5 Tips to Help You Organize Your Kitchen on a Budget

By Tamara Gane

 

No matter the size of your kitchen, there just never seem to be enough kitchen cabinets to hold everything. But what are you supposed to do if a kitchen remodel won’t fit within your budget anytime soon? Well, there are plenty of ways to better organize your kitchen on the cheap. The simple act of keeping your kitchen cabinets organized is the first step to freeing up space. Here are five inexpensive kitchen storage ideas that offer effective solutions you can implement today.

 

1. Lazy Susans

If I could only keep one kitchen organization tool, I’d pick my Lazy Susans. They’re a great help when it comes to keeping my kitchen organized. The large ones are perfect for storing cookware in deep corner cupboards, and the smaller ones are perfect for spices, sauces, and the other items I reach for on a regular basis.

 

Here is a photo of my spices before I started storing them on a Lazy Susan:

 

 

My cupboards were completely disorganized, and it was impossible to find the nutmeg when I needed it. I had to darn near empty out the whole cabinet every time I wanted something from the back. On more than one occasion, I even went to the store and bought duplicates of spices I already owned because I couldn’t find them in the back. (This is how I ended up with three cans of chili powder — a spice I rarely use). But all of that changed when I started organizing my kitchen cabinets with a Lazy Susan:

 

 

Now my kitchen cupboards are organized, and my spices take up less space. I can spin around my Lazy Susan and easily locate any spice I want to use. I use Lazy Susans to keep my pantry organized too.

 

2. Bins

Simple plastic bins are another great kitchen storage idea. They are particularly helpful in smaller spaces. I keep my garbage and recycling containers under the sink. It’s a tight fit, so storing my cleaning supplies in a plastic bin helps keep those items accessible and organized. I also use bins to hold lids for plastic storage containers, and have several in my pantry to store various dried goods. Plastic bins allow me to keep everything sorted and organized and I can pull them out and set them on the counter while I’m cooking or cleaning. And the best part is that plastic bins are cheap and easy to find. If you’re on a budget, you can find them in a variety of colors and sizes at your local dollar store and start inexpensively organizing your kitchen cabinets right away.

 

 

3. Kitchen Drawer Organizers

Nearly everyone has a kitchen drawer organizer or divider to keep their silverware sorted.

 

But you can also use kitchen drawer dividers to organize your cooking tools and gadgets. They make it easy to find what you need in an instant, particularly lesser used items that may otherwise get shoved into a corner and forgotten about. Kitchen drawer organizers come in a variety of materials, such as wood, metal, and plastic, so it’s easy to find an option that matches both your budget and décor.

 

 

4. Use Your Kitchen Countertop for Storage

Sometimes there’s not enough cabinet space to store all of your kitchen goods no matter how organized you’re. If this is the case, there are many things you can store on top of your countertops attractively and effectively. Dry goods like flour and sugar can be stored on the kitchen counter in canisters. Large cooking utensils can be placed in a decorative jar, ready for use. I keep my coffee pods inside a rack under the machine to save space and keep my kitchen organized.

 

 

5. Don’t Ignore the Refrigerator

In most cases, your refrigerator is the largest thing in your kitchen aside from the cabinets themselves. The area on top of it can represent a great deal of wasted space. Why not put it to use? You can use the top of your refrigerator to store small appliances and other items that might otherwise claim too much cabinet space. This frees up your cupboards and keeps the items accessible and handy when you need them.

 

 

Organizing your kitchen can be easy and fun. There’s no reason you can’t get started today!

 

Need more kitchen advice? Here are more tips on organizing your kitchen cabinets.

 

Images used with permission, courtesy of Tamara Gane