Kitchen cabinet fixes that are top tier
Do you get the urge to scream every time you’re forced to unearth a pot or pan from a kitchen cabinet?
Do you need a flashlight and ladder to find a can of soup in your pantry?
Has the top of your refrigerator become a breeding ground for snack storage?
If any of these scenarios sounds remotely familiar, chances are you need some organizational help in your kitchen. Prepare to make a trip to your local hardware store or home center to purchase and install components that will allow you to use every inch of cabinet space.
Two-tiered lazy Susans for upper and lower cabinets, door-mounted half-moon shelves, pull-out shelves, spice racks, cutlery trays, tilt-outs at sinks and cooktops, trash can pullouts, under-sink sliding caddies and decorative cookware hangers are but a few of the many accessories that can make your kitchen more fun and more functional.
A lazy Susan can make access to a hard-to-reach corner a breeze. A two-tiered model with adjustable shelves is even better. Large pots or mixing bowls can be placed on the bottom shelf while the upper shelf can be used for smaller bowls and food storage containers.
Small multi-tiered lazy Susans can be used in upper cabinets for items such as baby food and spices.
If a lazy Susan isn’t the answer for your spice storage, perhaps a shallow spice rack installed on the inside of a door will work for you. You might also consider drawer inserts.
A half moon is a lot like a lazy Susan, except it will work in an offset corner where a typical lazy Susan won’t.
A half moon is a semicircle that is neatly tucked away in a corner and can be pulled out at a right angle. Half moons are great for avoiding backaches and getting to hard-to-get-at spaces, but are not the best for space utilization. You might have to give up some space in exchange for convenience.
Cutlery and utensil trays for many years have been a standard in most kitchens. But now a second generation has emerged.
The most popular is one that converts drawer storage into two separate levels. The top level is a sliding section that can be easily moved from the front to the back of the drawer providing additional storage without concealing the contents below.
For years, the area in front of the sink or cooktop was a fixed panel made to look like a drawer. Converting the fixed panel to a tilt-out tray can add more storage.
Hinged tilt-out kits constructed of stainless steel, sheet metal, or metal and plastic are available for simple installation that will change the way you store cleaning accessories. Adding a tilt-out tray at the cooktop is a great place to store your most-used spices.
Pull-out shelves are among the most popular convenience items in the kitchen. Though they can be installed wherever a shelf exists, they are most effective at the base of lower cabinets where access is difficult. They also are helpful in deep food-storage pantries.
There are other types of pullouts too. A pull-out trash caddy will make trash storage and disposal more convenient and sanitary. If space permits, you can install a multi-bin trash caddy for recycling.
A pull-out, under-sink basket is terrific for storing household cleaning products. Some are multi-tiered, with a removable top tier that can serve as a portable caddy for cleaning products during housecleaning. It later is returned to its place under the sink – out of sight, out of mind.
A decorative cookware hanger is a wonderful way to eliminate the pots and pans blues and, at the same time, it can free an entire cabinet for other storage needs.
Most of the items mentioned can be purchased at hardware stores or home improvement centers. However, specialty items such as mixer pop-ups, vertical-tray dividers and other custom-tailored components and accessories might take a visit to your local cabinetmaker.
Tags:
