groveraxle I'm on it!

Pangaea Interior Design, Portland, OR Becky, once again you make me laugh so hard. Here's my key piece of advice.
HAVE DRAWERS!!
I have a kitchen being installed for a client now and we had very few cupboards. We went with drawers wherever possible. Drawers are so much easier to use allowing you to get at what is in back. But the catch is that you need those organizing interiors. We chose the peg system for dishes and located that drawer across from the dishwasher so it is literally inches from dishwasher to drawer when both are open. We also went with a drawer under the kitchen sink. So much easier to organize and keep it from becoming a scary dark place when you can pull it out. Such great tips. Now how do I get my husband to actually put things back in their correct spot?

A. Peltier Interiors The wrap and bag is ingenious, it really does save a whole drawer!

paulinas I would also suggest using lid holders. You can see them in one of my kitchen pictures here:
Our kitchen 1
They are pretty useful if you don't want the lids randomly scattered all over the cabinets.
The top drawer fits all of my utensils:
Our kitchen 2
When doing the kitchen renovation I wanted to make all of the space useful even those awkward narrow spaces like between the dishwasher and kitchen sink cabinet:
Our kitchen 3
Oh I and have one of those grocery bag holders too and love it! Don't have a picture of it here though :)

olldbobbi To best organize your junk drawer, go to your local office supply store, and get an organizer meant for the desk drawer. I works better than anything I've ever tried!

Pink Fortitude, LLC To save space in the proverbial "junk drawer" in the kitchen, I have a cute checked box from the Container Store, with a tag marked "bits and pieces." I keep it in my laundry room, and any time I have random whatevers that would normally go in the junk drawer, they go in the box (which I then sort through periodically and purge). My "junk drawer" now has a drawer organizer and is neatly organized with daily/weekly go-to's like batteries, twist ties, scissors, and wine stoppers.

Thanks for the inspiration Becky... I'm dreaming of the perfectly organized kitchen!

astraea Some of these drawers look so neat, it makes me think that the homeowners bought the countents specifically to fit the drawer layout! I do love that double-layer flatware drawer .. but what would I do with the 2 fancy wooden boxes the silver came in (LOL)?!

JAN MOYER Ahhhhhhh Drawers!!!! And enough of them nice deep drawers. (Personally, I hate upper cabinets for anything but glassware now). Funny, but drawers are even better for your everyday dishes particularly when you have kids. Setting the table/emptying the dishwasher becomes a task you can hand them with safety and ease. I came to this many years ago as I was working/installing new decor in a clients home, and decided to help myself to a bowl of ice cream. I couldn't find a bowl to save my life! I circled the kitchen and butlers pantry three times. Dang! I really need a cool treat! I put the ice cream back. Circled again. Again!! Finally, muttering THEY MUST HAVE A DAMN BOWL!!! I hauled open a drawer at the island, directly opposite the dishwasher expecting I don't know what. TADA! Neatly stacked white plates and bowls two sizes each. I laughingly told my client of my search, and her words were "hey! they can set the table at four years of age if you put it within their safe reach, and they can empty most of the dishwasher too! Duh! She's a genius!! I set it up for clients in the same manner whenever possible.

lewlew Our kitchen design includes lots of deep drawers( hubby is cringing at cost) but definitely more useful than upper cabinets. I'm shorter by 9" than hubby so reaching up in the cabinets is such a chore! Where's my handy footstool? I only ever use the 2 bottom shelves in the uppers. My kids can just reach the bottom shelf now. Bet you the kids would be more helpful if they had drawers instead!

biz_kid1 Our (old) built-in wall oven died over the summer and we forced to do a mini kitchen remodel. We wanted a free-standing range, so that's what we did, but we had a little room left around the OTR microwave and range we had installed. We added wine bottle holders around the microwave and sliding (drawer) magnetic spice racks on either side of the range! LOVE IT!!! Plus, we gained back storage from the wall unit!

pamc321 My only question; Why can't drawers or roll out shelves in lower cabinets also "pop up" . It seems to make sense to me. If it is near the floor, roll it out and then pop it up so there is less bending or stooping. "If we can send a man to the moon. Shirley, we could have pop up drawers." Let's get on this, LADIES!

astraea @Pamc321 - Apparently they do, as I found this photo right on Houzz, with a lower rising shelf for an appliance:

freedom Love these ideas....use some of them now. Plan to use more when we find our dream house...THANKS HOUZZ ! you've done it again, as usual !

Nancy Sloop In our recently renovated 1982 kitchen, I had all of the lower cabinets fitted with pull-out shelves rather than deep drawers due to increasing disability in my hands and wrists: I just wouldn't be able to lift a stack of dishes (plates or bowls), and I prefer to rotate their use so that the same 2 or 3 don't get used exclusively. I have a plate rack in the lower portion of my open shelving above the dishwasher where the plates reside and bowls are in the adjoining shelf in stacks of 4-6 - a manageable amount for me.

As for the "whole drawer" gained from using a plastic wrap organizer, I lived with such an organizer for many, many years, and I really disliked how I had to keep things back from the front area of the cabinet - and it just isn't possible wth my new ktichen cabinets' pull-out shelving. Plus, I have (for once!) a plethora of drawers (17, in varying sizes) plus a pull-out spice pantry - so putting the wrapping boxes in a drawer close to the refrigerator (source of leftovers!) was a no-brainer for me.

I love the ideas presented, and saved several in idea folders - but no one size (or organization tip) fits all.

lazidazi [groveaxle - Your post was great!]


