Lazy Susans have made our corner base cabinets so much more accessible. But they can be a little awkward to organize. Let me share how I used magazine files and desk organizers for lid storage and to portion my lazy Susan into usable sections.
Since innovations are continually making our kitchens more functional, we may take our little ol’ lazy Susans for granted. High-end kitchens often have corner cabinets that are even slicker and sweeter than the tried-and-true lazy Susan. But until I own a high-end kitchen, I’m stuck trying to figure out how to utilize a somewhat awkward, curving shelf. Still, I’m thankful that lazy Susans exist. Otherwise, I’d be on my hands and knees trying to reach the back of my cabinet, or just wasting space in the back.
The Lazy Susan Drawbacks
I think we’re all familiar with the lazy Susan drawbacks. I mentioned the curved shelves. Not many items are made to fit a curve.
So often what we do is load the lazy Susan with round items, our canned goods. Sounds like a good idea. Those round cans can pack into the curves better than boxes or pans. The only problem is that canned goods weigh quite a bit! And if you’ve ever had a lazy Susan start to fall apart or spin with difficulty, you now know that heavy items are not best in these spaces! Unless you have the weight very balanced and carefully maintained, the lazy Susan tends to spin less freely.
Unfortunately, although the lazy Susan captures a lot of otherwise wasted space, it’s design simultaneously creates wasted space in the corners. Better than living without, but lazy Susans can spin their items right off their shelves and into those impossible to reach corners.
Design Inspiration
If you’ve read my post Following God/ Finding Home, you may remember that my new house has a smaller kitchen. And I like to cook. With lots of spices. And oils and vinegars. And I love my tea. Lots of tea. All these lovely kitchen items needing a place of their own in my new house. This was non-negotiable.
The spices fill an entire cabinet. (It’s a small cabinet.)
The tea fills an entire shelf.
I could have put oils and vinegars above the stove, but I’m short. I can just reach the cereal boxes that landed there.
But I love a bit of spacial challenge so I was up to the task of creative cabinet design for organizing a lazy Susan.
My new idea for the lazy Susan cabinet was to store the Tupperware.
Yes, it’s not all Tupperware. It’s Rubbermaid and such. Does anyone else have too much space devoted to these food storage containers? And then there are lids. So many lids. And you can never find the one you need.
Two Birds with One Stone
The solution to two problems was solved with one simple idea. Using magazine files and desk organizers I divided the lazy Susan into more usuable sections!
And I used these items to store all those lids in handy proximity to the container each one matched!
I had three sturdy black mesh magazine files. I found that if I laid one on its back side, it easily held large lids upright. These were an amazing discovery, and a great fit for the shelf size!
I’m not sure that anything like the shorter book stand is even available anywhere. Mine works great to keep my measuring cups together and keeps them from flying around a spinning cabinet. I also love how I can hang my pastry mixer on the back.
The drawer organizers are something I originally purchased for silverware and odd drawer items. But they are now the perfect place to store those smaller lids.
The Layout
As you can see, the placement of the magazine files and drawer organizers split the curving shelves into triangles, squares and rectangles which were better suited for my storage containers, oils and vinegars and miscellaneous baking tools.
Especially significant on the top shelf, the magazine files split off a section for my storage containers. On one side I stacked small square containers and on the other I stacked the larger square containers. The drawer dividers enclosed a space for large rectangular storage containers as well as miscellaneous extras.
Likewise on the bottom shelf, a drawer divider set at right angles to a black, mesh magazine file created the perfect spot for my round storage containers.
Now heavier items remained toward the cabinet doors where there is more support.
I like how my rolling pin tucks away behind the liquid measuring cups.
All those oils and vinegars have room to stand up nicely.
Not so heavy are the sieves, but they have ample space here on the bottom shelf.
Other Options for Organizing a Lazy Susan Cabinet
If you like the idea of breaking up the lazy Susan shelf into compartments but don’t happen to have the same items lying around your house, here are a few online shopping options I found.
These black mesh magazine files from Hobby Lobby look almost identical to mine! Really, most other magazine files will work just fine. You’ll just want to place them on their back side. What would have been their top will now face outward. Also super cute are these aqua ones from Poppin, and these sleek white ones from Staples.
And these drawer organizers are exactly what I purchased from Walmart. Again, any drawer organizers will work just fine. Besides lids, you could use these for serving utensils or spices.
I couldn’t see anything quite like my squatty magazine file that I used for measuring cups, but other cute options exist! My little guy measures 10 1/2 inches deep, 6 inches high and 5 inches wide. This set of small storage bins is a similar size.
What other tips do you have for storing those pesky lids? What do you like to store in your lazy Susan? If this post inspired you to move things around, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
