How To Use A Deep Corner Cabinet

Thursday, June 23, 2016

How To Use A Deep Corner Cabinet

A Life Unprocessed: Storing Food in Jars

My first house had the original 1942 cabinets, with solid wood and well-built shelves, though there were very, very few of them since it was an incredibly tiny house. In my new home, the kitchen is a bit bigger, and it's lovely to have more storage space and countertops. All the cabinetry is new, and pretty cheaply done. When I was first loading things into the deep corner cabinet, which extends behind the dishwasher, the shelf inside it completely failed under the weight. The four little pegs just couldn't support the mass of everything on that long, deep shelf.

After trying to reset the shelf a couple of times, I just decided to remove the whole dysfunctional shelf. Theoretically, there is less storage space in there now, but having it be entirely open is actually really convenient in such a deep cabinet. It's like a big cave that I just have to lean into to get things from the back. Obviously, I put the least used items in the way back, and the stuff I use every day goes right up front. It really is all much more accessible than if the original shelf were in place, since I simply need to reach in and lift out the jar I want, with nothing to move aside. Labeling the lids makes it super easy to find what I want.

Of course, it's all about the jars. Since I buy food in bulk, I pour it into 1 gallon glass jars to keep in my kitchen, and store the rest in buckets or bins in the area of the garage designated as my pantry. Jars keep things fresh, keep moisture and pests out, and look pretty nice compared to a mess of open packages. After mice got into the cabinets of our old kitchen one night, and chewed into every little bag and box, I transferred all our food to jars where it would be safe! Heavier stuff, like sea salt and baking soda, I put in tall half-gallon jars so they're still easy to pull out, since gallon jars can get pretty weighty.

There are fancier ways of making use of this often inaccessible space in your kitchen, but this works for me because it's simple and free, and I have access to everything inside without having to remove a bunch of items to get to the storage in back.

Please check out the following links if you're interested- any purchases made through my link help support our family. Thanks in advance! Also, nearly all of our bulk foods pictured above are purchased through Azure Standard, a natural foods distributor.