You are confined to a closet like situation in your kitchen with your cabinets overflowing and you are sick and tired of always playing Tetris to get the right mixing bowl to use. Sound familiar? I know the feeling, sitting there on the day off gazeying at my messy counters wondering how I got so many gadgets that I simply do not use. The positive? To build chic, workable storage, you don not have to break the bank and make your kitchen perform twice its actual size.
I have spent years trying everything, including some of the worst home made disasters to the most amazing second hand finds when it comes to making the most out of a small kitchen, and now I am confident that genius kitchen shelving ideas can turn even the tiniest kitchen into a masterpiece of its own. In fact, here are the 10 cheap and doable ideas, and they really work well, no Pinterest fails here! 🙂
Open Shelving Magic
Open shelves will make your kitchen much bigger than your taste buds can say the word storage solution. Last year I changed three upper cabinets to plain wood shelves and guests keep commenting why I redoing the whole kitchen.
It is all about wise positioning and clever styling. Pop floating shelves above your sink or stove, to present daily dishes and cooking necessities. This is about 1/50 as expensive as new cabinetry but produces an airy modern ambiance.
Budget-Friendly Installation Tips
Here’s what I learned the hard way:
- Use sturdy brackets rated for at least 50 pounds per shelf
- Space shelves 12-15 inches apart for optimal functionality
- Choose materials that match your existing kitchen hardware
Pro tip: Swing by your local lumber yard and get some unfinished wood shelves. They can be made to look custom with a few coats of stain or paint which cost a small fraction of retail prices.
Repurposed Ladder Shelving
It has always been a question what to make of that old wooden ladder that sits untidily in the garage? Translate it into Instagram kitchen storage! I accidentally discovered this at one of the more desperate stages of organizing my house and now my ladder shelf has more compliments than my cooking.
Clean and sand your ladder and install the wooden boards between the rungs to make instant shelves on it. This rustic-chic hack serves to store cookbooks or plants or even decorative dishes.
Here is the best part? Ladders are something most people have lying around making this really free storage. Otherwise, it goes without saying that you can find one at a thrift store or garage sale which is a goldmine when it comes to purchasing a new, yet cheap ladder.
Under-Cabinet Hanging Solutions
Use as much of your vertical space as possible and not once run into a cabinet door. Under-cabinet storage racks can help you turn that wasted storage cabinet area beneath the upper cabinets useful to store mugs and wine glasses or cooking utensils.
I also put simple cup hooks under one piece of the cabinet to hold my favorite coffee mugs and it cleared a whole shelf in the interior. Installation was done within 20 mins and cost under 15 dollars.
Easy Installation Options
| Solution Type | Cost Range | Installation Time |
|---|---|---|
| Cup Hooks | $5-$10 | 15 minutes |
| Wire Baskets | $15-$25 | 30 minutes |
FYI,then measure the depth of your cabinets- you do not want your wonderful new storage to keep smacking into your head when you cook!
Magnetic Spice Storage
Spice jars made of magnets transformed the use of the small kitchen. I no longer have to rummage through a disorganized spice cabinet, as I put a piece of magnetized strip at the side of my refrigerator and converted all the spices to similar size of magnets.
It has just about a 30 dollar price point to purchase a set of them all and you have everything you need without searching or waiting. Not to mention it is super professional and well-organized looking, so guests will assume that I am much more together than I really am.
A shocking effect is made by the appearance. Your spices come to integrate your kitchen into beautiful eye candy and not as clutter.
Pegboard Organization Systems
Remember when it was those pegboards in your dads garage workshop? They’re making waves in the modern kitchen, if you will, and honestly it’s long overdue, if you ask me. I mounted a huge pegboard on the back of my stove for pots, pans and cookware.
Possible customizations are infinite. Re-arrange move hooks when you need them or hang baskets for trinkets or add shelves to contain spice jars. It all remains visible and open and saves precious cabinet space.
Pegboard Advantages
- Complete customization flexibility
- Easy to reorganize as needs change
- Keeps frequently used items within arm’s reach
- Costs under $50 for a full setup
It is very easily installed with basic drilling knowledge, although most hardware stores will cut pegboard to your finished size specifications.
Rolling Cart Storage
Kitchen carts provide an adjustable storage that can carry the storage anywhere it is needed most. I keep mine as a coffee table during rush hour in the morning, and then I roll it over to additional prep area during dinner when I am making something fancy.
Possibly look for carts with multiple shelves or switch and hooks which are incorporated. Target and IKEA and Amazon have in style choices for beneath $100 that seem much fancier than their price tags indicate.
