25 Really Clever Kitchen Cupboard Storage Ideas To Try (2024)

Ready to grab some kitchen cupboard storage ideas? Getting your Kitchen storage right is key to it working well (especially if you have a small kitchen and space is tight)

It’s used multiple times each and every day – and being able to grab what we want, when we want it – without things having to be moved or falling out – is crucial to minimising frustration!

So how can we keep kitchen cupboards (and their contents) looking good, while maximising their storage, AND leaving the kitchen counters feeling more clutter-free?

The answers lie in the ideas and inspiration below, and I hope at least one of these options works in your home for how you live (because, let’s face it – we’re all different!).

Let’s go, shall we….

Before we start, I wanted to chat about one thing first that’s often overlooked.

When it comes to making the most of ANY space, you of course have to work with the space you have.

BUT you CAN make that space work harder with some lateral thinking.

In the case of kitchen cabinets, this can be as easy as changing the layout of the shelving that’s already in there. You can usually move shelves around which can immediately give you more (or less) space where you need it the most.

This can give you extra space to use more of the following ideas (always a bonus!).

Hope it helps!

Now, onto the main event…

Clever Kitchen Cupboard storage ideas

#1 – Use the back of the kitchen cabinet door

Using every inch of the cupboard is important when you organise it, and the most wasted space seems to be the cabinet doors.

These are areas where you can easily grab things that are stored there, but people miss them when thinking about increasing kitchen storage in your home.

There are a few ways to use the doors well – but first – a quick tip…

TIP – Make sure you measure the space available in the cupboard when the door is closed. This is often overlooked, and the shelves in the cupboard can get in the way. If the shelves go to the edge of the cupboard, you COULD still have storage on the doors, but you would need to have things that missed the shelves completely (small baskets for example)

Over the door hanging rack

A simple over the door rack can be hung, and this doesn’t involve any drilling or holes so is perfect if you need to consider that.

TIP – make sure you check that the width of the over door section will fit over the cupboard door width you have – some come up smaller or larger – and some are more bulky which means the door may have trouble closing. Worth checking before you buy.

TIP – you can get hanging racks that have more than one layer – which makes even more storage available – so think what you need to store there, and get what suits you the best.

A Rail

When you try and store some items in cupboards or drawers, you may find that they take up far too much room, and are annoying because they take up too much space.

Why not take them out of the main storage – and hang them on the door instead?

Not only does this save space, but it makes things more handy to grab when needed.

You can simply add a short towel rail to the back of the door, and balance the pan lids on it (they stick out well enough for them to be safe enough, just make sure you can still close the door!

Or what about hanging towels, oven gloves etc… – so they don’t make the kitchen look cluttered (perfect in a cupboard that’s close to the oven or sink)

Pan lid organisers

You could use a rail and wedge them behind that, or you could use items that are made for this exact purpose.

I hadn’t seen these before, but I love them because they can help you avoid the shelves inside the cupboard – and place them exactly where you need them.

Related: 18 Creative Ideas For Storing Pots And Pans

Individual hooks

Love the idea of making a really useful place for storing items easily (and another way to add pan lid storage!)

Just add a few hooks to the back of the kitchen cupboard doors (making sure that when they are attached, and when the items are hung on them, the door can still close OK).

A stick on or screw in rack

These are perfect for things like spices which can get lost and cluttered in a deep cupboard.

TIP – This is a great option for a pantry style storage cabinet – where all your food will be, because it makes it feel like a proper pantry!

#2 – Use the space under each shelf

Shelf space is usually far too high in kitchen cupboards – as they want you to be able to store a variety of shaped objects in them.

However – for most of us, this means a lot of wasted space.

SO – it makes perfect sense to use the space UNDER shelves as well!

Under shelf basket

So simple to just slide onto a shelf, and you can store loads in them.

Just be sure to measure the space you’ve got – so you get the right height for the baskets.

Pull out storage

Love this little spice rack gadget – quirky and streamlined!

Related: 9 Popular Spice Storage Ideas

Use Hooks

A great idea is to add hooks underneath the shelves to make use of the vertical space that’s unused…

#3 – Maximise the height of the cupboards

Shelf Risers

Again, a really easy way to add double layers to your cupboard – in a non permanant way. You can get them at different heights and widths – so shop around depending on what you want to store on them and what size cupboard you have.

Stepped Shelves

I love using this style of shelf because it displays things so very well – with nothing being left at the back, forgotten.

Ideal for cans, jars, bottles and spices.

