Need Help Organizing My Kitchen...

For plastic ware I tossed most of it and then bought a medium sized style all in one size. This way I could stack them all in one pile and then slide the lids on the side. I store a lot of left overs in baggies anyway. Anything that is not baggie worth goes in the medium container.

A guy on TV the other day installed shelves in the cabinets and they pulled out to reveal everything on them:

http://www.ronhazelton.com/projects/how_to_make_pull-out_...

Of course, he made it look incredibly simple!

I've never thrown out spices. I figure if the flavor decreases, I'll just add extra! ;)

As far as canned goods go, as long as the can isn't bulging anywhere, it actually should be fine. They have the expiration dates there as a safety precaution, but as long as the can isn't bulging, there isn't anything wrong with going ahead and using it. My mother is the one who told me this, and her major in college was microbiology, so I trust her.

As far as the actual organization goes, I just try to make sure the bigger sized things go toward the back that way even when things go in front of them, they are still visible and less likely to get forgotten. So, in essence, organize from biggest to smallest, back to front. Good luck!

I love having an organized kitchen! My mom's kitchen is so disorganized I can barely find anything. The most important thing for me is function and grouping. Pots and pans are nested in each other in the cabinet located between the stove and the sink. Baking goods are all grouped together. I keep a crock of my most used utensils right next to the stove. My "other" less used utensils (but keepers) go in the drawer right next to the stove. Dry/canned foods are all in one cabinet and I even put labels on the shelves so soups, veggies, fruits are all grouped together. It saves me a lot of time searching for the right thing and keeps me from overbuying. If I have an excess of canned goods I keep them in the pantry.

With a deep cabinet like you described I would probably try to find plastic baskets that I could fill and slide out easily. Each basket could have a label too. A lazy susan may not be big enough, but they work great in the refrigerator, especially for condiments. With utensils, sometimes it helps to lay them all out and truly see what you have. I donated extra large spoons because how often do I really need 10 large spoons?! There are a few gadgets that I don't use even weekly, but when I do use them they save me lots of time. Like an egg slicer, which I use for eggs, strawberrys, kiwi. If you toss a utensil and later find yourself wishing for it, then simply go out and buy a new one. Most likely you won't miss what you toss. With spices, I cook a lot so I usually don't throw any...but with less used spices I toss probably every 1.5-2 years. I have a decorative spice rack that sits on my counter and has the most used spices. Then I have a spice cabinet above the stove which has tons of spices precariously balanced on top of each other.

Ugh, the old deep pantry thing. I used to have one in my old house and I threw out stuff too. In this house my shelving is so tall (and I am not) do quite a bit is inaccessible to me. I had to try to double my actual usable storage. I find my wire shelves that I place over the stuff I have is a good compromise. Think of it as adding or doubling the vertical space. I use them for plates and for my can goods. You probably don't need that many can goods since so many had gone bad. Use the space in the back of the cabinet for platters, holiday things and keep the can goods in front with the second shelf on top. I do keep the spices on 2 lazy Susans in the cabinet over the counter where I bake. Try to by things in seeds, like cumin seeds and toast them in the pan before using them. The seed flavor lasts longer than ground spices. The packets of stuff are "filed" in one open container. Most of my lids to plastics are in one drawer. I am lucky enough to have an extra refrigerator in my utility room. All extra drinks go in there along with leftovers. If I have extra my flour goes in there especially if it is whole wheat flour. As for small appliances, I am looking for ideas! My crockpot is stainless and stays out on the counter all the time.I am out of ideas!

I have a lazy susan, and it's okay if you don't overload it. If you spin it too fast or put too many things on, then something can fall off in the back and jam it. So it's no fun getting down on the floor with a yard stick or a coat hanger, trying to fish out the culprit! You also lose a fair amount of space with it - it's round and the cabinet is squared off, so you lose the edges/corners. It's not great for heavy things because it can get off balance. Mine is in a corner cabinet where things in the back would be totally inaccessible, and it's a decent use of that space, but it's not perfect.

It sounds to me like you might have too much stuff! It's no bargain to buy things on "special" and then waste them, or even to have all that money tied up in the pantry instead of doing some good!

Obviously the rarely-used stuff can go way in the back, but I also find it's easier to put some things in the basement on open shelves: the turkey roaster, the hot plate, the canned goods I bought on sale but don't need more than 2 of in the kitchen at any one time, the rarely-used utensils.

You may have to put "clean out" dates on your calendar - like every 2 months, pull everything out and review. Check for expiration dates and use things up or donate them to the food pantry. We also try to create interesting meals out of unusual things!

I also have a compost bin in the back yard which I use to enrich the garden or my outdoor plants. It makes me feel a lot better to recycle pretty much everything except meat, dairy and citrus in a bin with a few shovelfuls of dirt and some leaves or grass clippings.