Great article.
I'm all about organization: 2-tier metal pull-out, bag dispenser, & recyclables/trash pull-out under sink; an [Ikea] island w/12 drawers with specialized trays/containers.

Just my two cents in what has worked for me. With the exception of the sink base, all my base cabinets are drawers. If you have to squat to see & retrieve an item is an inconvenience at best, a nuisance altogether otherwise, and for some -like me- practically impossible because of limited mobility.

Whether pots & pans, packaged food, or anything I put in the drawer, with drawer open, the looking, finding, retrieving is simply the process of ...opening the drawer!

Which is why I wouldn't like the base pullout of three narrow shelves [pic shows spices on top rack]. Everything is not visible at a glance, simply because you opened the cabinet. You have to bend down to first be able to see (what's actually there) - then have to possibly move one thing to get at another - and you have a semi-troublesome effort to get what you're after. As opposed to simply opening the drawer and being able to immediately see and grab your item.

ruffslitch The foil and plastic wrap holder don't work for me. I spring for a huge commercial size roll of foil for economy ( lasts forever! ) so it goes under the sink. Love other stuff on here, though but as someone else said- how do you get your hubs to put stuff back where it belongs?

Sudha Thanks so much ! I saved almost every picture here, we will start wood work / interiors for our new house in a couple of months, i am sure i will implement some of these.

Dura Supreme Cabinetry Organizing you drawer storage is important when creating a kitchen that flows with your cooking style.

Here are a few great kitchen accessories that I think increase kitchen productivity and organization…
Have your favorite spices close at hand with your silverware and steak knives all in one drawer.
Cottage Kitchen – Personal Touches

A dishware drawer makes putting away you dishes quick and easy. A great way to teach children to do the dishes easy access for people with bad backs or in a wheel chair.
Mountain Resort 1
Lofty Kitchen Concept - Sublime Storage

Have your utensil drawer doubled up with your knife collection in a two-tiered cutlery drawer. Open to your utensil divider and slide forward to access your knifes. Urban Loft - Storage Solutions 1
Ideabook: Supreme Storage Solutions

Add a shallow roll-out tray inside a deep drawer for pots & Pans to create space for oven mitts or lids.
Urban Loft - Storage Solutions 2
Urban Loft - Storage Solutions 3

Adjustable partions can divide a drawer or roll-out shelf to create more efficient storage.
Urban Loft – Storage Solutions - Sublime Storage

A slotted Drawer Knife Holder keeps blades sharp, while a chop block can be conveniently located in the adjacent drawer. The chopping block has storage space below and is removable from the drawer for countertop use.
Mountain Resort 2

olldbobbi Dura Supreme, I'll take one of each, thank you very much :))

Dura Supreme Cabinetry We also have a pop up appliance cabinet!

Pedini Kitchens Here are a few of our newest internal accessories:

the_misfit I'm going to dispute the "go to Ikea" suggestion. I scoured first their website and then their local store for the best-ever flatware drawer organizer (the bamboo one with the carrying handle) that they sold - but no more. The huge flatware organizer I bought from them five years ago - also no longer for sale. They sell, maybe, three drawer organizers (none fit either drawer that needed one). I'm pretty sure that right now their organizer inserts are tied directly to the cabinetry they sell - they no longer market organizers to fit every home, but as supporting items for their full kitchen cabinetry line. This disappoints me.

But I had very good luck at Bed, Bath and Beyond. They sell the best knife drawer organizer ever.

olldbobbi I stand by my favorite knife organizer ever: [houzz=
]

Becky Harris misfit, that is disappointing to hear, I scored lots of great organizers back when they first opened in Atlanta (a very happy day). My favorite organizers are the wire baskets from The Container Store, especially for my desk and junk drawers because they come in all sorts of sizes and you can compose your own organizer out of them.

Mackenzie Austin Design Great tips...I use some of them with clients when planning their new kitchens.
...a place for everything!

mainstreetschool When I designed my first tiny kitchen redo, I had pullout drawers Inside a cabinet. This allowed for "piling up" linens in one drawer,with plastic storage in drawer below it. Stuff the drawers roll in and close the doors! Did the same for cookware under stove.

Mary Goodson You all must have HUGE kitchens to have all these drawers and cabinets with hardly anything in them. Sheesh. Now for the REST of us, what to do?

Becky Harris I don't. But I got rid of all the stuff I never or seldom use that was wasting space.How many pans/colanders/spatulas does one kitchen need? Multiples were really weighing me down.

Mary Goodson Honey, I have a TINY kitchen. Narrow drawers, shallow too. The very idea of putting my dishes in a drawer made me laugh like a loon!

Dura Supreme Cabinetry Mary Goodson - I can see how you’d have limited room for large lower cabinet drawers in a small kitchen. For "tiny" kitchens, I highly recommend adding pull outs to your cabinets. This will help you maximize your space to the fullest and make the space in the back of your cabinets easier to access.

Mary Goodson Yup, I have those. In all two cabinets. ;-)

Dura Supreme Cabinetry Love it! You are on top of your kitchen game!

berealyoga I like the idea of putting dinnerware in drawers, but what about glasses? I have a giant cupboard that stores both at the moment and am thinking of other uses for the space. Thanks guys!

Dura Supreme Cabinetry One different way to store glasses is behind a Tambour / Appliance Door; you can use this space for appliances, trays, and other misc. storage.

Urban Loft - Storage Solutions 1
Urban Loft - Storage Solutions 2
Urban Loft - Storage Solutions 3

If you are concerned about loosing counterpace, you could have them built into the wall like this kitchen.
Chagrin Falls, Ohio 1
Chagrin Falls, Ohio 2