Maximize Cabinet Space With A Simple Hack That Doesn't Require Remodeling

Even in the largest kitchens, cooks find a way to use every available inch for storage. Jars of sauce get pushed to the backs of cabinets, the package of jerk seasoning your Jamaican friend sent disappears into a far corner, and your beloved box grater is nowhere to be found. Remodeling the kitchen might seem like the only way to add storage, but there's a simpler, inexpensive way to increase the usable space in your cabinets. A lazy Susan lets you double the number of things you can store without leaving anything hidden at the back of the cupboard. Keeping your cupboards organized is one of smartest ways you can repurpose a lazy Susan.

Lazy Susans are rotating turntables, usually round, that are frequently used on the dinner table to hold condiments. Since they rotate, everything on the tray is available within reach to everyone at the table. When you tuck one into a kitchen cabinet, there's no risk of anything being relegated to the back because there is nothing in the back — as the lazy Susan turns, things in the back rotate to the front. Lazy Susans come in a wide range of diameters, so finding one to use in your kitchen cabinet to improve access to items isn't complicated. Most base cabinets are 24 inches deep while standard uppers are 12 inches deep. When you measure for a turntable, remember that the cabinet door needs room to close.

Creating more useable storage space goes a long way toward decluttering your kitchen. Double lazy Susans have two shelves, making it possible to use even more of the vertical space in the cabinet. Smaller items like spice jars and boxes of tea can go on the lower shelf. Put tall things like bottles of olive oil and boxes of pasta on the top. If you have very tall cabinets, lazy Susans with as many as five shelves put all of the vertical space to good use. They're not inexpensive, but you can replicate multilevel storage by stacking a couple of two-shelf units from your local big box store. If you have a lot of small but similar items to store, office supply stores sell rotating organizers meant to wrangle pens and paperclips that can be repurposed for tea bags or condiment packets. Under counter cabinets are frequently used to store heavier items, so if you're planning to keep your pots and pans accessible with lazy Susans in your lower cabinets, check the shelf's load capacity. Overloading the unit can cause the shelves to warp or the bearing mechanism to fail.

While lazy Susans are readily available at big box stores and online retailers in a variety of price ranges and myriad materials and designs, you can buy the lazy Susan mechanism or bearing plate for less than $10 and make your own. Use found objects like a couple of vinyl record albums glued together for the shelf, or you can use a piece of wood you've cut to size and painted or otherwise decorated. If you have open shelving or glass cabinet doors, you can also have a lovely custom lazy Susan made by a woodworker.