Storage Ideas for Little Upper Cabinets
Today I am sharing a quick and simple storage solution for little upper cabinets. This has been working so well in our kitchen for over a year or so now, that I felt like I road tested it enough to finally snap some pictures and share it with you guys! It’s about these little mini cabinets we have above our kitchen sink. Do you have any of these in your kitchen?
What do you have in yours’? In previous homes, these little upper cabinets were either stuffed with miscellaneous, unimportant, and forgotten items…or left completely empty due to their awkward size and location. When trying to figure out how best to use these cabinets, I came across THESE Target baskets and they were a PEEEEEEFECT fit. Wanna see?
Products Featured In this Post
DYMO Label Maker | Martha Stewart Metal Bookplates | Washi Tape | Room Essential’s Decorative Storage Basket
These baskets fit into the little upper cabinet cubbies so perfectly that I now feel like I better use every inch of these shelves. And better yet? Things don’t get stuffed up in there, all the way in the back where I can’t see or reach them!
NOTE – I bought the turquoise and blue years ago; Target changes the color options for these exact baskets each season, so you may or may not be able to find the same colors! The size I used is “Medium Y Weave Basket.“
As a result, these baskets come down almost daily (if not several times a day) and are our most organized and useful nook in the kitchen! I would have never said that about these little upper cabinets before, that’s for sure!
So what all do I have stored in these wide and long but short baskets? Let me show you!!!!
First up, one of my favorite storage solutions in our entire house: Sippy Cups! No more of these cups rolling around, with mis-matched (or lost!) lids, within the ranks of our regular cups and glasses Now, all the sippy and snack cups are stored in one easy-to-grab basket. Positioned above the sink and dishwasher, this basket is easily grabbed half a dozen times a day!
Two other baskets store our plastic tubs and lids for leftovers. I’m pretty excited about this one; truth be told, this is the main reason I am sharing this whole post with you today. I had a “eureka!” moment while figuring out how to store my tupperware. Instead of storing matching tops and bottoms together, I store the containers in one basket and the lids in the other. “Eureka!!!” right?
Okay, maybe you’re not nearly as excited as I was. But hear me out! While this system does require me to pull down both baskets anytime I want to pack up leftovers, I no longer have mountains of containers that fall over every time I remove one. More so, emptying the dishwasher and loading these baskets back up takes no time, rather than matching up and (precariously) placing stacks of tupperware onto shelves.
One more disclaimer here. We don’t have tons of plastic containers, so this might not work for you if you have a large collection. AND, I don’t keep really large containers, as I choose to store larger things either 1) in plastic bags that freeze flat or 2) glass dishes that can go right into the oven. I genuinely love having my containers stored like this. If you have a mountain of plasticware giving you a headache, give this method a try!
Learn more: The Easiest Way to Organize Food Storage Containers
My last basket stores our spices. And you better believe that I spent months trying to come up with a better (and prettier!) spice storage solution than this one.
Here’s the thing though. I stopped trying to figure out a better spice solution months ago when….this was working so well. Admittedly, I could use some labels on the tops of the jars to prevent me from having to search through each bottle just to find the paprika; but otherwise, having all my spices in one easy-to-grab basket has been an awesome solution for our family. Again, I don’t have un-sturdy towers of spices toppling over each time I need one; they aren’t taking up precious shelf or cabinet space; and they are all in one, tidy location. This is just another one of those “give it a try” ideas if your current spice solution isn’t working. It’s working really, really well for us. However, just looking at these pictures is making me crazy for a prettier presentation. I haven’t given up yet – I might keep thinking on that one!
Psssst…I finally labeled all my spices! Read more about it HERE.
For a long time, these baskets weren’t labeled and I didn’t really have any trouble keeping them straight. But it has been easier for guests (and my husband!) to have them labeled. I took a cue from Jen and used some stick-on bookplates, washi tape, and a label maker to give each basket a simple little descriptor!
It’s like the baskets were made to fit these cabinets! Love!
What do you think? Do you have little upper cabinets in your kitchen? How do you keep them organized? Think you might give the basket idea a try?
