Storage Ideas for Narrow Kitchen Cabinets

Finding storage solutions for a narrow kitchen cabinet can be a frustrating challenge for many homeowners. The limited width makes it difficult to fit bulky cooking items and leads to wasted vertical space. However, with some clever organizing tricks and innovative storage products, it's possible to maximize every inch of your narrow cabinetry.

The key is evaluating your current setup, purging unused items, and utilizing all the available space efficiently - including the corners, walls, and vertical area. This allows you to store the essentials easily while freeing up room for food, dishes, and other kitchen necessities.

Assess Your Current Storage Situation

Before implementing new storage ideas, take stock of how you currently use the narrow cabinets. Here are some tips for evaluating your existing setup:

• Take an inventory of everything stored in the cabinets
• Identify the most frequently accessed items
• Look for any wasted or unused space
• Assess if your current organizational systems are working

This gives you a sense of what absolutely needs to be easily accessible and what can be moved to less convenient areas. It also highlights problem spots that aren't optimizing the limited space.

Purge Unused Items

One of the best things you can do is eliminate clutter and things you rarely or never use. This instantly frees up room for essential kitchen items.

• Get rid of duplicate tools and gadgets
• Toss expired food and old plastic containers
• Donate gently used dishes and small appliances

Be ruthless in purging and decluttering before optimizing storage - it makes a huge difference.

Maximize Shelf Usage

Even a few extra inches of height or depth gained creatively on shelves expands storage capacity. Consider these shelf boosting ideas:

• Use risers or shelf dividers to double stack plates, bowls, etc.
• Store canned goods and spices upright rather than laying flat
• Install extra adjustable shelves to customize storage
• Use hanging wall mounted racks on cabinet doors

Checking vertical clearance inside the cabinets allows you to add more adjustable shelves. It's an easy way to gain storage real estate within the existing footprint.

Tiered Storage

Tiered racks and organizers are perfect for the narrow cabinet. They allow you to store more items vertically. Consider using tiered storage for these items:

• Canned goods
• Spices
• Condiments
• Bagged snacks
• Baking sheets

The vertical divisions keep everything visible and accessible while maximizing every inch.

Optimize Space Vertically

Since you're limited in width, take advantage of all the vertical room in the cabinet. Here are some ideas to use height to your storage advantage:

• Install pull-out vertical drawers
• Mount ceiling racks or pot hooks
• Hang utensils on the inside of cabinet doors
• Add floor-to-ceiling pantry cabinet

Going vertical with dividers, racks, and pull-outs takes your storage upwards. High wall cabinets can also be used more efficiently.

Wall Storage Options

The walls around and above the narrow cabinet provide prime real estate for additional storage. Consider these wall-mounted storage ideas:

• Rail shelves or ledges for oils, spices
• Overhead pot racks
• Wall-mounted utensil hooks
• Floating shelves for cookbooks

Wall storage is both functional and decorative for making the most of tight cabinetry.

Use Space Efficiently

Storing kitchen items strategically helps them fit into narrow cabinets. Keep these efficiency tips in mind:

• Transfer bulky food items into smaller containers
• Use vertical dividers to neatly organize plates, cookware
• Install pull-out drawers for hard-to-reach spaces
• Store lesser used items on high shelves

A bit of thought into how you store specific items goes a long way. Take time to arrange dishes and food containers in an ordered way.

Creative Kitchen Storage

Get creative to make the most of every square inch. Ideas include:

• Lid racks and pan lid organizers on walls
• Hanging utensil racks or knife blocks
• Wicker baskets neatly store fruits and vegetables
• Under cabinet wire racks for cooking tools

Searching for clever storage solutions sparks ideas for putting wasted space to work.

Focus on Corners

The corners in narrow cabinets are prime storage real estate. Use them to your advantage with these ideas:

• Lazy susans or turntables for easy access
• Corner shelves to hold small appliances
• Install functional pull-out corner drawers
• Wire corner racks for baking pans

Corners fit items that would otherwise go unused. Don't let them go to waste.

Maximize Corner Storage

Here are some products that optimize tricky corner cabinets:

• Two-tier corner organizers
• Corner cabinet lazy susans
• Pull-out corner storage drawers
• Spice organizers for corner shelves

Purpose-built corner storage solutions make the space totally usable and easy to access.

Utilize Doors and Drawers

Cabinet doors and drawers can gain functional storage space with DIY solutions like:

• Small S-hooks on doors hold kitchen towels
• Spice racks mounted on inside of cabinet doors
• Hanging bins on doors keep snacks organized
• Slide-out trays in shallow drawers

Adding storage racks, pegs, and sliding trays reinvents cabinet doors and drawers as functional space.

Door Storage Ideas

Transform the empty space on cabinet doors with handy storage accessories:

• Over-the-door racks for utensils
• Door-mounted paper towel holder
• Clear mesh pockets to sort small items
• Stainless steel door racks for oils, spices

Simple door racks double your storage and keep essentials in reach.

Creative External Storage

When the narrow cabinets are maxed out, get creative with external storage solutions. Ideas include:

• Hanging utensil racks
• Wall-mounted magnetic strips for knives
• Overhead pot racks
• Open shelving for cookbooks or display

Moving storage outside the narrow cabinetry helps open up the space. Floating shelves, exterior racks, and other additions expand storage possibilities.