The reason why you may be having a cabinet you rarely use over your fridge may be one of the many.
Maybe you moved into a new home and realized that you have no choice but to install the fridge exactly where the leaving tenant had theirs, and a cabinet happens to be installed right above the space.
Or it could be having something to do with how your contractor approached your last kitchen remodeling project – they probably insisted on adding a cabinet above the fridge to make it look more “built-in.”
Maybe you had it installed with a purpose, but you’ve lately run out of ideas on how to utilize it.
So, What Can Be Stored In The Kitchen Cabinets Above The Fridge?
Whichever predicament, there are tons of ways you can put your over-the-fridge cabinet to use:
1. Alcohol storage
Why not stash your alcohol in it?
Alcohol is one of those beverages you only take once in a while.
Because of the inconvenient location of the cabinet, and the fact that you often climb a stool to get there because you are short (well, probably), you might want to use the unused space for storing things you don’t use frequently.
The only reason why alcohol comes first in the mind is that it needs to stay stored there longer, but it’s still close enough to the cold box – you can remove one bottle, cool it for a minute, and take it to the living room for serving.
2. Pantry extension
Turn the idle cabinet into an extension of your pantry. This is especially necessary if you don’t have a functional pantry or what you already have is overflowing with food. It won’t hurt to pile there some of your favorite pumpkins, a few bales of flour, or packets of snacks.
If your cabinet is sizable or you have two of them over your fridge, don’t hesitate to turn it into a full-blown store for all your food supplies.
This can be a particularly good idea if you live in a small home with very limited free space.
You might need to replace the doors with pantry-like alternatives to make it look like a real food store.
3. Storage for miscellaneous kitchenware
There are those kitchenware and frequently used items that you don’t know where to store, but still want to access them easily next time you need to do something.
Have you ever figured out the right place to store these items?
- Aspics
- Cheese clothes
- Egg molds
- Vegetable crispers
- Steak Weights
- Spaghetti servers
- Skewers
- Shrimp deveiner
- Ricers
- Shrimp deveiner
- Pasta makers
- Portion dispensers
- Order call bells
- Mortar and pestle
- Lid openers
- Grill scrapers
- Hamburger presses
- Gravy skimmers
- Grill scrapers
- Funnels
- Filters, papers, etc.
- Ravioli stamps
- Cannoli forms
- Egg slicers
The list goes on and on, and the more you pile them up, the bigger and more dedicated space you need for them. If you haven’t figured out where to place them, think of your cabinet over the fridge.
4. Kitchen toolbox
If you don’t have a special area where you can store some repair tools and access them conveniently at any time you need them, use your cabinet-over-the fridge for this purpose.
Think of it, you probably didn’t set aside a space for storage of some of the kitchen’s commonly used repair tools.
The chances of ending up with a shaky pan, problematic kettle, and similar appliance problems are high if you don’t have this list of tools:
- Nut driver set
- Screwdriver set
- Small wenches
- Nails
- Pliers
- Gloves
- Putty knife
- Multimeter
- Tapes
- Sellotapes
These tools can help you complete a quick repair on your appliances before the repair person arrives the following day. So, it would be a good idea to collect them in a central cabinet just in case.
5. Medicine cabinet
There is no point in going for those overpriced specialized medicine cabinets when you have an idle cabinet hanging over your fridge. Remodeling Expense blog estimates the total cost (acquisition cost of one unit plus installation costs) of a basic medicine cabinet to be $140.00.
A high-end medicine cabinet costs about $350. That’s a lot of money to spend on a box of steel or plastic whose only purpose is to store a few packets and bottles of medication.
Still, you might need to make a few adjustments on the unused cabinet to turn it into a proper lockable medicine cabinet.
6. TV hatch
Installing a small TV in the kitchen is one of the most thoughtful things you can do. Lots of homeowners are even turning their old and unused iPads into TVs. Having a screen in your kitchen serves two purposes: you can follow or watch a cooking show as you prepare a similar meal in your kitchen or you can watch a brief entertainment video while your broth simmers nearby.
There TVs specially designed to be installed and used in the Kitchen.
Here are a few options:
Exuby Small TV – Perfect Kitchen TV
Measuring just 13-7/8” W x 5 (bottom base depth) x 12” H can be installed anywhere in your kitchen, in a cabinet measuring just 13”
LG Electronics 24LJ4540-WU 24-Inch 720p LED HD TV
This 24” TV is about the size of a desktop monitor that can be installed in a standard-sized cabinet anywhere in your kitchen.
LG Supersonic SC-1311 13.3-Inch 1080p LED Widescreen HDTV with HDMI Input (AC/DC Compatible)
This multipurpose miniature TV can serve as your computer monitor as well. It provides a crisp 1080p picture quality.
Start by cleaning the unused cabinet and add some stuffing to hold the device in position. St up the wires and connect them to the switch before connecting your little kitchen TV or iPad.
7. Charging hub
Most kitchen designs omit charging hubs because they don’t play a direct role in what the kitchen is made for. Yet, you would want to charge your phone and a few other things as you cook.
Thus, having a charging hub somewhere in the kitchen can be a convenient way of keeping your device powered as you go about your basic kitchen chores.
What if you convert the unused cabinet over your fridge as a charging hub? It is perfectly allowed.
You have probably come across one of those DIY guides about how to turn your drawer into a charging hub. It is the same thing with the cabinet.
Start by measuring the width and height of the cabinet and reducing the size of the interior by adding some stuffing or plywood. You can take any approach you like, but the cabinet must have holes drilled on one side to create an entry point for power cables.
Add a power extension or a few charging ports inside the cabinet, connect them to your household circuit and voila! There you have it – a charging hub.
8. Store for extra platters
Platters are never enough in some homes. If you like buying so many beautiful porcelain platters but don’t have enough space in regular cabinets, it would be great to neat the extra platters neatly in the over-the-fridge cabinet.
The best way to get started is to buy a cutting board organizer and add it to the cabinet.
You need to measure the size of the cabinet and choose a matching organizer. There are plenty of affordable cutting board organizers on Amazon:
Simple Houseware Kitchen Houseware Organizer Pantry Rack, Silver
This steel organizer can fit most sizes of platters as well as pot lids, cookie sheets, and pans. It is very affordable and should be your starter option.
YouCopia 50158 Bakeware Storemore Adjustable Rack, Standard, White
This is yet another affordable stainless steel and plastic organizer for storing your platters, pans, and similar utensils.
Having these organizers well fitted in the cabinet helps you pull out the right item conveniently at any time you need it.
Conclusion
Extra space in your kitchen is always better as it lets you figure out how to put it into use. There are tons of ways you can turn the idle cabinet over your fridge into a useful space some of less often thought items.
For example, you can make a few changes to it and turn it into a storage space for your alcoholic drinks. If you are deprived of enough space in your current pantry, consider using this cabinet as a pantry.