Other Great Kitchen Storage Solutions
Ready to organize the rest of your kitchen? I’ve got you covered with more easy solutions!- How to Organize a Pantry
- How to Organize Baking Pans
- How to Organize Kitchen Drawers
- How to Organize Corner Kitchen Cabinets
- How to Organize Upper Kitchen Cabinets
- How to Organize Cabinets Under the Kitchen Sink
- How to Organize Small Appliances Inside Kitchen Cabinets
- How to Organize Spices
- How to Organize Coffee Mugs
- How to Organize K-Cups
- How to Organize Recipes
- How to Organize Ziplock Bags
- What to Do with Dirty Dish Towels
- How to Make Pantry Labels
Megan
76 Comments on “Storage Ideas for Little Upper Cabinets”
Great use of space Megan! I have cabinets like this above my stove but unfortunately, there is a stove pipe going through the middle of it. It makes it completely unusable! You've inspired me to keep looking for a solution. 🙂
I say, take the doors of. Put a finished board across the back so you don’t see the stove pipe. Then place your cook books across.
That’s where I have my cookbooks, but I hadn’t considered taking the doors off and making it a shelf. Great idea!
How ingenius!! I live in a condo and unfortunately I don't have a lot of kitchen and cabinet space,. I like the idea of having two separate locations for lids and containers. x
Great idea, my husband made me a huge spice rack holds 44 spices in my walk in pantry. I have one of these cupboards above yhe stove. It is very narrow and tall. Will have to try this. Thanks for a brilliant idea
Ahhh!! I saw those baskets at Target too, and loved them!! Unfortunately I didn't pick any up, but I might have to now to solve my spice storage problem. Thank you, and they look beautiful!!
I put meat and savory spices like garlic,paprika,onion powder in one basket, and bakery spices like cinnamon, vanilla,cloves etc in the other. That helps me. I just grab the basket depending on if I am cooking dinner or dessert.
That is such a great idea to split your spices into sweet and savory – might have to steal that idea 😉
Thanks for stopping by!
Megan
Great idea! I didn't know those baskets would fit perfectly in those little cabinets. I put all my vases in the little cabinet.
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I have a stove pipe going through my cabinets. My cabinets are larger so I stuff baskets and stuff like that. What I really want is a Microwave with a built in vent to go over the cook top. The oven is separate. Now I'm trying to figure out how this will work with out taking apart all my cabinets. Our microwave broke down and I really miss it. I will probably get another free standing one and eventually get the vented one. I have my lids and containers separate too. I matched them up and got rid of the extras.
We put an over the range microwave up there and cut down the cabinets. It turned out great. Had a little trouble cutting the doors down but recently I painted all the cabinets and now you can’t even tell we cut them down.
Such a great solution! And then you save counter space too – win win!
Thanks for leaving a comment on the blog!
Megan
Yay Megan! I have a couple of cupboards like that. Hubbie solved the dilemma in one by making an elevated thin shelf that wraps around the sides in one so my spices weren't toppling out and chipping the enemel off the stove. We put the smaller ones up on the wrap around shelf, and the bigger ones just sit in the cupboard. I am so going to try the tray thing with my candles and another with the placemats/trivets. Thanks for the idea! (Does a little happy dance) 🙂
First time stopping by your blog…nice job! Can you tell me where your prints above the sink are from? Thanks!
We store our spices in the same way. I've found small round stickers (they usually come in a pack with red, blue, and yellow) at office supply stores that fit perfectly in the dimple on top of the spices lids. I used them to label all my spices!
I was going to suggest labels on the top of the jars too. That way you can find what you need quickly. My mum keeps hers in a basket too, and we typed the spices on the computer, and printed them on regular white mailing labels. We then cut out the name and stuck them on the lid. It's a big time saver.
I've written right on the top of spice jars with a sharpie. I line my like spices together in rows – Italian, all purpose, Mexican, salts, all-the-time/freq used, baking, etc. You could use different color sharpies for different categories. Since you have a lot of darker tops, you could use small circle dot stickers too/instead.
Love the baskets – they are perfect in there!
-JC
I saw these at Target the other day and loved them, but I couldn't think of anything to use them for. I'm definitely getting some for our kitchen…our tupperware situation is out of control!! Thank you for the great idea!
That is the best idea I have heard in a long time! I have two pair of those cabinets (although each has only one shelf). One is over the refrigerator, the other over the stove hood. They are pretty much useless, but I think adding baskets would make them useful. Thank for the idea!
