When my husband and I bought our apartment in Chicago, we were thrilled to get out of the kitchen and into the dream of an open concept. With plenty of cabinets and even a kitchen island, I envisioned our daily cooking routine without clutter, with everything we need within easy reach and neatly organized. But as it turns out, we still don’t have enough storage space even after combing through and decluttering our pots, pans, dishes and utensils.
We’ve tried dozens of clever small-space storage hacks to simplify our lives to varying degrees of success. Winners include our Lazy Susan in the fridge, matching amber glass dish detergent dispensers and a paper towel and tea towel holder that don’t set. As useful as all of these storage hacks are, our best solution is one I came up with myself (wait for the applause!) for our drinkware storage. And I found it, of all places, in the Office Products section of Amazon.
Thanks to my husband’s coffee habit, our liquor cabinet is full of mugs. And thanks to my spilling habit, all of our drinking glasses require a straw and a lid. I tried various storage methods to secure the glass straws and bamboo lids to their containers. The sticky cup holder kept falling off the cabinet door; similarly, the pull-out glue drawer just didn’t stay put. Through our trial and error, inspiration was around the corner (literally!), taped to the side of the fridge.
Since our kitchen drawers are taken up with dishes and spices, we don’t have room for a typical junk drawer. To remedy this, I bought a magnetic pen holder that holds a handful of pens, permanent markers, scissors, and washi tape. Then I thought… What if I buy another holder for our straws and lids? I can confidently confirm that the magnetic pencil holder is a game changer for straw storage. Honestly, it’s a versatile organizer that belongs in everyone’s kitchen.
Straws and lids don’t take up much space, but they’re supplies I prefer to grab and go when needed. The magnetic holder sits comfortably and securely against the side of my fridge, and the strength of the magnet holds the basket firmly in place. We store lids in one compartment, and our various straws in the other compartment. Since the straws are stored vertically, the different sizes are obvious and I never grab the wrong one.
In the future, when we leave our amazing townhouse for the inevitable move to the suburbs, we can easily repurpose our pencil holder-turned-straw storage. I started thinking about ways we can expand the basket storage space in the fridge to organize our lives even better.
For households with children, magnetic holders can hold child-specific cutlery or hold grab-and-go first aid supplies such as bandages and daily vitamins. Smart shoppers can hide coupons there for easy access – I know in our kitchen coupons get stacked and forgotten under the clip where they expire before they’re used. Those with dry erase command stations can easily store markers and erasers safely. They would even serve as a handy container for takeaway napkins, menus, chopsticks or other disposable cutlery.
I love a repurposed storage item and I know these simple office supplies will continue to serve our kitchen well!
buy: Magnetic pen holder$9.98