Lazy Susan Organizer Ideas for Better Storage

Kitchens may be getting bigger but we always want more storage. You may not be able to add more kitchen cabinets so you need to get creative about using your existing space better. Here are great lazy susan organizer ideas to help you create more space in your kitchen.

First let's review the types of kitchen cabinets where lazy susan organizers make sense. You'll actually be amazed at how many new bins, dividers and sophisticated hardware have been designed to make corner cabinets more effective storage spaces. Scroll down and you'll even see how you can hide your trash and recycling bins too.

Lazy Susan Organizer Ideas for Upper Cabinets

Wall cabinets are 12 inches deep so as long as you're tall enough, this space is fairly easy to access. If you need help, there are lots of lazy susans like this one from DrawerSlides.com that make it easier to find what you're looking for. And for short people (that's me), keeping a collapsible step stool nearby works wonders to reach the upper shelves. 

What's exciting are all the new lazy susan organizer bins and dividers. They're made from see-through acrylic, wire mesh and sometimes there's just a lip around the outside made from the same material. If you've got the height, you can also get a pair of lazy susans that sit one on top of another (one below let's you adjust the height between), for even more storage.

Base cabinets tend to be more challenging as they're 24 inches deep. To get the most use out of corner kitchen cabinets, you need either lazy susans or special shelving to make sure you can easily store and find what's tucked away.

Pantry Cabinets & Lazy Susan Organizers

Many kitchens have a pantry while others have floor to ceiling pantry cabinets (get kitchen pantry storage ideas). There are various ways to maximize the storage capacity of these pantry cabinets depending on their depth. Twelve inch deep cabinets offer less total storage but everything is easily accessible. That's actually my choice because I can see everything stored without hunting around (yes, this is my kitchen design).

With deeper pantry cabinets, either 18 or 24 inches, there are different ways to make what's stored more easily accessed.

One option is to use sliding shelves in these pantry cabinets. Instead of crawling into your cabinet, all you have to do is pull out the shelf you want to get the can, box or package you need to prepare dinner.

Be careful though, as my three year old once filled up the pots and pans I had stored on one of these sliding shelves. You definitely don't want to experience a tsunami like I had, in your kitchen!

There's also a lazy susan option for organizing your pantry cabinets. This type of lazy susan is called a D-shape lazy susan. It makes perfect sense for cabinets that twenty-four inches deep.

You will sacrifice the corner space lost with the circular design of these shelves but the tradeoff for ease of access means you'll save lots of time finding what you want … and putting things back where they belong.

Corner Kitchen Cabinets are Challenging

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 (one) opens from one side and is hinged in the middle.
• 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. You have a choice of multiple lazy susan organizers inside these cabinets (learn more about your lazy susan choices) or you can place shelving at different heights.
• When you don't have the linear feet for one of these corner kitchen cabinets, you can use a blind corner cabinet. There are many inserts to make this space very usable.

Now that you've seen how you can use lazy susan hardware to increase storage and/or accessibility in your kitchen cabinets, here are examples of new blind corner solutions.

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.

What is your favorite corner kitchen cabinet?