I have that same label maker . . . how did you use the washi tape in it without gumming it up?
Hi Karen! I did not use the washi tape inside the label maker. I secured the washi tape to the paper inserts that came with the book plates. I then printed off labels onto the clear tape that works with my label maker and placed them onto the washi-tape-covered-paper inserts. Sorry for the confusion, but I hope that helps!
Looks so good, I’d remove the doors!
Thank you so much!!! I thought about removing the doors, but wasn’t sure how it would look with doors on every cabinet but that one, so we left them on! We’ve now moved so I can’t give it a try!
Thanks for reading and leaving a comment! Have a great weekend!
Megan
I always put my spices and canned food in ABC order.
It makes it so easy to locate whatever you’re looking for.
Once they’re in order it’s simple to put them back in order or add new items.
I used the space above for cookbooks, collect them and perfect spot for them.
Hi Judy!
Yes! That is also a great solution for those little cupboards. In the house we are currently living in, I have my cookbooks up there too!
Thanks for commenting and Happy Weekend!
Megan
I really like your idea. Now I need shelves in one of my cabinets, so I can fit four baskets, rather than two. The cabinet I want to do this in is hard for me to reach, but it would be easier to get a basket down than dragging out the step stool and rummaging through the cabinet like I do now.
Hi Liz!
Thank you so much for leaving a comment on the blog, and I’m glad you found some solutions that might work for your cabinets! Yes, we’ve found baskets to be essential to accessing things…especially hard to reach shelves…so I say give it a try!
Thanks, and hope you had a great weekend!
Megan
Oh my why did I not think of this.. I feel like duh right now. Thanks so much for sharing. I have been looking for a spot to put my ziploc/glad bowls and tumblers for on the go!!
Hi Angelica!
Thanks for leaving such a nice comment. I felt the exact same way when I finally figured out to separate lids from the bottoms. Duh! Glad you found my suggestions helpful!
Happy Sunday!
Megan
Great ideas, but since I am all of five feet tall, I need a stool to reach into my cabinets like this and it would be inefficient for me to put frequently used items in these cabinets…E.g., I need my sippies in an arms reach. I’m one of those who uses these cabinets for storage of seasonal items. Admittedly, we built a new kitchen and had a very organized plan for what we needed to serve my height challenges, including an island built at bathroom cabinet height, making baking, rolling, and lunch making much easier for me and my kids have a much kid-friendlier workspace too. For taller folks, the baskets in higher cabinets may be a good solution.
Hello Stephanie!
Thanks for sharing such great thoughts/suggestions on this post! Yes, so much of making a home work just right for you is putting things exactly where they make the most sense for you logically and physically! Yes, having to get a stool every time would be a total nuisance! This solution allowed me to put that un-used space to work and keep my lower drawers clutter free!
And I am so jealous you were able to customize your home to fit your needs! As a renter, we are always stuck with what we get 😉
Happy Sunday!
Megan
My little cabinets are over my fridge and they’re set back at least 12″ from the front of the fridge making them hard to get to for this 5’4″ woman!
But I like your idea so I finally thought about less used items taking up valuable space: Voila picnic items on one side and grandkid’s dishes and utensils in the other side! Brilliant! 2 shelves cleared for more important things.
One of the best things I did was put our tupper-ware in a drawer and not worry about matching anything up. Saves so much time and energy!
Thanks for sharing.I’ll have to stop by and get some baskets for our new kitchen.
Yes! Separating out the tops from bottoms has been a total game changer!
Great idea! How did you do that backspalsh? It’s so cool!
My ADD had me very distracted with it!
I would love to know the answer to your question as well. I love that idea.
I don’t use some of the high shelves in my cabinets because they’re just too high. I should see if the Target bins would fit in there, which would be a great way to get lightweight things like party supplies out of prime real estate.
I am thinking I might move my basket of baking supplies up there, instead of spice. I need them where I can see them. But my baking basket to great for bringing all those things to the counter together: baking soda, baking powder, cocoa, salt, vanilla, etc.Then I simply put them all back and make one trip to the cabinet. Since I use them less than spices, this would be the perfect place for them. Thanks for the idea.
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