20 Best Food Storage Ideas for Your Pantry

With smaller kitchens, cabinet and drawer space can be limited, so get smart with your vertical space. Pierced corbels are great for hanging larger kitchen utensils that would otherwise crowd your drawer space. Additionally, glass-front mounted cabinet doors are a beautiful way to display your servingware and to leverage wall space.

Use Book Bins as Dividers

For a super simple solution to keep plastic containers of varying sizes neat and tidy, Better Homes & Gardens turned book bins on their sides and used them as dividers.

Keep Lids in Check with Tension Rods

Small tension rods are a smart way to keep lids from getting out of hand, since they can be extended to fit just about any size drawer, like in this example from Montana Prairie Tales.

Store Lids in a Hidden Magazine Rack

The cure for out-of-control lids? Add a magazine rack to the inside of your cabinet door like Better Homes & Gardens did here for hidden, easy-to-reach storage whenever you need to put leftovers away.

Basket Full of Herbs and Cooking Utensils

Grab a basket and a few items to use as holders, such as measuring cups, crocks, jars, and mugs. Then, gather items you use the most often for cooking from drawers, cupboards, and counters. This idea provides easier access to your most used items, uncluttered counter space, and new space in your drawers and cupboards.

Convenient Trash and Garbage Rolls

For quick and easy access to garbage bags, buy garbage bags in rolls. Then, mount some inexpensive curtain rod holders and rods on the side of the kitchen sink base cupboard, and slide the garbage bags onto the rods. The garbage bags are easier to access and no longer taking up space on the bottom of your cupboard.

Lid Storage on Your Cabinet Doors

To organize pan lids, use sturdy adhesive hooks on the back of the cupboard door to hold them. Make sure the handles of the lids won’t hold the door open by resting against pans. Place hooks on an angle at the four o’clock and eight o’clock position for each lid. Now you have easier access to your lids and pans.

Utensil Drawers in Unused Cabinet Space

Narrow, unused cupboard space in your kitchen can become usable with pull-out cabinets like this one. They can hold all manner of items for quick and easy access, and the shelves can be adjustable. You can do it yourself, or if you are not handy, hire a contractor to install the pull-out cabinets.

A Wall-Mounted Mug and Glass Holder

Mugs and glasses are one of the items in kitchen cupboards that do not stack well. So, they end up spread out. Hanging a rack in an empty wall space frees up more cupboard space, gets the mugs and glasses out of the cupboard, and puts them within easy reach.

Fruit Baskets Hanging from the Wall

Try this idea for another use of empty wall space that clears up counter space and makes room in overcrowded refrigerators. Just attach some boards to the wall; add some sturdy, decorative baskets; and you have a place to store fruit to provide healthy snacks for your family within easy reach.

Easy-to-Reach Pantry Drawers that Pull Out

Replacing the shelves of the pantry with drawers makes it easier to fill the pantry and reach everything it contains. The drawers make better use of the pantry space. You can buy them and install them or build them yourself. Whichever you choose, this will make the best use of an already existing space in your kitchen.