5 space-wasting items professional organisers never keep in kitchen cabinets

You know what they say: tidy kitchen cabinets, tidy mind. Well, maybe it isn’t a common turn of phrase, but there’s no denying that the calming powers of a clean and orderly kitchen shouldn’t be underestimated. However, there are a few space-wasting items you could be keeping in your cupboards that are getting in the way of this.

Finding an effective storage system that works for you is a game-changer that can save hours of frustrating time wasted trying to find the tool or ingredient you’re searching for. There are hundreds of ideas for how to organise kitchen cupboards – it's just about finding the solution that suits you.

We’ve asked some organisation wizards for the space-wasting items to banish from your kitchen cupboards to bring you one step closer to organisational nirvana. Opening an organised kitchen cabinet every day can bring you unexpected pleasure – what better way is there to start your day?

1. Single-use utensils

It seems that nowadays, there’s a tool on the market for every single problem you could encounter in the kitchen. Though these are fun for a few uses, and often enticingly packaged in a quirky way, the novelty often wears off and we can be left with an accumulation of objects with only one use, taking up unnecessary space.

‘From avocado slicers, to egg separators, garlic peeler tubes and banana holders – somewhere along the line we have been convinced that we need a specialised tool for everything, but in reality, most of them just take up space and rarely get used,’ says Ellie Thompson, co-founder of professional organisation company Morganised.

‘A pineapple corer might look fun, but unless you are eating fresh pineapple all the time, a sharp knife works just as well,’ Ellie adds.

Instead, try to find multi-purpose tools for these specific jobs to save drawer space, or, as Ellie says, a good old fashioned knife will often do the trick.

Similarly, while a specific item might be completely necessary to have in your kitchen, you might find that you accumulate multiples over time.

‘If you have ever given liquid medicine to a child, you know that every bottle comes with a new syringe. Before you know it they have built up, we have seen people with over 30 in their drawer, sometimes taking up a whole section of a cutlery tray,’ says Ellie. It’s worth doing a stock check every so often, only keeping one or two of these items to hand to clear up space.

2. Niche gadgets

In a similar vein, there are a number of bulky kitchen appliances with niche purposes which take up unnecessary space in kitchen cabinets and on surfaces.

‘I think nowadays there are so many gadgets that are very unnecessary and unused. It’s great to remind ourselves of the essentials and also take stock of what just isn’t being used,’ says professional organiser Vicky Silverthorn. ‘Do we need the popcorn machine or is a pan just as good? Is an ice-cream maker used enough to justify the space it’s taking up?’

Instead of buying a bulky gadget for every purpose, it's worth looking into multi-functional appliances which can do the job of several, like one of the best multi-cookers. ‘I have one important gadget which covers everything from chopping to mixing, weighing and cooking,’ says Vicky, who recommends a Thermomix to cover all of these uses.

Gadgets like these often take up a lot of kitchen real estate, so having an appliance clear out opens up a lot of space, creating a clearer, calmer, better-functioning kitchen.

3. Appliance storage boxes

Larger appliance purchases often come with a lot of excess packaging, which many of us like to keep in order to store these items safely. But with the right kitchen organisation methods, you’ll find that this actually isn’t necessary.

‘Avoid keeping appliances in their large, original packaging. To save space, store them neatly without the packaging or keep them ready to use,’ says Maria Anderson, cleaning and organising expert at Henfield Storage.

4. Bulk buys

‘Buying in bulk can be a smart way to save money – but only if you have the space to store it,’ says Ellie. ‘That huge bottle of ketchup might be good value, but if it doesn't fit upright in your fridge, laying it down just takes up more space.’

While stocking up on your frequently used staples does make sense, often, large amounts of food get forgotten about and go off before you use them, and often go to waste, meaning they sit taking up unnecessary space.

‘So often when I do kitchen organisers, I find bags and bags and bags of out of date food that all end up going in the bin. The key is making sure you only have stuff that’s in-date, and you’ve only got stuff that you’re actually going to use,’ says Lisa Coe, professional organiser of Happy Space Organised by Lisa.

To solve this problem, Lisa and a number of organising experts suggest buying a Lazy Susan, like this one from Amazon, to stop things from getting lost at the back of your cupboards. ‘I love a turntable that enables you to store things like your sauces, oils and vinegars in a nice, easy way. They turn around and you can get to them easily – it just makes your cupboards that little bit more accessible,’ says Lisa.

Lisa also suggests tiered tin storage shelving to put inside your cupboards, like this 3-tier tin storage rack from B&Q. ‘This enables you to pop your tins onto them, and you can see the ones at the back,’ advises Lisa. ‘It really helps with keeping stock of what you have in your kitchen.’

5. Excess food containers

For many of us, the food container drawer can be an acute pain point in our kitchen organisation. How many times have you avoidantly chucked an empty takeaway container into the drawer, only to come back to a tangle of mismatched lids?

‘Do you really need those takeaway containers and all the little bits you’ve probably accumulated? So just be mindful that food containers do take up quite a bit of cupboard space, and reduce as much as you possibly can,’ says Lisa.

Lisa advises facing up to this organisational task, and ‘store the main parts of food containers apart from the lids, so you can stack up all the lids and bottom parts and they don’t take up too much space that way.’

‘A creative solution for storing food containers to prevent the usual mess and mismatch of lids and containers is utilising a deep drawer solely for food containers and employing mobile dividers to create spaces for lids and bases, categorising them by size and shape,’ suggests Maria. ‘In this manner, all of it is in view and within easy reach, reducing the time spent searching for matching pieces.’

If you’re short on cupboard space, Vicky recommends buying a long lasting nesting design, like these from JospehJoseph to alleviate any food container management woes.

Give your kitchen cabinets a quick decluttering blitz now and see how much space you can reclaim from these space-wasting items.