Start with an honest inventory of your kitchen, pantry and laundry, then get organised with the latest clever storage solutions.

Have you ever found yourself on hands and knees, searching for an elusive pot lid at the back of the kitchen cupboard? Or stood at the laundry door, nervous that you might cause an avalanche by opening it? If so, it’s clear your kitchen or laundry is not working as efficiently as it could.

The solution doesn’t necessarily lie in more cupboard space, says professional organiser Wendy Hanes of Skeletons in the Closet. “Before you spend money on more storage, go through what you have and be honest about what you use. If you’re a family who barbecues a lot, do you need the dinner service for 20?”

There’s plenty of scope for making existing rooms ship-shape, starting with changing where things are stored and in what order. “Put the things you use most frequently at your fingertips,” says Hanes. Then turn to new products on the market for the extra help you need.

The latest wave of innovative storage products features hidden helpers such as pull-out laundry baskets as well as heavy-weight contenders such as a door-mounted pantry, with 80kg capacity in each door, and even electronic door-opening systems. All designed to make life easier.

And, if you are planning a new kitchen or laundry, products such as under-sink drawers, corner storage units, pull-out pantries and in-built ironing boards combine form and function. “These elements add a whole new function to the space,” says Andrew Vidor, owner and Director of kitchen company, Made. “They help make sense of chaos.”

Pantry

Drawers and the pull-out pantry have revolutionised food storage. “The units pull out all the way,” says Vidor, “which means that you can see – and get to – the items right at the back. They are also easy to clean.” Clever inserts for drawers, such as cutlery and knife holders, spice racks and plate holders, can be planned for when designing a new kitchen, but there are also similar products on the market that can be added to existing drawers. Clear food storage containers mean you can see at a glance what you have. Choose square containers over round because they fill all the available space.

Kitchen

Having things right where you use them saves time and increases efficiency, says Alicia Draper, Marketing Coordinator at Blum. “Put everything you use when you’re cooking — the pots, utensils and ingredients such as pasta, rice and spices — near the cooktop and the things you use to prepare food, such as bowls and knives, near the prep area. “It’s about reducing the number of steps you take,” says Hanes. “When you unload the dishwasher, you want to be able to do it in one step. That means having the storage area for the everyday plates, cups and glasses within reach.”

Laundry

The laundry often becomes the junk room by default, a receptacle for things that don’t belong anywhere else or which are only used annually, such as Christmas decorations and ski gear. There’s the added challenge of neatly storing all the odd-shaped items that are often kept there, such as buckets, mops and brooms.

“The first thing to do is get items off the floor,” says Hanes. “Keep things on the wall, it’s easier to keep things clean.” Mount hooks on the walls to hold the iron and vacuum accessories inside storage cupboards. Reclaiming the space can be as simple as tidying up. “We often have multiple packs of detergent and fabric softeners when we only need one,” says Hanes.