Storage of household/kitchen items

[Pyrrhagena]

We are moving soon (two weeks - confirmed today!) and are moving to a place with fewer rooms (-2). The kitchen is much smaller that what I have now but we do have some loft space storage which is accessible from inside the flat. I'm thinking of putting the not-often-used kitchen things up there but am at a loss what to store them in. We shall put some shelving up (ikea gorm, narrow) but need some practical boxes to keep things in that would be easy to carry down a ladder.

I'd be keeping my rarely used things, the fryer, fondue sets, dishes (le Creuset ones, so heavy but relatively small) up there.

Also, I'm losing two pull out, floor-ceiling food storage cupboards. Don't know the proper name, sorry. How best to organise my food cupboards? At the moment all the food I have in the kitchen is either in the fridge or in these cupboards and I just pull it out and have easy access to everything.

Spare halves of duvets, pillows, blankets etc will also have to go up there. What is best to store these in. At the moment I have them in an extra wardrobe/chest of drawers. I have some vacuum pack bags but these are not easily stackable.

Beginning to panic. I'm not the most organised of people (

Really really dull website but these boxes are fab, they have space under the lip so they are easy to carry, my local garden center has loads of them.

My kitchen is tiny, I keep stuff that looks nice and gets used a bit more often on top of the cupboards.

I reached a tipping point one day and went a bit mad on the Lakeland website. I bought 2 or 3 of these for pots pans and plates, they also do a lock and lock container that fits perfectly underneath, I bought loads and now I decant loads of cooking bits so I don't have to hunt for stuff. These for cups and glasses.

One of these and one of these.

Once all the stuff arrived I pretty much double what I could fit into the cupboards.

Plastic storage boxes with lids are your new friends! For larger items I have used the type that have the lids hinged at the side and they open in the middle, and for smaller items I have boxes with separate lids that click into place so don't fall off when you move them. Means everything keeps clean and dust free. The problem with vacuum packed bags is they slide off each other when you try to stack them. What about these from Ikea www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/50226271/. They come in various sizes and I've used mine to store everything from wedding dresses to wrapping paper.

the one-piece snap-on lids are more dustproof, and less easily broken, than the two-piece or hinged lids.

I get mine from Wilkinsons Small ones for heavy stuff so you can hoik them about. Translucent so you can see what's inside (black bags are very bad)

If you store clothes, books or blankets, put a moth killer in each box (not just a scent).

If you're storing bedding in vacuum bags, you can stack them in a large zip-up laundry bag (either the checked ones that they sell in the laundrette or places like JoJo Maman Bebe have some prettier designs).

A gazillion clear storage boxes with lids. Clear ones will save so much time. Try ikea samla range which come in loads of different sizes.

For the fondue set etc, my first question is do you actually need to keep and/or unpack them at all? Some stuff could prob stay in taped up, well labelled boxes. With stuff you need regular access to how about some open shelves with a fabric cover like this : www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8757685.htm?CMPID=GS001&_$ja=cgid:7909181207%7Ctsid:41409%7Ccid:161743367%7Clid:46592526767%7Cnw:g%7Ccrid:27928279367%7Crnd:16657825803700910689%7Cdvc:t%7Cadp:1o1

Things like deep fat fryers pack incredibly badly into boxes! And obviously think about just getting rid of stuff. Our kitchen has run so much more easily since I packed away half the gubbins. Sadly it's still in boxes at the back of the garage, but I'll declutter them one day. My advice with the le creusets would be to keep the biggest or 2nd biggest and get rid of the rest, unless this move is for a specific and limited amount of time ( in which case, leave the rest packed up rather than worrying about open shelving). Keep your most versatile roasting tins and a casserole dish or 2 in the oven. Any that don't fit, get rid of.