The Pantry Door DIY That'll Instantly Open Up A Kitchen Cabinet

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When space is at a premium in your kitchen cabinets, and you're finding yourself unable to fit one more single bag of chips or find that box of rice you're absolutely sure you bought, you might need to rethink your organization. There are lots of hacks and tips to organize your kitchen cabinets properly, but if you've tried just about everything and are still struggling, perhaps it's time to create extra real estate in unexpected places — like the inside of your pantry door.

My current kitchen is very small — I only have two wall cabinets and a medium-sized pantry. So, when I found a metal spice rack at a local thrift shop, I screwed it to the inside of the pantry door and relocated all my spice bottles there. This pantry door DIY instantly reduced clutter, created more space in the cabinet, and made it much easier to access the spices and find exactly the one I need, when I need it.

Since they're neatly arranged and visible, you'll avoid losing them to the back of the cabinet, where they will die a slow death, or buying duplicates of spices you don't use very often but need for that one recipe.

Alton Brown also recommends storing spices inside cabinets, rather than on a countertop. On an episode of Food Network's "Good Eats," via YouTube, he showcased his own pantry door DIY, explaining that he keeps his spices in metal canisters that have been attached to the door with strips of Velcro. He also mentioned the idea of magnetic spice jars, which would achieve the same results.

You can use metal tins with transparent tops so you can clearly see the contents, or shield your spices from light, which can render spices stale, with labeled metal tins. Since they are flat, they will require less space than a bulkier rack that holds spice bottles.

This is one of many ways to preserve spices for longer, as you will go through smaller quantities quicker, rather than keeping herbs and spices for so long that they lose the essential oils that give them flavor and aroma. This DIY solution will help you create more storage space in your pantry and cabinets and make your kitchen more efficient and sustainable with a minimum investment in time and money.