You’ll want to grab 10.
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Emma Kumagawa
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You’ll want to grab 10.
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Emma Kumagawa
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As I began to reorganize my kitchen cabinets as part of my yearly spring cleaning routine, I wondered if some experts might have some advice on what’s safe and convenient to keep in a cabinet, and what’s better off in other parts of my kitchen — and here’s what they had to say.
“They’re called staples for a reason — you probably use them every time you cook!” says Julian Thomas, DIY and lifestyle expert and Command partner. For this reason, it’s best to keep certain items such as herbs and spices, flour, sugar, and even coffee either in your pantry (if you have one), or on display in other parts of your kitchen — Thomas suggests repurposing a picture ledge for storing spices — where heat and humidity won’t affect their potency.
“Instead of storing aromatic coffee beans in cabinets, where light and temperature fluctuations can degrade their flavor, consider using vacuum-sealed containers stored in a cool, dark pantry or drawer,” says Melanie Summers, professional organizer and founder of I Speak Organized. “This not only preserves their freshness, but also maintains the aesthetic appeal of your kitchen.”
“Cleaning solutions, especially liquids, should not be stored in your kitchen cabinets,” says Thomas. “While under-the-sink organization for cleaning supplies is the norm for many households, this still runs a risk of cross-contamination and harmful exposure. For instance, I let the storage under my kitchen sink get so full that a bottle of liquid dish soap became crushed by overcrowding and began to leak, eventually seeping out of the cabinet onto my hardwood floor.”
According to Thomas, it’s best to label all your bottles clearly and opt for a layered pullout rack for maximizing space under your sink if this is the only spot you have for storing cleaning products. Other types of organization solutions, like my favorite under-sink turntable, can help keep your cleaning products and tools separated and easy to access.
Overcrowded cabinets with rarely used cookware and appliances can create chaos in your kitchen. Summers suggests hanging pots and pans on a ceiling rack or wall-mounted rail to free up cabinet space and add a stylish, functional element to your kitchen decor.
“Whether it’s a Crock-Pot only used during the colder months of the year or an indoor electric grill when it’s BBQ season, it’s tempting to store these ‘occasional’ kitchen appliances up high in a cabinet out of the way,” says Thomas. “However, depending on your strength and coordination levels, that might not be the best idea. Even storing these items in bottom cabinets is risky, considering so many people experience lower back pain, and bending over to lift heavy equipment is not wise either.”
Thomas recommends carving out space in the garage, pantry, or even a utility closet to store kitchen appliances that you don’t use frequently. When it comes to the appliances collecting dust in your home, Dr. Dan Murauski, director of wellness optimization and longevity at Case Integrative Health, adds that it’s best to donate items that you haven’t used in about a year.
Kitchen cabinets can provide excellent storage for sauces, condiments, and canned goods with long shelf lives. There are a few, however, that should be stored elsewhere to maintain their condition and give you more kitchen cabinet space.
“It’s important to read the labels on shelf-stable sauces to see which ones need to be refrigerated after opening,” says Murauski. “We all know ketchup and mayo need to go in the fridge. I was surprised to learn that soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce do as well!” Additionally, he suggests keeping olive oil and cooking oils in a light-proof container away from the stovetop.
It may be tempting to keep your daily vitamins and medications within reach in your kitchen, especially if you take them with your breakfast, but Summers advises against this.
“Rather than keeping these in kitchen cabinets, where temperature and humidity can fluctuate, opt for a dedicated storage area in a closet, bedroom drawer, or even a lockable medicine cabinet in a cool, dry bathroom,” she says. “This ensures their efficacy and keeps them out of reach of little ones.”
L. Daniela Alvarez
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I open my workhorse of a refrigerator at least a dozen times a day (a good reason not to store dairy in the door, by the way), so I’m always looking for ways to make it better. In my latest round of organizational self-care, I called my all-time favorite pro organizer, Stephanie Treantos, founder of Lemonaid Solutions (@lemonaidsolutions), to get some tips and tricks on how to make my overstuffed refrigerator more efficient to use and easier on the eyes. I sent her a few photos of my fridge and I was blown away by what she suggested — and how satisfying the results were. Here are her best tips.
