Cleaning & Organizing
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Kitchen organization- help please

So we just bought a house and I am trying to set up the kitchen. It's the first time I am moving into a place where the kitchen isn't already set up and I'm just fitting my things in with someone else's things. 
I have a few questions
For those of you with cupboards above the stove- what do you put in there? Above my stove I have a microwave, so the cupboard above it is a bit higher, and it's kind of deep- I'm not sure what to put up there. 
any other tips for organizing kitchen cabinets would be greatly appreciated. I have 2 sets of top cabinets (aside from the small one above the stove) and 3 sets of lower cabinets, including a large lazy susan inside my island. There is no pantry. Counter space is minimal.
~Jenny~

Re: Kitchen organization- help please

  • We have spices and baking supplies above the stove.  Above our fridge we also have a small cupboard and its too high for me to reach so we store rarely used stuff up there like shot glass and our food scale.
    image
    First date July 31, 1999    Married January 28, 2009 
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  •  We also have an above range microwave, and those high cupboards above them. We have some appliance instruction books in there, and some info that we need accessible, but not often. In the higher cupboards we have things I don't use everyday. (ie: shot glasses, wine stoppers, straws, recipe boxes, etc). I have plates & bowls in one cupboard, and glasses and coffee mugs in another. I have our 'party' cupboard with solo cups, paper plates, party straws, etc, on one shelf, mason jars, wine glasses, etc, on another. I have a baking cupboard, and then a separate stand alone pantry unit for dry food. I have a spice rack & the Keurig on one counter, and the coffeemaker, espresso machine, popcorn maker & toaster on the bigger counter. My biggest 'thing' when setting up my kitchen was to make sure everything looked like it 'went' together, and that nothing looked cluttered. Leave no cupboard space unused, & try to have like items you may use together in the same, or close cupboards. 

     Good luck! :)

     *J
  • I would put my least used items above the microwave, as it's not so easy to get to. For me, it's a medicine cabinet. I also store my ingredients to make my own cleaning supplies up there, and my meat loaf/bread pan. On my countertops I have a block of knives, An antique pitcher that holds my most used spatulas and spoons, and a spoon rest near the stove. Canisters for items like coffee, rice, sugar, ect, and a coffee pot on the other counter.
  • I would put your least used items up there.  However, our kitchen is small enough that I actually stack glass bowls up there (which I use often) and my cheesecake pan.
  • We also have a microwave above the range, and then cabinets above the microwave.  I use those cabinets to store disposable aluminum pans.  I have all kinds of sizes (for when I'm bringing a dish somewhere or making something for a party), so they never really lay right inside each other and I find it's easier if I just put them all there.  
  • edited January 2014
    We have the same thing, for a while I stored cookbooks up there, now it has our slightly cumbersom 9-cup food processor and things like sports bottles, seasonal items (plastic margarita and martini cups).  Thisngs we don't use often and if they fell from up there they wouldn't suffer any damage on the tile floor. 
    Me: 28 H: 30
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  • I also put my used little items above there. It depends on how big your kitchen is anyway.
  • I also put my used little items above there. It depends on how big your kitchen is anyway.
    used little items *
  • MintWardrobeMintWardrobe member
    First Comment
    edited February 2014
    I too have the microwave mounted above my stove.  Above the microwave is a 12" or so tall cabinet that is kind of hard to get to.  Because my kitchen is small, it really needs to be usable space.  

    I have a Lazy Susan in the left side of the cabinet and I put all my cooking oils and sprays up there.  So far they have been the easiest to reach from that height.

    Like this one.

    I have a pull down spice rack in the right side, which has been a huge space saver and it makes it so much easier to reach.

    Like this one.
    http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/spiceStorage?productId=10000899&N=70879&mr=spice+rack

    I hope this helps you some!  I'd love to hear what you end up doing with your space!
  • Hi!  I know this thread is a little old but I thought I'd throw my 2 cents out there!  My husband and I recently got married and moved into a loft apartment.  Our kitchen has one drawer.  And that one drawer is too small for a utensil organizer, so I like to think that we conquered a pretty un conquerable kitchen!  
    My biggest piece of advice - if you have room BUY A PANTRY!!!!!  It has been a lifesaver.  We got our from Target for $65!  They come in the two always fashionable colors - black and white lol.
    Number two - buy OXO containers!!!  I'm going to tell you a secret - there's TWO OXO container sets *gasp!!* I know!  There's the one you see everywhere - Bed bath and beyond, Macy's...but there's a secret one at Sam's.  The one that's everywhere is $100 for 10 containers and the containers are on the small side.  Sam's has 12 containers for $80 and they're bigger!  Score!  If you can't afford $160 right now on storage containers TJMaxx and Homegoods has them sold individually.  I cannot stress how important these boxes are!  Plus they're sealed air tight!  
    Third and last - HANG YOUR MUGS UP!!!  Go buy a couple sets of c-hooks from Lowe's for like $10.  If you hang them up you can put plates and bowls under them!

    ok that's all - I hope this helped if it's still applicable =)
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