POTS AND PANS

A deep drawer is a convenient alternative to cabinets and/or shelves for holding pots and pans—just pull out the drawer to grab what you need (no more stretching or straining). Lining the bottom of the drawer with a pegboard insert (an option for some prefab drawers, or you can have it cut to size at a home-improvement store) lets you create custom spots for each pot or nested set, using pegs to keep the items in place. What’s more, this setup can be adjusted over time to accommodate different cookware. Add a divider along one side of the drawer to stand up lids—and solve one of the kitchen’s top organizing challenges.

JUNK DRAWER

Start by redefining “junk” to mean useful items such as home-office supplies and handy tools and hardware that don’t belong anywhere else; then weed out anything you don’t need or want (the true junk). Fit out the drawer with mesh bins in different sizes to house the sorted stuff; a lidded plastic bin with dividers keeps tiny odds and ends more orderly.