans, pots and i could go on and on. After awhile, everything gets jumbled all over the place to the point where I have to try to reorganize again. Anyone want to share any neat organizing strategies? Of course half the stuff takes up so much room ya know? Other stuff might be mixing bowls, serving platters, tupperware, which I did move to one of my top cabinets, cake/pie pans, cake holder, which can be rather bulky and so on


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## Andy M. (May 16, 2010)

I live in a condo and have minimal under counter storage.  

I have a stack of skillets.  I nest saucepans and covers.  Also food processor, blender, hand mixer and stick blender.  Not enough room.

I also have a six-foot tall 3-foot wide cabinet that holds my stand mixer, griddler, baking pans, etc.  Still not enough.

I run down to the cellar where I store larger pots, misc. baking pans, etc.  along with all my pantry items on tall shelves.


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## MostlyWater (May 17, 2010)

Lengand, what about pull out shelves for under the counter storage?

Or - mix it up - put your pots and dishes under the counter, and put your appliances on top.  How would that be ?


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## frozenstar (Jun 17, 2010)

You can separate the pots and dishes with appliances. And sort them on what do you use more often. Place it in one storage so you won't have to look through all the drawers or counters whenever you need them.


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## Selkie (Jun 17, 2010)

Not only have I down-sized, my folks are moving into a smaller place and down-sizing. My mom keeps trying to pawn stuff off on me... stuff that would just take up space, so I've had to get tough and say "no" to a lot of it. How many mixing bowls, serving platters or pie pans do I need!? One! Do I really need a waffle iron, or bread pans now that I only bake artisan free-form loaves? No! What does a toaster oven do for me that a regular oven doesn't? For myself, nothing!

Flat items, such as your griddle, can be stored on edge with your cookie sheets at the end of one under cabinet. I keep my cast iron skillet and Dutch oven on the stove top. Now, I have enough room in a under-counter corner cabinet to keep an empty cardboard box to prevent anything from being pushed so far back that I can't see or reach it. I figure if I haven't used it during the past year, I don't need it.

It's gotten to the point that I refuse to be ruled by "stuff!" I now use a little imagination in place of stupid, expensive kitchen gadgets, single use items, or duplicates of things I already have. Now, I enjoy my kitchen instead of feeling it's a storage room for junk!


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## n2cookin (Jun 17, 2010)

legend_018 said:


> I have a decent amount of under the counter space I think. However, I'm always battling having enough room for everything. Things I always end up using too. Like turkey Roast pans, a crock pot, waffle maker, nice griddle flat longgg pan my dad bought me that I use to make pancakes or lots of eggs and bacon, a big skillet that is also nice that my mom bought me, the kind that plugs in, toaster oven, regular pans, pots and i could go on and on. After awhile, everything gets jumbled all over the place to the point where I have to try to reorganize again. Anyone want to share any neat organizing strategies? Of course half the stuff takes up so much room ya know? Other stuff might be mixing bowls, serving platters, tupperware, which I did move to one of my top cabinets, cake/pie pans, cake holder, which can be rather bulky and so on


 
On one shelf try keeping the items you don't use daily. That shelf you can stack things inside each other and have that shelf more crowded since you don't use it daily you won't be having to deal with moving it around all the time. 

On another shelf keep the items you use daily or weekly and try not to over crowd the shelf so that it does not seem like a chore getting to them.

Do a self check. Which items can do double duty with multiple purposes so you can get rid of something else? I try to stay away from "one hit wonders" items that have a single use. Unless it is something that I can't do without and then it had better not take up too much space.

I try to use the inside of things to store like minded items. Inside my big blue canner I store other canning items. That way they are all together when needed but not taking up more shelf space. Flat items (i.e. griddle) try standing on their edge along a wall of the cabinet to take less space and keep from scratching with items sitting on top.


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## web-collage (Jun 29, 2010)

You don't need more storage room. You need less stuff. Put everything in labeled boxes and pull out something only when you need to use it. Anything you haven't used in a month doesn't need to be in your kitchen. Anything you haven't used in six months can be sold or given away. Try it. It really works.


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