Even if you have a reasonably generous kitchen, it's likely that space is at a premium in cupboards and on countertops. Packets of food, bottles of water, boxes of freezer bags and all the rest of our paraphernalia have a way of proliferating, leaving us with chaotic cabinets, cans of beans we didn't know were there, and piles of pot lids that bear no apparent relation to the actual pots.
That's why a good organising gizmo is so pleasing: tidy cupboards are suddenly a possibility, and we can all kid ourselves that life is under control. These are ten of our favourites: all highly affordable, easily available, and guaranteed to bring a slightly smug smile to your face.
under-shelf caddy
First up, we've got a couple of storage pieces that can be added to your cupboards to cater to specific items. The first is an under-shelf caddy from kitchen whizzes Joseph Joseph, designed as a convenient home for parchment paper, clingfilm, tin foil and freezer bags, which might otherwise, l'horreur, take up an entire drawer. Next, since under-sink storage is always a nightmare, behold this sink tidy that adheres to the cupboard door, and has a very handy rail for hanging bottles of cleaning fluid on.
pot lid organiser
As you may have gathered, pot lids are a particular pet peeve of ours, and there is no built-in way to keep them organised in your average drawer or cupboard. A pot lid organiser, then, is a must, and both of these options are brilliantly helpful, depending on how much space you have. Either give them a luxurious berth with IKEA's metal rack, or fix them to the inside of a door with the adhesive version from Amazon.
Kitchen Rails
Hanging things from the wall is a tried and tested method of freeing up space on a kitchen countertop, so we'd recommend investing in a few rails for around the place. A good-looking one such as the brass Hultarp rail from IKEA can be mounted on your wall or on the side of a cabinet, and more functional versions can work well for the inside of cupboards. Meanwhile, if small appliances take up too much space on your counters, and you constantly find yourself moving them around, then these ingenious castors from Amazon can stick to their undersides, so that they can fly across the bench with ease.
Lazy Susan
The people we know who have added a Lazy Susan to their fridge or cupboards tend to be inordinately proud of them (often showing them off to unsuspecting dinner guests), which has convinced us that this really is a life-changing accessory. They're absolutely essential if you have corner cupboards, and if you are a hoarder of spices or little jars, they make finding what you want a pleasure. On the theme of making shelf space more efficient, simple shelf risers are a brilliant way to maximise cupboard real estate. Store plates underneath and glasses on top, or large cans underneath and small ones on top, and you've more or less doubled your storage.
kitchen storage bin
And finally, don't neglect the humble kitchen storage bin. If you are not one of those people who decants everything into glass jars (well done if you are) then hardwearing plastic bins are a great repository for packets of pasta, rice and pulses. Collections of dusters, batteries, lightbulbs and other kitchen miscellany are all easier to wrangle when they have a bin to call home. And you can even buy specially designed ones for cans to go in the fridge, avoiding that precarious pile of them that tends to occupy the top shelf.
This story originally appeared on House & Garden UK.
