Carfield: Ways to help East Valley homeowners maximize kitchen storage space

Amber Carfield

Kitchens by Good Guys

A tough aspect of moving into a new kitchen is learning how to maximize the storage space. It requires a lot of planning to store the plethora of pots, pans, cutting boards, cleaning supplies and cooking utensils in every drawer and cabinet in your kitchen. As a kitchen remodeler, we are constantly thinking of ways to most efficiently organize your kitchen.

Here are a few tips to help you reorganize one of your most used spaces.

Install the right cabinets and storage materials

A good rule of thumb when it comes to kitchen storage is that all cabinets are not created equal. If you can organize the design of your kitchen then it is important to do your research on the types of storage in kitchens and which type is best suited for you. There are a variety of kitchen cabinets and storage tools that are designed to help you maximize kitchen storage space.

For example, you could install a cabinet pull-out in your kitchen designed to store baking trays or cleaning supplies.

Ryan Knoll, owner of Phoenix cleaning company Tidy Casa, said a pullout cabinet is a great tool to get the cleaning supplies you need efficiently.

“Most people put their cleaning supplies under the sink and are forced to bend down and reach far back to get the supplies they need,” Knoll said. “A pullout cabinet allows you to bring those hard-to-reach cleaning supplies closer to you, preventing you from clumsily knocking things over. You can take things out and put things efficiently.”

If you aren’t able to design your own kitchen space even simple storage tools can improve the efficiency of your kitchen. A simple pots and pan organizer or knife rack can help you save valuable space in your kitchen without the need or cost of a remodel.

A lot of homeowners get creative with their kitchen storage such as creating a designated storage space for coffee.

If you have a small kitchen, I recommend that homeowners buy appliances that take up less space while doing multiple jobs. An oven/microwave combo can save you a lot of space since you are just buying one appliance instead of two.

Be willing to trim the fat

When it comes to kitchen organizing it is important to be honest about the things in your kitchen you use and don’t use. In my experience, most homeowners have more things in their kitchen than what they use.

Take a look at what you have in your kitchen and write down everything you use consistently. Avoid redundancies, if you have two pans that serve the same purpose you can get rid of one. Get rid of the old food containers you have been collecting but don’t use. Get rid of anything that is keeping you from storing your most important appliances.

Zone out your kitchen

The best way to maximize kitchen space for maximum efficiency is to separate your kitchen into zones. Create a zone for each task.

A well-organized kitchen will have prepping, cooking and cleaning/disposable zones. Every kitchen item should be stored near the zone it will be most used in. Pots in the cooking zone, blenders and knives in the prep zone, and soap and towels in the cleaning zone.

Too many homeowners place their kitchen items away from the area they will be used in and this is an inefficient way to cook.

Kitchen storage is an important aspect of any kitchen and properly organizing your kitchen storage space can be a difficult task. However, keep these things in mind and you will maximize your kitchen storage space.