Kitchen storage ideas and solutions

A better kitchen storage system helps to minimise clutter while keeping your essentials within easy reach.

From using vertical space and hidden compartments to incorporating multifunctional furniture, these innovative storage ideas will transform your kitchen into an organised culinary haven.

To find out which fitted kitchens did best in our lab tests and consumer surveys, read our guide to the best and worst kitchens

Before you start 

Before committing to new storage solutions, start by checking what you have and decluttering where you can. Follow these three simple steps:

1. Empty out your cabinets and drawers. This gives you a true picture of what you own and helps you spot duplicates, broken items or things you've forgotten about. It also enables you to give your storage spaces a thorough cleaning. Do one cupboard or drawer at a time, so you're not overwhelmed.
2. Be ruthless about what you keep. Toss expired food, donate appliances you never use and say goodbye to chipped mugs and plates. If you haven't touched it in a year, you probably don't need it.
3. Analyse your daily kitchen habits. Think about which items you use most frequently and how you move through your kitchen when preparing meals. This will help you plan a storage system that matches your actual needs, rather than just cramming things in where there's space. For instance, if you make coffee every morning, keep all your coffee supplies within easy reach of where you prepare it.

For further advice, read how to declutter your home in three simple steps 

Kitchen cupboard storage ideas

It's all too easy to stuff everything inside your kitchen cupboards haphazardly, but a jumble of pots, pans and tons of Tupperware makes it hard to grab the things you need quickly. 

The aim of organising your kitchen cupboards is to give everything its own space, with things you use most frequently being the easiest to access. 

• Pan organisers Use an organiser rack to store pans and lids on their sides. This makes them much easier to grab than if they were stacked, and also prevents scratching. Look for an adjustable rack so you can tailor it to your space.
• Pan-lid organisers If space is limited and you can't accommodate lids together with your pans, consider a pan-lid organiser that can be mounted inside the cabinet door. You can get similar solutions to store clingfilm and tin foil in this otherwise dead space.
• Pull-out drawers For very deep cabinets, pull-out drawers will help you access items at the back more easily without having to remove everything at the front.
• Tiered shelf risers These are great for smaller items that you use relatively often. They look like a mini staircase and allow you to see and reach items at the back of the cupboard more easily.
• Clear boxes and baskets Rather than rummaging through hard-to-reach cupboards, you can simply take out the basket and find what you need at a glance.

Kitchen corner-cupboard storage

Corner cupboards offer lots of space, but it's hard to access items stored right at the back. Installing a cupboard carousel will help, as they pull out to provide access to items that would otherwise be hard to reach. 

Carousels are ideal for storing bulkier items that you don't need every day, such as mixing bowls, blenders, cake tins or slow cookers. 

There are plenty of carousel options available to suit your kitchen layout, from half circles for rectangular units to three-quarter circles for L-shaped units. 

Kidney-bean-shaped shelves (known as Le Mans corner mechanisms) pivot as you pull them out, making it easier to navigate appliances such as dishwashers that might protrude from under the worktops. You can also opt for a 'magic corner' system, which has square shelves to maximise every inch of space.

Where to buy corner-cupboard storage

• Kitchen Fittings Direct offers a range of options for various cupboard sizes and configurations
• Ikea's Utrusta range includes a number of pull-out options for drawers, cabinets and larders
• Amazon has a large range of options at various prices

Kitchen drawer organisers

Organising your kitchen drawers will make it easier to find what you need and prevent any jams. 

Consider the following additions to your drawers:

• Cutlery trays are a must-have for keeping knives, forks and spoons in order. Many have larger slots for utensils, too.
• Dividers or tension rods are great for deeper drawers, helping to store things like water bottles, pan lids or baking trays upright. They also help to prevent glassware or tableware from sliding around and bumping into each other.   
• Inner or nested drawers are essentially drawers within drawers that allow you to store larger items like pans at the bottom, while using the top for smaller items such as utensils. This is generally something you would choose when buying new kitchen units, but there are a few internal drawer options available online, such as this one at Kitchen Warehouse. Ikea offers a pull-out work surface that nestles inside a drawer.

