The 4 Essential Bin Types For Organizing Your Kitchen, According To An Expert

An organized kitchen ensures optimal efficiency, whether you're making a quick lunch, whipping up an elaborate meal, or baking some tempting cookies. However, the process of creating an organized space is often easier said than done, especially when you lack certain essentials. To get help with this common household issue, Daily Meal turned to Maria Baer, organizational guru and founder of The Baer Minimalist, a business that not only helps organize homes, but also guarantees that spaces are gorgeously stylized in the process.

According to Baer, "There are four essentials when it comes to organizing a pantry," and these essentials include canisters, baskets, turntables, and tiered risers. Each type of bin or container ensures a neat and orderly space for specific items, such as your favorite spices and condiments. And even better, bins don't have to cost a fortune, which means your kitchen and pantry organizational strategy won't break your household budget.

Virtually all kitchens include a wide selection of canned goods and spice containers, which can languish when placed in a pantry without much thought about organization. To address this issue, Baer encourages the use of "tiered risers," which offer two impressive benefits. Different tiers increase visibility, which means you can easily select the can or spice you're searching for. Tiered risers also offer aesthetic appeal, as they can display things like colorful spices on your kitchen counter, as opposed to hiding them away in a cupboard.

As for daily-use ingredients, such as "oil, vinegar, and condiments," Baer recommends turntables. Along with enhancing the style of your kitchen, turntables can be rotated 360 degrees to make items contained within them easily accessible. This is helpful when you need a splash of oil for a frying pan, or when you want to add ketchup to your Bolognese sauce. While these two types of bins will serve you well in the kitchen, they aren't the only containers you need. 

When it comes to "decanted items," meaning things that you remove from their original packaging, Baer suggests using "clear canisters." Clear containers offer practical and aesthetic benefits, as they feature a clear view of their contents while also presenting things like uncooked pasta, cereals, flour, and sugar in a visually pleasing manner. Decanting also benefits the quality of items, since sealable containers will keep ingredients and foods fresher for longer when compared to original packaging. Bins can even be used in the refrigerator to de-clutter and prolong the life of perishable items.

As explained by Baer, baskets are good "for just about everything else" you might have in your kitchen. For example, baskets offer a clever way to clear out your pantry by keeping snacks and other items in an area where they're accessible (and therefore more likely to be eaten). You'll find suitable baskets in every conceivable size, shape, and material to fulfill just about any organizational need. Baskets are also good for keeping pieces of fruit, cookbooks and recipe cards, utensils, and any other items you don't have a handy home for in your kitchen. With the right bins and a bit of advice from Baer, your kitchen will be an ode to efficiency and organization.