how to store your foil, plastic wrap, parchment paper, etc. in a tiny kitchen with limited storage

New organizational kitchen tip.

Forgive me for a such a short post, and also for the longest post title known to man. I sound like a broken record when I explain my silence here: work, recipe testing, clean. Lather, rinse, repeat. But I have been working on a recipe here for you – I just need to shoot it. But it’s ready to go and it’s a really good one, I promise!

This organizational tip was a fluke, really. But if you’re a city dweller living in an apartment with a tiny kitchen (Hi, virtually every New Yorker!), and you happen to have a fully stocked kitchen, you might be struggling with various rolls of wrap, foil, paper (parchment and waxed), and so on. I know I do, and I don’t have wall/shelf space for those contraptions from the Container Store that vertically organize it for you, hence my Julia Child-style peg board that my dad helped me make awhile back.

A new organizational tip!

I had an empty 6-pack carton sitting on the floor of my kitchen when I needed to clear my counter space in a flash. I shoved a few rolls of parchment and foil into the slots and then I had a great idea: Keep the carton indefinitely and use it to house my boxes of plastic wrap, foil, paper, and so on. It freed up SO much storage on one of my pantry shelves, the space feels positively luxurious now. I keep the carton on the floor (I know it’s not the prettiest or ideal), but it’s tidy and the rolls don’t fall out or go anywhere, which is a bonus. Best part, I now don’t have to duck for cover every time I open my “wrap” cabinet as sometimes things would slide out and hit me squarely on the head.

Hope this tip works for you! How do you keep a tiny kitchen organized?

12 Comments

  • Margaret

    I’ve seen the idea of attaching a magazine rack to the inside of a cabinet door as wrap/foil storage on a number of sites, that way it’s out of sight. Try googling for life hacks for kitchen or something like that for tips on keeping stuff organized and efficient.

  • olga

    Margaret – yes, those are the racks I was referring to in my post – I don’t have the ability to do that given how my cabinets are constructed.

  • ~kim

    I do something similar with a small sturdy box… Holds all the wraps, ziplock bags, parchments, etc.! Also, I bought a desktop file holder (metal) to keep my numerous cutting boards corralled! Works like a charm.

  • Margarita

    I like this tip! We moved to a rental house with a big kitchen area but such meager counter space, cabinet space and, pantry space. I am still debating whether to buy a kitchen island in Ikea with the wooden top and storage space along one side. But, after seeing your peg board picture, it might not be necessary. I hate hate hate bending or crouching and sticking my head and the whole length of my arm in cabinets to get to my big pots because my pans (which i use more often) are in the way.
    One of my kitchen organizing ideas was placing our vast collection of water bottles in a woven basket on top of the fridge. It’s cool but many a times I have dropped bottles on the floor because I’m too short to reach it properly. Haha!

  • Eva

    Thank you! I have to move the parchment paper and 2 Ball jars out of my cabinet every time I need a big bowl.

    Still not sure what to do with the Ball jars, but that’s another story.

  • Karen Manasco

    I’m the weird one who doesn’t like to use a dishwasher, so it has become the perfect storage unit for foil, plastic wraps, garbage bags, plastic flatware, bread ties, parchment paper and so much more.

  • olga

    Karen – though we wash our pots/pans/knives/cutting boards by hand, it’s been immensely helpful to have the dishwasher do the plates, etc. So this solution might not work for us :) But kudos to you making use of otherwise wasted space!

Leave a Comment