Everything fits in my refrigerator … until I need to squeeze in half a leftover pizza. Treantos recommends leaving “a small shelf open for [the leftovers] that will come and go throughout the week.” This simple rule makes kitchen closing duties far less maddening, and it’s my favorite change I made to my fridge.
The fridge is high-value real estate with a clear limit. Prioritize items that must be refrigerated, and relocate less sensitive items to a “cool, dark pantry” or “secondary fridge.” I moved nuts and specialty flours to the pantry and my sourdough starter to a mini fridge in the garage, making space for my glorious new leftovers shelf.
I am clearly not going to go through the eight pints of cream in my fridge in seven days. I can dial back the scarcity mindset shopping and use that space for “priority items needed to get through the week.”
“Of course, we all wish we had a Sub-Zero and could shop on a whim for anything and everything we might need,” says Treantos. “But because that’s not the case for many of us, we have to be smart in the way we shop.”
When Treantos told me I could remove condiments I “tried but didn’t like,” it was a revelation. I realized, if left unchecked, I was going to keep that yuzu hot sauce until it expired, and then throw it out. Instead, I offered it to a neighbor, reducing waste on two fronts — the food itself and the space it was taking up in my refrigerator.
I told Treantos that it was hard for me to reach items in the back of the fridge, and she suggested buying the rectangular lazy susan that has basically broken the Internet. The LAMU Turntable Organizer has all the benefits of a traditional lazy Susan, without sacrificing space on the corners. It’s incredible, and I can’t stop spinning it! The LAMU is a purchase you won’t regret, but be sure to measure your space first to make sure it fits.
“Use containment when it makes sense,” says Treantos, but skip it when it makes life harder. For maximum flexibility, leave the leftover shelf completely clear to make space for various “sizes of dishes, platters, and tupperware.” When in doubt, “keep it simple,” says Treantos.
After I admitted that I was overbuying groceries, Treantos asked a fair question: “Do you really need that much produce to get through the week?” The honest answer, though, is yes. I ate maybe one vegetable in my childhood and I’m sure it was fried (french fries count, right?), so I’m making up for lost time. With my storage needs in mind, Treantos told me the following: “You don’t have to stick with the ‘norm’ of how a space is laid out. What’s stopping you from using the large drawer for produce so it’s stored together?”
Alas, my refrigerator is too “smart” to let me take advantage of this great idea (my meat drawer is colder than the rest of the refrigerator), but if your refrigerator is more flexible than mine, try it! I settled for an L-shaped veggie zone, including both drawers and a section in the bottom left for pre-prepped vegetables.
I probably get a B- on zones, both for my sprawling veggie section, and for storing butter in the door instead of with the rest of the dairy, but I’m happy with it for now. As Treantos says, “We can create our own rules that ultimately work best for us.” And with that, happy organizing!
Meg Asby
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The quest to keep things organized in the kitchen is never-ending. After all, there’s a nonstop flow of things in and out, and despite all the best intentions, it’s way too easy for things to get out of hand — and fast.
Luckily, it doesn’t have to be that way. I’m late to the game in working with a professional organizer, but now that I know, I know. And ever since I began working with the experts, I’ve learned to trust the recommendations that come from a pro. They see our messiest, most challenging spaces, day in and day out, and have the skills and the experience to help turn things around. This can involve spending some extra money, but in my experience, at least, it’s been money well-spent to invest in things that keep everything in my space easy to find and access. After all, when you know you already have things at home, you’re less likely to buy duplicates and end up with waste.
I’m fascinated by how organizers’ brains work, and what their absolute go-tos are. Kim Jones of Lock & Key Home in Louisville, Kentucky, and author of The No-Nonsense Home Organization Plan, was kind enough to share her tried-and-true favorites when it comes to organizing kitchens. Here are the five she says every kitchen needs (all for around $20).
Dana McMahan
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This trick has worked for my family for years.
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Shifrah Combiths
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Consider your kitchen *revamped.*
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Quinn Fish
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You can use it in every room of the house. Even the fridge!
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Quinn Fish
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You can use it in every room of the house. Even the fridge!
