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Kitchen and pantry organization checklist: 8 genius finds to make spring cleaning a breeze
Amazon
Kitchens can easily become the dirtiest and messiest parts of the home, which makes cleaning and organizing them top of mind when it comes time for spring cleaning. Organizing your kitchen can be exhausting, overwhelming and complicated, especially if you are a keen home cook with lots of cooking tools and ingredients on hand.
To help you navigate kitchen organization, we’ve selected our five favorite organizing solutions to help control the chaos of your kitchen’s pantry, cabinets and countertops. Read on to learn more about our tips on the best ways to organize your fridge and pantry as well as how to create additional storage space without renovating. What’s more, some of our favorite organization products are on sale for a limited time.
Kitchen organization checklist for spring cleaning
There’s no reason to be intimidated by spring cleaning your kitchen — the job can be broken down into smaller, easier tasks. Here are some key areas of your kitchen to organize, plus our top product picks to get it done.
Organize food in your pantry: Vtopmart airtight food storage containers
Amazon
Pantries can get disorganized and messy pretty quickly. Poorly secured bags of food can leak and/or the pantry can get so filled to the brim that you aren’t able to find the ingredients or snacks you want quickly. Vtopmart Airtight food storage containers can solve these common kitchen problems easily.
This set includes 24 food storage containers of varying sizes, including 12 tall containers (six that are 2.5 quarts and six that are 1.8 quarts), six medium containers (1.5 quarts) and six small containers (0.7 quarts). We really like that these come with chalk labels and that the lids are the same for every container size. Each of these is made of a BPA-free plastic that is dishwasher safe.
The Vtopmark airtight food storage containers have a 4.7-star rating on Amazon. One reviewer said that these are “Nice, quality product, great price,” adding: “Great for cereal, chips, pasta, rice, beans, cookies, etc. Keeps everything fresh and crisp. Stacks easily. Very pleased.”
Organize food in your fridge: Rubbermaid Brilliance food storage containers
Amazon
The best way to tidy up your fridge for spring cleaning is by replacing your old collection of mismatched food storage containers. These Rubbermaid Brilliance food storage containers are perfect for that, as they are stackable, see-through, and according to our CBS Essentials shopping expert, Rachel Center, the best food storage containers on the market.
What makes these food storage containers the best is their airtight seal. Center tells us the airtight seal is so strong that there has been no food leakage in the year that she has owned them, a feat previous food storage containers of hers could not achieve. You can put these in the dishwasher, microwave and freezer.
The Rubbermaid Brilliance food storage containers are super popular, boasting a 4.7-star rating out of more than 81,900 ratings on Amazon. One reviewer wrote, “Using these containers daily for my lunches has saved me a bundle. My containers never leak, keep my food fresh and work easy in the microwave at work.”
These top-rated food storage containers are on sale at Amazon now. Discounts vary by size, with the set of five, 3.2-cup containers offering the highest discount (25%).
Organize under the sink: Aojia under-sink organizer
Amazon
Organize up the chaos under your kitchen sink with these genius pull-out drawers from Aojia. You no longer have to bend down to rummage through the supplies located under your kitchen sink. Instead, this organization system’s drawers pull out, making it super easy to see what you have and access what you need faster.
Since it has two tiers, you get double the amount of storage space. In addition to the extra space, we like the hooks included with the organizer, perfect for hanging cleaning tools such as scrub brushes and squeegees.
The Aojia under-sink organizer has a 4.4-star rating on Amazon. One reviewer wrote, “It is an excellent space saver for my tiny under-the-sink area. Well made and sturdy, easy to assemble, and the drawers slide out easily. Very happy I bought this!”
Organize your pot and pan lids: Two-pack pot lid organizer rack
Amazon
If you’ve got a lot of pots and pans, then you’re well aware of how tricky it can be to find space to store their corresponding lids. We love this pot lid organizer rack for its vertical storage. In our opinion, it’s easier to grab lids vertically than to reach inside a cabinet and remove them from a horizontal organizer.
We like that this can be hung with adhesive hooks, making it renter-friendly. We also like that the metal storage rods are adjustable, allowing you to hang lids of varying sizes. Attach this to the doors of your cabinets, pantry or free wall space in your kitchen.
The two-pack pot lid organizer rack has a 4.5-star rating on Amazon. One reviewer wrote, “Would definitely recommend. They are very sturdy, easy to install and are great for a small space storage solution. I’m no longer shuffling around lids and stacking them haphazardly all over the cabinet. Would definitely buy again.”
Organize your spices: Magnetic spice rack for refrigerator
Amazon
Running out of storage space in your kitchen, especially your countertops, is an all too common problem. That’s why we are obsessed with this creative magnetic refrigerator spice rack, which allows you to add extra storage space in a place not known for having external storage space: your refrigerator.
The pack includes three items: two shelves for spices (one small and one large) and a matching hanger for your paper towels. By separating your frequently used spices, oils and sauces, you won’t have to go searching when it’s time to cook.
The magnetic refrigerator spice rack has a 4.8-star rating on Amazon. One reviewer called this product “sturdy and elegant”, adding: “I have limited storage space in my home and tired of my spices being unorganized. If you’re debating getting this rack or not, DO IT! It’s convenient and it’s beautiful! Holds up well, it’s very strong.”