I use some open plastic baskets from the dollar store to keep similar items organized. For example, all the rice and pilaf and lentils go in one, the pasta and noodles go in another, the various kinds of tea my husband stocks up on go in another, and things like bread crumbs and panko go in another. Soups and canned veggies like beans for tacos are together, spaghetti sauce and similar items are together. You can combine them in few baskets if you have few items.

In one of my cabinets, I have a slide out bin on rollers from Rubbermaid. A large bin on the bottom goes on runners that are screwed into the cabinet bottom, and a smaller bin on top slides back and forth. I think it's more useful than the lazy Susan because nothing is spinning. But if your island cabinet it really deep, you may have unused space behind this item.

I also have stackable containers for leftovers - some are purchased (e.g. Rubbermaid, Tupperware) and others are recycled from sandwich meat or the deli counter. Rubbermaid makes a nice set with red lids - the lids all snap together and the containers stack and then snap into the top lid. I take a sharpie marker to everything else - I sit on the floor with everything spread out, and I match bottoms & tops. Then all in a certain size get the letter "A", all in another size get "B", and so on - makes it easy to find the "mates" and to know when it's time to recycle something because it's lid-less.

You can get slide-out drawers from all of the container and closet make-over places but the cost adds up.

Herbs and spices - difference of opinion. Most people say "1 year or more - toss" but that only helps if you date the jar with your trusty sharpie. Other people don't have a very refined palate and say, what the heck, use them up.

I usually put the "hardly ever used" items in the basement. I have a special "kitchen" shelf just for this purpose! There you will find my waffle maker, cupcake holder thing (that you bring cupcakes to school in), small crockpot that I sometimes use for cheese dips or whatever at parties (I keep the large one in the kitchen b/c I use it once a week), all sorts of dishes/serving pieces for parties/crowds - really, anything that gets used once a month or less goes downstairs.

I keep most of my canned goods and other panty items down stairs in the basement on shelves that are easy to see. You should use the narrow cabinets for food storage, or just make it a point to rotate stock every 2 to 3 months.

I've never cared for the lazy susan. It seems to take up too much cabinet space.

I have most of my spices/herbs in a tupperware spice system that spins (lazy susan type, but it's square and fits perfect in my cabinet). I've kept some spices for several years. Yes, they loose their potentcy, but they're not bad.

Any chance you have room either above your island or above a counter or on a wall for a pot rack? I registered for one for our wedding almost 7 years ago and it is the single best thing we received! I got a small one from Crate & Barrel and bought an extra hook for each side - it holds all of our pots/pans with their lids except 2 (bigger stock/pasta pots). LOVE it - it keeps everything organized and out of the way. It cleared up so much space in my cabinets so that they can stay neat and organized too. And I have received a lot of compliments on it as well! Several people have left my house and gone on to put up their own once they saw that it looked nice and freed up so much space!

I have two pull out drawers/shelves in the cabinets on either side of my oven and they are great for pots and pans. I don't trust the weight of cans on them.

I am lucky that I have a pantry with shelves at eye height for most of my food. For heavier items, I put them in old diaper boxes and store them on the bottom shelves of my cabinets. You can pull out the entire box and see everything you have in there. It is great for juice bottles or heavy bottles of spaghetti sauce. You could also get some of those can holders that you put the newest stuff in the top and the oldest stuff rolls to the bottom. If you use a lot of the same type of stuff, it should work out.

http://www.improvementscatalog.com/imp/11044?cm_mmc=Googl...

I have no clue on spices! My spices consist of salt, pepper, sugar, and cinnamon. :)

I am fortunate that my pantry is the size of a large walk in closet, actually large enough to be a nursery. I have the pantry stocked like the grocery store stocks their shelves. Everything is in order such as cereals and breakfast foods, breads, snacks, canned goods stacked, baking goods in one area.

For spices, etc, I have wire racks that are tiered so that I can easily see everything and I keep the spices separated. Example, spices you would use for desserts, etc go together. I tend not to throw out spices or canned goods unless the cans are bent or bulging.

I have a very large kitchen and island with storage as well. My island cabins go very deep so I keep holiday platters, glassware, etc pushed to the very back. I keep pots and pans closer to the front and the cast iron and oversized bowls and pans go under the cooktop storage area.

I also have a large drawer under the oven that houses some pots and pans and above the microwave the cabinet is slotted so that I can sotre cookie sheets, racks, etc things like that easily.

Plastic ware is one of the hardest. I store them with the tops on them so you are not looking for a top. They have 1 cabinet with strainers, stainless steel bowls, etc. The other cabint has glass casserole dishes, bowls, etc.

As for utensils, I have a sturdy box and if it is something I rarely use, I just keep it in that box and in the pantry so if I need it I can get to ut easily.

Good luck!!