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Quinn Fish
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I’m perfectly capable of measuring my kitchen drawers, but I’d rather not. Don’t get me wrong — having tidy, organized drawers has made a world of difference in my kitchen storage, but products that take the fuss out of tasks like measuring and fitting really are the cherry on top. That’s why I love spring-loaded, adjustable drawer dividers. No need to track down my measuring tape; I can just click “Buy Now,” and figure out a system when they arrive.
To install these organizers, all you have to do is compress the spring by pushing one end of the divider. Then place the divider in the drawer, and let the spring expand to fit the space. Boom: You just created little walls between tools and utensils! It’s brilliant and easy — exactly how I like my organizing projects.
To find the best adjustable drawer dividers on the market, I rigorously tested three popular bamboo versions at all different prices, and I think the winner will surprise you just as much as it surprised me.
Ease of installation: 3/5
Appearance: 3/5
Usefulness: 3/5
Overall: 3/5
These dividers are not only expandable, but they also come with divider inserts to separate drawers into smaller cubbies, not just long rows. They come in four shades and range in length from 17 to 22 inches.
The SpaceAid Bamboo Drawer Dividers remind me of a Rubik’s cube: The moment you solve one side, you realize you’ve triggered another problem elsewhere. I thought the SpaceAid would be my favorite divider because of the inserts, but I found them incredibly frustrating. The inserts come in two sizes, 4.75 inches and 7.1 inches, which was consistently either too small or too large for my tools. Even when they were the correct size, often the points where they connected to the dividers weren’t where I needed them to be. No matter what I tried, there was always wasted space. I also don’t love the look of the unused notches marking the surface of the dividers. Overall, this one was disappointing.
Ease of installation: 4/5
Appearance: 4/5
Usefulness: 3.5/5
Overall: 4/5
Ryqtop Bamboo Drawer Dividers come in four neutral colors, and range in length from 12 to 17 inches. They’re almost as beautiful as The Container Store ones (below!) and cost less than half as much. The only problem here is size: At their longest, they’re only 17 inches, an inch shy of The Container Store version’s 18 to 22.25 inches. In my drawers they only fit sideways, which worked but isn’t as visually balanced, as the spring-loaded side is visible the moment you open the drawer.
Ryqtop offers a longer version, but the cost is $39.98 for a four-pack. At that price ($9.99/divider), you can purchase the upscale version from The Container Store.
Sale alert: If you’re in the market to shop right now, Ryqtop’s longer drawer dividers (12 to 22 inches) are currently on sale for only $24.99, normally $39.98. At that price, they’re an even better buy than my favorite at The Container Store.
Ease of installation: 5/5
Appearance: 5/5
Usefulness: 4.5/5
Overall: 5/5
The Container Store’s Bamboo Drawer Organizers are expandable and sleek. They range in length from 18 to 22.25 inches, making them the biggest dividers we tested. These chic organizers are easy to install and look fantastic! While they can’t subdivide the rows like the SpaceAid can, they definitely perform as promised. In less than a minute my kitchen utensils were organized, and my long spoons and spatulas don’t need subsections anyway. Psssst — they’re on sale for only $14.99 now!
The Container Store Bamboo Drawer Organizers were the clear winner — the most beautiful and useful of all three dividers I tested. Unfortunately, they’re also the most expensive (although they do tend to have good sales). You don’t have to let the best be the enemy of the good, though; I’m happy enough with all three brands to recommend them.
While the SpaceAid dividers with inserts are brilliant in theory, they are frustrating in practice and waste space. The Ryqtop dividers are a bargain if your drawers are short enough. Overall, The Container Store Bamboo Drawer Organizers were the best buy. Yes, I found the SpaceAid dividers frustrating, and the Ryqtop organizers were too short, but I didn’t return either of them. The SpaceAid will never be as beautiful as The Container Store version, but it does offer storage for smaller tools, assuming I’m patient enough to puzzle it out. And if your kitchen drawers aren’t as long as mine, the Ryqtop is a steal.
Meg Asby
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In hindsight, it was pretty absurd: Fly to Paris on a couple weeks’ notice with my chef friend, stay in a 30-square-meter (about 322-square-feet) apartment, and host back-to-back dinner parties for local influencers. What could possibly go wrong? As it turns out, aside from doing dishes for days, everything went right!