#4 – Make corner cupboards and deep cupboards easier to manage

Lazy Susan

A lazy susan makes it so easy to find what you need, because you can simply spin in around until you see what you’re after.

Get the biggest diameter that will fit your kitchen corner cabinet ( or any cabinet really!) – as you’ll be able to store the most in the space then.

You can also get them fitted into the cupboards which really make use of all the space in a corner cabinet as you can see here:

Pull out drawers

If you’re up for a little DIY – these wire baskets are a great storage solution for kitchen cupboards.

Pull out wire drawers make grabbing what you need (and seeing it) as easy as possible.

Again (as with all storage!) – measure and work out what height each shelf should be, depending on what you want to store.

#5 – File rather than stack

Use racks for cutting boards and baking trays

These racks are such a simple idea – but it’s game changing!

Use poles/tension rods to split the cupboard up

A great storage idea, and you can create exactly the right size gaps for what you want to store, so it’s even more flexible than the previous rack option.

#6 – Stack rather than file!

I know, I know – this goes against the last section, but there are some times where stacking works really well.

The main thing is not to allow the stacks to get unruly and too high – otherwise you’ll have to take lots out before being able to grab something from the bottom.

Use a plate rack

Plate racks split up the stacks of plates so you can grab the one you need quickly without having to take lots off the top first.

A good time saver and space maximiser!

Use a magazine file

Quite simply, a magazine file is one of those items that can be used ALL around the house for organising – it’s SO useful!

You could put 2 or 3 horizontally on top of each other in a cupboard to make a similar style rack to the plate rack above – great if you have a couple hanging around already!

Related: Great Ways To Use Magazine Files Around The House

#7 – Make them displays rather than hidden storage

Take the doors off!

I just did this in my own kitchen, and we are LOVING the feel of the open shelving.

Obviously, be careful if you aren’t tidy naturally, as the open storage can get cluttered quickly – but of you want to display a few key items, AND you don’t need that much storage space, then it’s a really unique choice.

#7 – Use the right storage

To make the most of every square inch of cupboard space by measuring it before you decide on how to store things, and what to buy to store it in.

You need to know what you want to store in each cupboard, what the best storage would be for each (air tight, boxes, baskets etc…) – and what the size of the storage can be (the better you fill the space, the more you can store there).

Air tight storage containers

When picking kitchen storage for your food – make sure you get storage items that are easy to open and close, and that are air tight.

Baskets

Baskets are a great way to house packets of food, snacks etc… – as you can pull them out and grab what you want.

Boxes / Tubs

I love a good tub! (I also use this style in my fridge to collect together my cheeses, condiments etc…)

These are really clean looking, and can easily be labelled.

Go head to tail with glasses

Such a simple idea, but this really makes the most of cupboard space – easily! Just switch some of the glasses the other way around, and then they fit more closely together (you can do this with shoes as well – just FYI!)

Try it and see how many more glasses you can fit in the same space…

#8 – Use labels

To make it as easy as possible to find things, you need to use labels on all storage items.

Ideally go for the same look for your labels – for a uniform style – and get ones that you can reuse (either by wiping the label off and writing something else on, or ones that can be peeled off and used again).

I like to write best before dates for my food that’s in each container – which means you will be wanting to wipe this off each time you refill…

Chalkboard labels – erasable

Peel off labels

A great option that you can change when needed, really easily!

#9 – Hang things!

Tension rods

A lovely way to use tension rods is to hang hooks off it and then hang things off the hooks (you could use food packets, cleaning items, and all sorts of other things).

Hooks

Hooks are a great way to use up any ‘wall space’ that may be available on the inside side of each cupboard.

As well as already talked about, you could also add them to the side of the inside of the cupboards, and you’ve instantly gained more storage space! They are the perfect way to store things like packets of sauces.

#10 – Use for non kitchen things…

Lastly – I love the idea of creating a small home office / command centre in a kitchen cupboard.

After all – the kitchen is the heart of the home, and a lot of us don’t have the luxury to have a full area to use just for running the house.

You don’t HAVE to use everything for it’s intended use, if it works better for you in another way…

There you go – loads of creative kitchen storage ideas to make your cupboards easier to use

I can’t wait to hear how you get on adding extra storage space to your own kitchen cabinets, as I’m sure there’s at least one new idea in this selection that will really change how useful this space is for you and your family.

I think the main takeaway here would be to not just put up with the shelving you have. You can create extra storage with baskets, pull out drawers, risers and loads more – so what are you going to choose?

Read Next: 9 Clever Ideas To Get Clutter Free Kitchen Counters