The 10 Best Inserts for RTA Kitchen Cabinets - Kitchen Remodel Checklist

Introduction

Congratulations, your beautiful new RTA kitchen cabinets are installed! They look fantastic and have totally transformed your space. But wait, before you just start loading them up, let's talk about making them truly functional. A cabinet is just a box until you organize the inside effectively. The right cabinet inserts and organizers are the secret weapons that transform a potentially cluttered space into a perfectly efficient, easy-to-use storage powerhouse, making your daily kitchen routines smoother and less stressful. Ready to maximize every inch? Here are 10 of the best and most popular cabinet inserts to consider for your new RTA kitchen.

1. Pull-Out Trash Cans

Let's start with what many consider the #1 must-have kitchen cabinet organizer. Getting your bulky trash can (and recycling bin!) off the kitchen floor and hidden away inside a dedicated cabinet is a total game-changer. Our RTA Soft Close Rollout Trashcan is typically installed in a base cabinet (often 18" or 21" wide) and features one or two bins mounted on sturdy, full-extension glides. Just pull the handle, and the bins slide out smoothly. It keeps odors contained, frees up valuable floor space, and makes your kitchen look instantly cleaner and more streamlined.

2. Lazy Susan (for Corner Cabinets)

Ah, the dreaded corner cabinet – often a deep, dark void where items get lost forever. The classic solution to prevent a 'dead' corner and make that valuable space accessible is the Lazy Susan. These rotating shelves (often kidney-shaped or circular) spin around a central pole, allowing you to easily bring items stored in the back right around to the front with a simple turn. They're perfect for storing pots, pans, small appliances, or pantry items in corner base or even wall cabinets, ensuring no space goes to waste.

3. Pull-Out Spice Rack / Base Filler Pull-Out

Tired of rummaging through a jumbled collection of spice jars in an upper cabinet? A pull-out spice rack is the answer! These clever organizers fit into narrow base cabinets (often just 3" or 6" wide) – spaces that might otherwise be filled with a static filler strip. Installed typically right next to the range or cooktop, they feature multiple narrow shelves perfect for organizing spice jars vertically. With one pull, your entire spice collection slides out, making it incredibly easy to find exactly what you need while cooking. No more fumbling for spices!

4. Drawer Dividers (for Utensils & More)

Drawers, especially wide ones, can quickly become a jumbled mess of cooking tools, cutlery, or miscellaneous gadgets. A kitchen drawer insert is often all you need to keep your spatulas, whisks, spoons, and forks from becoming a tangled disaster. Options range from basic plastic or wood trays with pre-set compartments specifically for cutlery to more customizable systems with adjustable dividers that allow you to create sections perfectly sized for larger cooking utensils, knives, or even junk drawer items. They bring instant order to chaos.

5. Deep Drawer Peg System

Deep drawers in base cabinets are fantastic for storing bulky items, but things like stacks of plates, bowls, or even pots and pans can slide around and potentially chip when you open and close the drawer. An adjustable 12 peg drawer insert solves this beautifully. It consists of a pegboard-style drawer bottom insert and movable wooden pegs. You place the pegs around your stacks of dishes or cookware to hold them securely in place. It's perfect for drawers holding plates or pots, preventing shifting and clattering, and allowing you to customize the layout easily as your storage needs change.

6. Vertical Dividers (for Trays & Baking Sheets)

Storing flat items like baking sheets, cutting boards, muffin tins, and large serving platters horizontally in a stack makes it difficult to grab the one you need without pulling the whole pile out. Vertical tray divider pullouts are the simple, brilliant solution. These thin metal or wood panels are installed vertically within a deep base cabinet (often above an oven or in a tall pantry cabinet), creating narrow slots. You simply slide your trays, sheets, and boards in upright, making each item individually accessible and easy to grab.

7. Under-Sink Caddy or Pull-Out Organizer

The cabinet under the kitchen sink often becomes a jumbled abyss of cleaning supplies, sponges, and miscellaneous items, made worse by the plumbing pipes taking up awkward space. Specialized under-sink organizers help tame this chaos. Options include an under-sink cleaning pull-out caddy with handles (so you can easily carry supplies), tiered shelving units designed to fit around the plumbing, or baskets mounted on glides that slide out for easy access to bottles and sprays stored in the back.

8. Roll-Out Shelves (for Base Cabinets)

Standard base cabinets with doors and fixed shelves can make it hard to reach items stored in the back without getting down on your hands and knees. Installing pull-out drawers, sometimes called roll-out shelves, is the perfect upgrade solution. These shallow shelves or trays are mounted on drawer glides. Instead of reaching into the dark, you simply slide the shelf out, bringing the contents easily into view and reach. They can often be retrofitted into existing cabinets or ordered as an option in new ones, dramatically improving accessibility.

9. Cutlery Tray Insert

While basic drawer dividers work for general utensils, a dedicated cutlery drawer insert takes silverware organization to the next level. Look for options made of wood or durable plastic with specifically sized compartments for forks, knives, and spoons. Some clever designs even feature a second tier that slides back, doubling your storage capacity within a single drawer – perfect for large silverware sets or separating everyday flatware from serving pieces.

10. Pot & Pan Lid Organizer

Finding the right lid for your pot or pan can be a frustrating search through a precarious stack. A 6 peg lid organizer solves this common annoyance. These simple inserts, often made of wire racks or adjustable dividers, install inside a deep drawer or a base cabinet (sometimes mounted to the door). They provide vertical slots designed to hold various sizes of pot and pan lids upright and separated, making it quick and easy to grab the exact lid you need without causing an avalanche.