Kitchen wall storage ideas

If you're short on storage space in your kitchen, wall-mounted storage is a great way to accommodate everyday items such as knives, utensils and mugs that won’t fit in a cupboard or drawer, while keeping worktops clear. Don’t overdo it, though, or your kitchen will look cluttered. 

Try the following kitchen wall storage ideas:

• Magnetic knife strip This frees up drawer space and keeps the knives you use most within easy reach. Bear in mind that this may be a safety issue if you have young children who can reach the knives.
• Wall-mounted rail system with hooks This is a great way to store mugs, cooking utensils or even pans. With mugs, install the rail near your kettle with tea and coffee nearby for maximum convenience. For utensils and pans, install it near the oven. 
• Floating shelves Small floating shelves offer a more flexible alternative to a rail system, where you can keep mugs, tea, coffee, sugar and even display items such as plants and pictures.
• Pegboard panels These offer a flexible storage solution for pots, pans, utensils, spices, kitchen roll and all sorts, as you can configure the pegs however you like, and usually add shelves and hooks. 

Victoria Purcell, Which? home content editor:

'I have quite a bit of space between the worktop and wall cabinets, so I have two Ikea Malmbäck floating shelves mounted near the kettle. 

'They're home to everything I need for a brew – my favourite mugs, tea and coffee caddies, plus mini Kilner jars for brown and white sugar. There's even space for a few display items.'

Under-sink kitchen storage ideas

The space under the sink is a great place to store cleaning products, dishwasher tablets, bin bags and more. 

Organising them into plastic storage boxes will make it easier to find what you need. You might even consider a cleaning caddy, so that you can grab everything you need for your chores in one go.  

But to really optimise under-sink storage, add tiered shelving systems to your cabinet or use hanging baskets, hooks or rails on the back of your cabinet doors. 

Bear in mind that the space under the sink isn't ideal for food storage, as the hot pipes and damp environment can cause mould and bacterial growth.

Did you know that we test everyday items to help keep your home clean and tidy? Discover the best cleaning sprays, best kitchen rolls, best bin bags and even the best kitchen bins

Larders, pantries and kitchen trolleys

If you have the space, larger-scale kitchen storage solutions such as larders, pantries and kitchen trolleys can help you create space for a coffee station, expand your workspace or provide extra storage for pots, pans and dry food items or baking supplies.

• Larder or pantry? These terms are often used interchangeably, but larders were originally cool, dry areas ideal for storing different types of food. Pantries are usually small rooms, such as the cupboard under the stairs, where the temperature is less regulated, making them better suited to housing non-perishables and miscellaneous kitchen items. A larder cabinet is the modern iteration of these, often incorporated into a kitchen layout at the design stage, but you could create something similar with a freestanding cabinet or sideboard.
• Kitchen trolleys are small units on wheels that can function as mobile storage, extra prep space, a dining table or even a home office space. They're a great idea in small spaces as they function like kitchen islands but can be moved around as and when needed.

How to store awkward kitchen items

• Mug storage ideas Install a wall-mounted mug rack with hooks to display and easily access your favourite coffee mugs while saving cupboard space. Alternatively, use a mug tree or floating shelf, with tea, coffee and sugar caddies nearby, so you have everything you need to make a cuppa within easy reach.
• Kitchen utensil storage ideas Use drawer dividers to neatly organise utensils by category, keeping frequently used items near the front for quick access. You could also consider a utensil pot to store essentials on the worktop near your food prep area, or a hanging rail with hooks.
• Plate storage ideas The most effective way to store plates is typically just in a stack in your cupboard. However, it can be tricky to lift heavy stacks to reach the plate you want, especially if you have smaller plates stacked on top of larger ones. A plate rack will make it easier.
• Open shelving This has become popular in modern kitchens as a way to keep plates and cups within easy reach – just bear in mind that they will gather dust. If you have the space, a glass-fronted display cabinet allows you to display crockery while keeping it dust-free.

Daniella Delaney Mendes, Which? home, technology and lifestyle content senior editor

'I use big recycled San Marzano tomato cans as my "spoon rests" when I'm cooking. I also use the tins to store knives and forks rolled in napkins to pop on the table if I'm having an informal dinner party or a barbecue. They bring a bit of Mediterranean sunshine to my life when it's dreary outside.

'I've also recycled an old houseplant pot I wasn't using any more to hold big spoons and spatulas on my worktop.'