Here’s the story: My friend Alison Settle, an amazingly talented (and James Beard-nominated!) chef, and I cooked up a plan to lead culinary tours of Paris in the spring. To kick it off, we’d get some photo and video content for promotions, and do some on-the-ground recon, so we flew over in October to put on a few dinner parties in an amazing apartment called Kai’s Kitchen I’d been obsessed with since spotting it online.
The challenge (other than our, ahem, ambitious plan to shop and plan for a menu Settle would create on the fly in 1.5 days — her first time in Paris, at that!) was that we’d be hosting 10 people (plus ourselves) in an apartment the size of about one room in most American homes. I was confident, though, not only in Settle’s skills, but also in the inspired design of the kitchen and dining area, which was essentially the entire apartment. The kitchen had absolutely everything a chef could need, and although it was teeny, the dinners went off without a hitch — the guests and hosts were equally impressed and inspired by the apartment’s smart setup.
Kai Ahlefeld, the mind behind the design, turned out to actually be an event designer. He’s designed some 300 fashion shows, so when it came to renovating the apartment he wanted to use as his own event space for cooking and parties, he used the same tools from his work to create the design. At its core is his desire to see what he has to work with, Ahlefeld says. “For me, a kitchen is more of a workshop — a playground, I think. It’s nicer to see everything — you just have to make sure everything looks OK.”
He admits that he didn’t view the space’s small size as the challenge many of us would have. Ahlefeld’s motivation was that “everybody becomes part of the creation of [the meal]. And you can stand and talk to people, telling them what’s happening, then just sit down with them.” After witnessing Settle work her magic, and talking with Ahlefeld, here are my four biggest takeaways that could work in almost any small kitchen (and I’ll surely be incorporating in my own future reno projects!):
Although the footprint was petite, the apartment had high ceilings, and Ahlefeld used literally every inch of wall space, going floor to ceiling, and incorporating a rolling ladder for ease of reach. Not only is this a smart use of space that allowed so much storage, but for Settle it also served an even higher purpose.
“Displaying everything that you have kind of opens your mind up to the possibilities,” she says. “So much of the time we’re hiding our appliances and stuff in cabinets because we’re like, ‘it’s disrupting the counter space,’ or ‘it’s not attractive,’ and then kind of forget what our capabilities are. Whereas in this kitchen I could see deeply in my mind what I can accomplish here.”
Everything we needed for the dinner parties was beautifully displayed, complete with an adjustable lighting system. The key here, Ahlefeld says, is an idea he uses often for fashion shows.
“Just choose something that is interesting and then multiply it by a lot,” he says. In this case, the rows of inexpensive white plates. Find something you like, he says, and “take a lot of them and it looks amazing, whatever it is.”
On one long wall, shallow ledges held the simple white plates and small bins for cutlery as well as glasses and stemware. The opposite side displayed Ahlefeld’s prized collection of jars, inspired by the original 10 classic green glass jars his mom collected at flea markets and left to him. After building up a collection, he uses them to store dozens of ingredients. The jars get an enthusiastic thumbs up from Settle. Stateside, “I am a huge proponent of Ball jar systems,” she says. So much so that her home system is Ball jars. She stores basically everything in them and labels them by their contents. “It’s super cheap,” she says, to get the jars at a grocery store, and “it has this air of being both industrial but also homey.”
Of course, not everything is attractive. For things like the food processor and other small appliances and tools, Ahlefeld added lower shelving that he enclosed behind sliding screens.
Swinging cabinet doors wouldn’t have worked with the limited space between the wall and the massive dining table, so he worked with an artisan ironworker who devoted several days to this piece of the project. Aiming for an industrial vibe, they built the sliding screens from real iron. Ahlefeld says, “And it’s really bolted; it’s not welded together or anything. It’s basically done exactly as the Eiffel Tower is done with manual bolts.” How chic is that?
When we’re thinking about kitchen design in the U.S., we often tend to think in zones — and that we need an island and tons of counter space. Kai’s Kitchen has almost zero counter space once the gorgeous beast of a SMEG range and the oversized sink were in, but it did have a behemoth wooden dining table, along with an extremely multifunctional rolling cart topped with a hefty butcher block.
