Whether you’re cooking three meals a day for your family, doing dishes on repeat, or grabbing a quick snack from the pantry, people tend to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. But a disorganized kitchen and cabinets can make all of these tasks harder.
At Eagle Woodworking, we know how important cabinet storage is, which is why we offer a selection of custom drawer inserts to help you organize those difficult-to-organize items. We also know that cabinet storage ideas aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution. You can mix and match custom inserts, vertical storage, a lazy Susan, and door-mounted shelving to create the organized kitchen of your dreams — and we’re here to help.
At some point or another, we’ve all pulled open a drawer only to realize it’s packed full. The thing we actually need is at the bottom or in the very back, and getting there seems impossible.
That’s why cabinet storage matters. This year, over 66% of homeowners decided to make kitchen drawer organization a top priority, according to Eagle Woodworking’s survey of 1,000 homeowners. Of those surveyed, nearly 82% agreed that installing new, custom drawer inserts would improve not only their kitchen but also their quality of life.
Good cabinet storage and custom inserts keep your kitchen neat and tidy, and an organized kitchen makes cooking faster and easier. Having a dedicated place for everything helps protect cookware and makes ingredients more accessible.
Kitchens come with a variety of cabinets, but while this can seem like an advantage, it also comes with some challenges. Large corner cabinets or not enough shelving can make what looks like enough cabinet space actually seem much smaller.
The kitchen is also home to a lot of different appliances, accessories, cooking utensils, ingredients, dishware, and more. It can be tough for standard cabinetry to meet all of the kitchen’s needs. When cabinets aren’t used to their full potential, clutter can pile up on the counters, making it harder to work in the kitchen.
Intentional storage in a kitchen frees up counter space and creates easy access, making meal prep faster and clean up easier. Picking the cabinet solutions and kitchen cabinet organizers that meet your needs can make all the difference.
Upgrading your cabinetry to better meet your needs can be done in two ways — quick wins and full cabinet makeovers. A cabinet makeover includes permanent upgrades, like installing pull-out shelves and adding custom inserts to meet specific storage needs.
But if you’re not ready to take on a larger project like a full cabinet makeover, quick wins upgrade your space on a tight budget and in just a few minutes or hours. For example, adding risers to cabinets lets you see spices more easily or choosing custom drawer inserts offers instant organization. Another solution is to use transparent bins and containers to make snacks accessible.
Opening cabinets to chaos makes even everyday kitchen tasks more difficult. To help clear the clutter, we rounded up these high-impact storage upgrades that can work in most kitchens. Some are easier to include than others, but when done right, they can make using your kitchen more seamless and less stressful.
Pull-out cabinet drawers make accessing larger items easy by using vertical storage. They’re installed inside standard cabinets on drawer slides and move independently of one another. They’re a great place to organize pots and pans, small appliances like a toaster or waffle iron, or even cleaning supplies.
Large corner cabinets provide a lot of storage space, but it’s hard to reach all the way in the back to get what you need. A lazy Susan maximizes tricky storage space because it spins, letting you access items without straining your arms. You can use a lazy Susan to group similar items, store canned goods, pots and pans, small appliances, and more.
Is there anything worse than pulling out a cookie sheet only to have the rest of the bakeware tumble out on the floor? That’s where vertical dividers for bakeware come in. You can easily insert them into the cabinet and they provide a space for items like trays, cutting boards, sheet pans, and other bakeware that would otherwise pile up in a disorganized heap.
Door-mounted organizers make use of an underutilized space — the inside of the cabinet doors. This area is perfect for things you need to grab quickly, like aluminum foil or plastic wrap. You can also use a spice organizer to keep spices within easy reach when you’re cooking and seasoning.
Vertical storage can be challenging in a kitchen because you can only stack so many items before they fall over —- enter stackable bins and tiered shelves. These multi-level organizers allow you to make the most of vertical space and organize smaller items that tend to get jumbled or tip over when you go to grab them.
Kitchens are a high-traffic area that can contain tight spaces, large cabinets, and a wide range of items. While some items are used multiple times per day, others only get pulled out for special occasions or specific needs. That’s why kitchen cabinet organization is so important — it allows you to access what you need when you need it and makes the kitchen more functional in the meantime.
Under the sink is typically reserved for cleaning supplies and dish detergent, but this area can be made very functional with the right cabinet storage systems. Including pull-out trays and risers can make cleaning supplies easily reachable, and tension rods can act as towel bars to give you a place to hang towels or washcloths until you need them and hide them from view when you don’t.
Small kitchens can pose an organization issue, but the right small kitchen storage solutions can make cooking easier and more enjoyable. Nesting cookware, for instance, can save space. And when paired with a pull-out drawer, it makes it even better. Rotating organizers and utensil trays, as well as drawer inserts, like a knife block insert or custom drawer dividers, optimize space in a small kitchen.
Pantry cabinets are notorious for being overfilled and underorganized, but pantry organizers give everything its own space. By including clear containers with labels and organizing items into categories, like snacks, dry goods, cereal, and more, you can regain control of your pantry and maintain dry goods and snacks more efficiently.
Specialty drawers take kitchen organization to the next level. You can maximize storage in often underused corners with a Corner Drawer or install a U-Shaped Drawer to work around plumbing. Fully customizing your drawers means you can take advantage of all of the space available.
Kitchen organization doesn’t have to be complicated. To get started, choose a few cabinet storage ideas that you can do quickly, like using a riser for spices or installing a tension rod in your under-sink cabinet. Once you get started, you can consider more permanent options, like custom cabinet drawers. You can even get really specific and choose custom inserts like a custom bread drawer to take your kitchen organization to the next level.
To organize a deep kitchen cabinet, you can use base cabinet inserts, like a multi-tiered organizer that lifts out in layers, or use a pot and pan organizer. You can also stand items up rather than lying them down. This will maximize your deep cabinet space and keep items organized and easy to grab when you need them.
For small kitchen cabinets, you can use risers or rotating storage to make items more visible and use all of the space available. Making use of vertical storage will get the most out of minimal available space and make accessing the items you need much easier.
The best solution for organizing spices is to put them on risers in a kitchen cabinet or choose a spice insert for a kitchen drawer. Both options make the spice labels more visible and keep them more organized and less likely to tip over and cause an avalanche of spice jars to come tumbling out of your cabinets.