Right now, you can get up to 41% off these magnetic shelves for a limited time at Amazon. Discount varies by color and shelf amount purchased.
Organize your spices: Symple Stuff free-standing spice rack
Wayfair
The Symple Stuff free-standing spice rack is a smart organization option for small kitchens. It sits right on your countertop.
This spice rack has three drawers that can fit six spices each, or 18 spices in total. Not only do the drawers pull out, but you can bend them down to an extent to more clearly see exactly what spices each drawer has. The product comes with labels that make it easier to see where exactly your stored spices are.
The Symple Stuff free-standing spice rack has a 4.8-star rating on Wayfair. One reviewer wrote, “My spices were always falling out of the cabinet; it was annoying! This tilt-down spice rack fit[s] perfectly in my cabinet, which is right next to my stove. I can pull out the drawers, and nothing falls and bonks me on the head! Great buy!”
Organize your shelves: Elfa five-section pull-out easy glider
The Container Store
Food storage containers are, without a doubt, kitchen essentials. But anyone who owns even a few knows how much of a pain it is for them to stay organized when they’re stored. This organization system from The Container Store brings some much-needed order to your kitchen storage.
There are five storage compartments, including three designed to hold food storage containers of varying sizes and two elongated compartments for the container lids. It comes with a glider, so reaching what you need is easy.
The Elfa five-section pull-out easy glider has a 4.9-star rating on The Container Store’s website. One reviewer wrote, “I purchased the White Mesh Food Storage Organizer to corral my cabinet full of unruly plastic containers. OMG! This was the best money I ever spent. The organizer slides out effortlessly and enables easy and quick access for putting containers away as well as utilizing them. My cabinet looks so much better and the container and lids are now accessible…”
Organize your drawers: Vtopmart clear plastic drawer organizers
Amazon
Just about everyone has that one drawer in their kitchen. You know the one — the junk drawer filled with rubber bands, old keys, playing cards, random tools and other miscellanea. With so much unrelated stuff being stored in one place, it’s likely a drawer that requires a lot of digging through to find what you want.
That’s why we love this 25-piece drawer organizer set by Vtopmart. You get small storage bins in varied sizes to keep everything separate: there are three 9″ x 6″ x 2″ containers, six 9″ x 3″ x 2″ containers, eight 6″ x 3″ x 2″ containers and eight 3″ x 3″ x 2″ containers. A pack of 200 silicone pads is included to make these tiny trays non-slip.
Regularly $27, get them now at Amazon for $14 after coupon.
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Renad Atallah is an unlikely internet sensation: a 10-year-old chef, with a repertoire of simple recipes, cooking in war-torn Gaza. She has nearly a million followers on Instagram, who’ve witnessed her delight as she unpacks parcels of food aid.
CBS News
We interviewed Renad via satellite, though we were just 50 miles away, in Tel Aviv. [Israel doesn’t allow outside journalists into Gaza, except on brief trips with the country’s military.]
“There are a lot of dishes I’d like to cook, but the ingredients aren’t available in the market,” Renad told us. “Milk used to be easy to buy, but now it’s become very expensive.”
I asked, “How does it feel when so many people like your internet videos?”
“All the comments were positive,” she said. “When I’m feeling tired or sad and I want something to cheer me up, I read the comments.”
We sent a local camera crew to Renad’s home as she made Ful, a traditional Middle Eastern bean stew. Her older sister Noorhan says they never expected the videos to go viral. “Amazing food,” Noorhan said, who added that her sibling made her “very surprised!”
After more than a year of war, the Gaza Strip lies in ruins. Nearly everyone has been displaced from their homes. The United Nations says close to two million people are experiencing critical levels of hunger.
Hamada Shaqoura is another chef showing the outside world how Gazans are getting by, relying on food from aid packages, and cooking with a single gas burner in a tent.
Shaqoura also volunteers with the charity Watermelon Relief, which makes sweet treats for Gaza’s children.
In his videos online, Shaqoura always appears very serious. Asked why, he replied, “The situation does not call for smiling. What you see on screen will never show you how hard life is here.”
Before dawn one recent morning in Israel, we watched the UN’s World Food Program load nearly two dozen trucks with flour, headed across the border. The problem is not a lack of food; the problem is getting the food into the Gaza Strip, and into the hands of those who desperately need it.
The UN has repeatedly accused Israel of obstructing aid deliveries to Gaza. Israel’s government denies that, and claims that Hamas is hijacking aid.
“For all the actors that are on the ground, let the humanitarians do their work,” said Antoine Renard, the World Food Program’s director in the Palestinian territories.
I asked, “Some people might see these two chefs and think, well, they’re cooking, they have food.”
“They have food, but they don’t have the right food; they’re trying to accommodate with anything that they can find,” Renard said.
Even in our darkest hour, food can bring comfort. But for many in Gaza, there’s only the anxiety of not knowing where they’ll find their next meal.
For more info:
Story produced by Mikaela Bufano. Editor: Carol Ross.
See also:
“Sunday Morning” 2024 “Food Issue” recipe index
Delicious menu suggestions from top chefs, cookbook authors, food writers, restaurateurs, and the editors of Food & Wine magazine.