The mobility factor alters it all. Have you got more counter space to use during the holidays when cooking? Trolley over. Feeling like a remodel at your kitchen? Just roll the cart.
Tension Rod Tricks
Tension rods are heroes of low cost kitchen organization. Put them into cabinets to make separators of baking sheets and cutting boards. Install under sinks as a way of hanging spray bottles and cleaning materials.
I have found this hack by chance as I was attempting to make order in a messy state of pot lids. My most infuriating cabinet was transformed to an almost apt model of efficiency with a small tension rod.
The best thing? No permanent installation, no drilling and inexpensive rods which cost less than 10 dollars each. One can give trial judgements on various set ups until what suits works best.
Stackable Basket Systems
Plastic or wire baskets can convert deep cabinets into orderly places as opposed to black holes. To have everything accessible I label each basket and slide them out like drawers.
Hacking your pantry with this system is especially good when it comes to cleaning supplies or bulky appliances that you do not use on a daily basis. Select designs that can build vertically to be used to the fullest.
Basket Organization Strategy
Similar items should be put together and everything labeled. I came to this lesson following some 10 minutes spent on hunting a hidden vanilla extract that kept somewhere in an unmarked basket. :/
Wall-Mounted Pot Racks
Pot racks that hang on the wall save phenomenal shelves of cupboards and give professional kitchen vibes to your kitchen. I have hung mine over my kitchen island, and it totally transformed the room both in functionality and in look.
Select racks that have the capability of adjusting their own hooks to fit all the varied sizes of pots and pans. Such flexibility will make you utilize all the hooks efficiently instead of leaving some of them unavailable.
The aesthetic effect enchants all visitors. Your cookware is usable decor instead of an out-of-sight mess living in your cabinets.
Corner Shelf Maximization
The corner areas may seem like a dead place in the design of a kitchen but the introduction of lazy Susans and tiered corner shelves can convert those bits into student kitchen storage real estate. I took advantage of a three tier corner shelf unit where I keep all my baking things.
This is a great solution particularly when it comes to things you may not use on a day to day basis but wish to keep readily available. The trick is going to be selecting a system that is the proper size according to your specific corner dimensions.
Bonus: DIY Mason Jar Storage
IMO, mason jar storage systems are the ideal mix of form and desire to feel like you live on a farm. Screw jar lids under shelving or cabinets and screw jars into place to instantly store jars in a small accessible and space-saving manner.
It is a genius system with tiny products such as screws, spices or craft supplies which are easy to lose in the usual storage. The see through glass allows you to view contents at once making the guess work and frustration to go away.
Making It All Work Together
The trick to effective economical kitchen unit shelving is not finding the most highly priced solutions it is finding the right combination(s) that works in your particular location and cooking style. Begin with a single or two ideas that confront main pain points and then increase storage solutions as it suits to your budget gradually.
Think about movements and activities of your kitchen. Put the items you will use on a regular basis at the most accessible places and place the items that you use with less frequency at the hard to reach places.
Nothing leads to perfection, it is about making your kitchen more functional to the way you live without having to lose some money. Little changes collect to a more convenient, pleasurable kitchen area.
The thing is, your kitchen does not change in a day, and quite frankly? It is probably best that way. Slowly working on the changes is a good method of working out because you can tell what is effective and what just pretty in photographs. Believe me, I learned this one at least partially the hard way with some really “good” ideas that never actually made it past one week before I had to give them up entirely.
Begin with the storage solution that will solve the thing that makes you feel the most frustrated, be it spice cabinets or pots and pans that have colonized every available space. As soon as you realize the difference that a quality storage system makes, you will be encouraged to solve the next task.
The point is that? It does not need a huge budget to create great kitchen organization; it simply requires intelligent thinking and the ability to be creative about your space. Vacation in your new organized practical kitchen will bring a reward as you cook with no rush or hassle.
Ready to Transform Your Kitchen?
Here’s my challenge for you, take one of the ideas listed here and implement it THIS WEEKEND. Seriously just one. Whether it is installing a simple pegboard or collecting some mason jars for spice storage, that first step is what makes all of the difference.
You will be surprised at the amount of difference a small change can make in your daily cooking routine and I guarantee that. And after you have that moment of the ah-ha! when all is in its place, and when you can baff anyhow find what you want? Organizing will become an addiction to you.
Your purse will remain blissed out, your kitchen will actually work as it is meant to and you might even find pleasure in cooking once more. So no more strolling randomly in storage systems but instead get started and create it yourself the kitchen of your dreams is barely a few pocket friendly shelves away! 🙂