Kitchen Storage and Organization Essentials That Keep Us Sane

We've written at length about how to stock a kitchen, from equipment recommendations to pantry essentials and ingredient guides. And we've addressed particular storage issues, like the best way to organize your spices or set up your fridge. But as we've added more and more containers, shelving units, and utensil crocks to our office kitchens, we realized that we've never broken down our preferred organizational tools and storage equipment for our readers.

Happily, most of the solutions we've settled on for our office kitchen are equally appropriate to a home kitchen. And because many of these items are designed for, or take inspiration from, restaurant kitchens, you might just be surprised by how efficient and affordable they are.

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Here's a look at the essentials

Pantry Shelving

There are plenty of fancy built-in storage solutions out there, but many sacrifice utility for looks while landing you with a hefty bill. Metro shelves are easy to clean and tall enough to even fit larger appliances. And they'll run you under $50.

S-Hooks

If you get some S-hooks, you'll be able to hang all of your utensils, strainers, mandolines, and even pots and pans right from the unit.

Glass Storage Containers

For an affordable food-storage solution, Daniel recommends using glass containers like these. They're a little heavy but they nest well and are great if you're looking to transport any of your ingredients.

Pint Containers

Taking a cue from those in the office who have worked in professional kitchens, we rely pretty heavily on pint deli containers to store veggies or dry goods.

Hotel Pans

Another vital container used in restaurant kitchens is the hotel pan. You'll find all sorts of sizes (all of which nest into a full-sized hotel pan), and we find the shallow sixth, deep sixth, and shallow ninth to be the MVPs.

Magnetic Knife Rack

Magnetic knife strips are not only space-saving, but they also look pretty badass hanging on your wall. They'll keep your knives from rubbing up against other utensils, which can make them dull (and can be dangerous, too).

Want more organization tips? We can help.