Settle single-handedly prepared a multi-course meal for a dozen of us using that block, plus the table. She was more than comfortable making use of unorthodox spaces, having spent so many years in restaurant kitchens where she sometimes needed to be creative and, say, use the bar as a prep area if that’s where the handiest outlet was located. “You shouldn’t limit yourself to one square in the kitchen,” she says. “You should cook where you feel comfortable.”
The rolling butcher block held shelves packed with spices, and sported a knife rack, to boot. She used it just as Ahlefeld intended, to let diners see her at work, and then we served from it. The two parties feel like a dream, in retrospect. Settle is still dreaming about it. “I felt really free in that kitchen,” she says. “I had everything at my disposal. I was like, ‘If something doesn’t work out, it’s fine. I can fix it, because I have all of this efficient use of space and equipment.’” It doesn’t get much smarter than that.
Dana McMahan
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It’s basically like having a second set of hands in the kitchen.
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Quinn Fish
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The space under my kitchen sink has always been an enigma. I do my best to keep it as neat as possible when it comes to storing cleaning supplies, but since I keep my trash bin and a bag for recycling there, the space inevitably becomes messy and cluttered fast. The holiday season has also exacerbated this issue since I’m cleaning more often and need to access nearly every product under my sink. And before a recent discovery, I didn’t know how to fix it.
For months, I stored all of my cleaning supplies in a divided acrylic caddy (which worked for the most part), but I was getting frustrated with having to bend and reach in when I needed a less frequently used product. I also got into the bad habit of hurriedly tossing new sponges or microfiber towels on top of the caddy, making it look even more cluttered. I decided to go on the hunt for a more practical solution that could both solve my clutter problem and make it easier for me to grab (and put away) all my cleaning products and tools. Enter: the YouCopia SinkSuite Under Sink Turntable.
In my under-the-sink-storage research, I came across this turntable with a convenient 360-degree rotating ability that instantly captured my attention. I was pleased that not only was it a perfect fit for under my sink, but once it arrived, it was able to fit every cleaning product from my caddy, and then some. The open space of the turntable makes it easy to access spray bottles, sponges, and dishwasher pods without uncomfortably crouching down and reaching into the back of the (seemingly endlessly) deep, dark storage area.
I liked that the turntable included three dividers that snapped-on and removed with ease into the slots so I could make the compartments as small or large as I wanted. The non-slip feet were another great feature that kept the turntable in place when rotating it. So not only is it totally customizable — and I can change it depending on what’s in my cleaning arsenal — but it actually stays in place.
Although the garbage disposal gets in the way of the taller spray bottles, its size doesn’t stop the right cabinet door from closing, which is where I keep an adhesive holder for my trash and recycle bags. I decided to move my bag for recycling behind the trash bin to give the turntable a wider clearance and a cleaner, less cluttered look. Now, the sleek little organizer spins effortlessly, making my cleaning supplies easier to grab — and more organized — than ever.
For a turntable that can hold up to 30 pounds and costs only $29.99, it’s an excellent storage solution for anyone looking to update their kitchen sink cabinet, add some extra accessibility and convenience, and avoid that dreaded clutter. Before you know it, I might just have one of these under every sink in my home.
Buy: YouCopia SinkSuite Under Sink Turntable, $29.99
L. Daniela Alvarez
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My husband claims I hide things in our kitchen, and he’s not entirely wrong. In my defense, when we bought our home, we turned the basement into a short-term rental and everything else took a backseat — including kitchen organization. Instead of arranging it all at once, I reorganize a drawer here and there, which means that the spatula he uses to make waffles has changed homes half a dozen times over the years. Sigh.
The YouCopia DrawerFit Sliding Drawer Bin is a plastic container perfect for rolling pins and spatulas that rests on the interior lip of a deep drawer. Formerly wasted vertical space is now utilized by an adjustable storage bin. The BPA-free plastic container even slides across the drawer for easy access to items stored underneath. Priced at only $19.99, it’s beyond worth the cost to me because it adds an entire drawer to my kitchen without the need to hire a contractor.
