It all depends on how much room you have to add storage units and how much you plan to spend with that, but here are a few tips.
1- If you can't store, display it. Pots and pans for example, can be hung on one of those pot racks . They come in every style and I love the homey, cozy feel they give to the kitchen.
2- If you have room, a couple of open shelves can hold your pantry items. Invest in some good looking containers and canisters for cereal, grains, pasta and flour. You can find cute, colorful ones for a buck in dollar stores. Display them artfully over the shelves.
3- If you don't have room, consider making extra room in existing cabinets with some add-ons you can buy at department stores, and places like Linens and Things, and Bed, Bath and Beyond. They are racks, shelves, movable drawers that can add extra space by re-organizing the items you store in cabinets. For example, by hanging the cups in small hooks under the top shelf, you free the bottom shelf, where the cups used to be stored, for extra plates and bowls.
4- Consider disposing off unnecessary items. Re-think your kitchen. Do you really need all those pots and pans on a regular basis? How about the gadgets and appliances? We all tend to accumulate kitchen gadgets and utensils we don't really use, have too many plates and cups, etc...For example, if there is only 4 people in the house, why should we keep services for 12 people in the cabinets? After years struggling with clutter I got myself into a system: if it wasn't used at least twice in the past 12 months, it has to go.
