8 Smart Ways To Declutter And Organize Your Kitchen Using An Old Vase

After bouquets wilt, it can be hard to find uses for an old vase. Although you can certainly buy new blooms or fill it up with faux flowers, there are other ways to repurpose your vases in the bathroom, or other cluttered rooms around the house. Ceramic, glass, and plastic vases can also be useful in the kitchen, where surfaces and drawers easily become overcrowdedwith utensils, small appliances, or food items. 

Because of the traditionally tall and narrow shape of a vase, people don't typically think of them when it comes to storage. In reality, they've been successfully used for storage — especially in food prep spaces — for thousands and thousands of years. So, take a queue from the ancients, and consider these eight ways to use an old vase for decluttering and organizational purposes. After a little DIY magic, even an ugly vase can make for stunning kitchen countertop storage.

You probably have a few spoons, spatulas, whisks, and ladles with extra-long handles for stirring. If your drawers and cupboards have grown cluttered, as is typical in many households, a vase offers a functional on-the-counter alternative. To make the best use of space, a wide-mouthed design will likely work best. If you plan to keep the vase next to the stovetop, make sure that it's sturdy and won't warp in the heat, like plastic can. For holding lots of heavy utensils, ceramic or heavy glass vases are ideal.

Wine corks can be repurposed for plenty of household DIY projects, from coasters to chair stabilizers. If you ever need to re-cork a bottle of wine, and the original cork won't fit back in, you know how handy it can be to have another nearby. They can even be helpful when you're starting a campfire — in other words, it's good to keep a few around. A clear glass vase is perfect for storing a cork collection, whether you're keeping them for sentimental reasons or logistical ones. Even if you don't end up using the corks, they're a great way to beautifully fill a vase when you don't have flowers.

The majority of Americans drink coffee daily, making it a staple in most kitchens across the country. Keep your colorful keurig pods — or tea bags, if you prefer — ready-to-go on your kitchen countertop with the help of an old flower vase. This way, it'll also be easier to see when it's time to replenish your supply.

Although straws are known to be useful when it comes to flower arranging, they're worth keeping in vases even without the blooms. As people become aware of the environmental downsides to plastic straws, they're turning to reusable alternatives. If you're looking for a place to display your reusable straw collection, consider an old vase. That way, you can help keep the planet cleaner (and stay hydrated in the process).

If you grow herbs like rosemary, thyme, and oregano in your home garden, simply put them under low heat in the oven to dry them. Once the moisture is gone from the leaves, you'll be able to store them for months on end in an old vase. Fresh herbs can last for a few weeks with a little bit of cold water, ready to snip off and add to any dish. Or, if you'd rather keep them for decorative purposes, use this laundry room essential to easily dry them.

Pasta boxes can stack up in the pantry, adding to clutter. If your kitchen is pest-free and dry, consider keeping fusilli, rigatoni, penne, or other smaller shells on hand in a vase. If you need to source a lid for your vase, measure the diameter of the opening, and purchase the appropriately-sized cork lid, like the Olycraft cork stoppers. These affordable cork lids can turn almost any vase into a sealed container.

Whether you're drafting a grocery list or making a correction on an old recipe, pens and pencils come in handy in the kitchen. Some people also use dry-erase markers or chalk to keep-up calendars here. That being said, these writing utensils often get lost in that universal catch-all drawer and add to clutter rather than help with organization. With the help of an old vase, you can ditch the junk drawer once and for all, and store your writing tools ready-to-go on the countertop.

Although the internet is the primary recipe source for many of us, others are tried and true believers in the old-fashioned cookbook. If you have a collection of recipes, either in published books or personal folders, keep them standing up straight with a flower vase bookend. This organizational hack can also serve double duty if you keep kitchen utensils, pasta, or other somewhat heavy knick-knacks that need to be tucked away in the vase to help weigh it down.