The best part of this method is that I can keep all of my baking supplies in one drawer. Storing my rolling pin, baking mat, spatula, and pie plates in one place makes it that much more likely that we’re going to be eating weekend pie instead of ordering out.
This product also doesn’t require any decluttering. Before I purchased the drawer bin, it wasn’t easy to grab what I needed from my cluttered drawer. Since I’ve moved the spatula, baking mat, and (especially) the rolling pin to the YouCopia Drawer Bin, there is much more breathing room in the drawer they left behind, no donations required.
The YouCopia Drawer Bin is 7.1 inches in width and adjusts from 15 to 24 inches in length, which is a great fit for most kitchen drawers. The limiting factor is the vertical space of the drawer: the bin is 2.7 inches tall. In my home, it was too tall to be useful in my silverware drawer, but it was perfect for the lower drawers I use to store pots, pans, and baking dishes. If you have wasted vertical space in deep drawers, this is the organizer for you. To store smaller items inside, check out the version with adjustable dividers.
What’s more? YouCopia is a woman-owned company offering products that require little to no installation and solve real problems. They also donate $3 for every product you purchase to select charities. I love this brand so much, I already have my eye on how YouCopia can improve my freezer, refrigerator, and container drawer. Maybe then my kitchen will be “done,” and my husband will always know where to find his spatula. We’ll have to wait and see!
Buy: YouCopia DrawerFit Sliding Drawer Bin, $19.99
Meg Asby
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The best part? It requires zero effort.
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Shifrah Combiths
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With the busy holiday season upon us, it’s a great time to give your fridge a bit of an organizing makeover to make it more easily accessible (and visually appealing) for all the traffic it’s getting. Whether you’ve been putting off reorganizing your fridge or just want a few more ideas on making it more functional, I talked to professional organizers to share their insights on which products are the best storage solutions on the market.
So you can spend less time searching through expired products in the back of the top shelf, and spend more time with family in the hearth of your home, I reached out to Marie Mandeville, pro organizer and founder of Tailor My Space; Kenzie Harkey, founder and CEO of Simply Dare; and Raychel Klein, pro organizer, certified KonMari consultant, and founder of Raybaybay, to share their top fridge organizer picks.
“Before buying fridge organizing products, declutter and organize your fridge first to narrow down which products you need,” recommends Harkey. “Once you categorize everything and organize it to your liking, take some measurements and then you will know what sizes you need for products.”
After you do that, consider the pros’ favorite picks for bins, turntables, labels, and organizers for cans, eggs, and fridge exteriors.
L. Daniela Alvarez
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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
And trust me — it was a great choice for my first-ever lazy Susan. Its raised edges keep snacks from flying out of the turntable during the requisite centrifugal force testing (i.e., “Look how fast I can make it turn!”), and the structure is so sturdy it can withstand even the most enthusiastic spinning. The non-skid base keeps the turntable firmly in place, and the interior also includes an anti-slip surface, so items stay upright even when the organizer is only partially full.
The top trays can be removed for easy access or, as Good Housekeeping notes, to “make room for tall items below,” such as a bottle of olive oil. The removable sections really are a must. The turntable itself is large — 12 inches in diameter and 9.66 inches tall — which is great for capacity, but makes it tricky to move when fully stocked. The grab-and-go compartments are easy to transport to the prep counter, and it’s a breeze to remove and replace them. It also makes cleaning them much easier!
I wondered if the turntable would be off balance with the trays removed, but it can still spin easily even when heavily weighted on one side. For an affordable plastic organizer (currently on sale for $23.29), I was impressed with the structural integrity.
Initially I wanted to place this “cabinet organizer” in my refrigerator, but it’s too tall for my space unless my family suddenly stops drinking milk. Instead, it lives in my pantry cabinet as intended, where it holds snacks for easy access. The two-tier design makes use of previously wasted vertical space, and I can reach items in the back without emptying the entire cabinet.
I use the turntable in the kitchen, but it can be utilized in any room of the home. My daughter has already asked me to buy another to store her makeup, which means I’m not the only person ogling organizers after all. Well, well, well, how the turntables … you get the idea.
Meg Asby
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