Kitchen Cabinets to Maximize Storage

Kitchens may be getting bigger but we always want more storage, and that usually means more kitchen cabinets. Some kitchens have enough space to add cabinets but most don't and that's when you need to get creative about using your existing space better.

So which kitchen cabinets need help with organization? Wall cabinets are 12 inches deep so as long as you're tall enough, this space is fairly easy to access and if you need help, there are lots of lazy susans like this one from DrawerSlides.com, can help you find what you're looking for.

The base cabinets tend to be more challenging as they're 24 inches deep, and corner kitchen cabinets need either lazy susans or special shelving to make sure you can easily store and find what's tucked away.

Getting More Storage from Your Kitchen Cabinets

The key to maximizing storage in kitchen cabinets is to match what you're storing with available space. If you've got lots of spices, an extra shelf with the lazy susans shown here might make cooking much easier. It might cost money and time, to reconfigure your cabinet but think of the time (and aggravation) you'll save by not having to take out a dozen spice jars to find the one you need.

Kitchen pantries are also 24 inches deep and provide lots of storage. If you're having trouble keeping the shelves organized, you may find rolling shelves helpful or there are now pantry size rolling shelves like the one from CabinetParts.com shown here.

Now I have to admit I love the idea of rolling shelves but we had some minor flooding in our kitchen, and I've never installed them since. My younger son Ryan loves water. One day when I was in a hurry and pulled the shelf with pots and pans, a huge tidal wave leaped out at me because Ryan had filled all the pots with water.

At least the pots had only water because Ryan also tried floating everything from band-aids to peanuts in water. Thankfully he graduated to the swim team and years later joined the Navy.

Corner Kitchen Cabinets

Corner kitchen cabinets remain the most challenging to use efficiently. Beyond your basic single wall or galley style kitchens, you're likely to have one, two and sometimes three corners with cabinets. What's even more confusing is the same cabinet can have many different door styles. The kidney lazy susan door opens from one side and is hinged in the middle where the pie cut cabinet has two smaller doors and you almost always have to open both doors.

The D-shape cabinet changes the outside appearance and inside any of these cabinets, you can use either lazy susans (learn more about your lazy susan choices) or shelving at different heights. Also, when you don't have the linear feet for one of these corner kitchen cabinets, you'll end up with what's called a blind corner, and you can now buy inserts to make this space more usable.