Kitchen storage decisions have safety consequences that are easy to overlook and easy to get right.
Heavy Things Low
Lifting a heavy stack of crockery or a cast iron pan down from above shoulder height is how things get dropped and backs get hurt.
Everyday crockery between hip and shoulder. Heavy items in base units. Light and rarely used items above.
Nothing heavy should live above head height, particularly in a household with children or older people.
The Specific Hazards
- Knives loose in a drawer, which cut hands reaching in
- Cleaning products at toddler height under a sink
- Glass stored above a hard floor at height
- Anything requiring a chair to reach
- Heavy pans on high open shelves
Turntables and pull-out bins that bring items forward, of the kind listed at https://copco-usa.com/, mean less reaching into the back of high cupboards, which is where things get knocked down.
Never Stand on a Chair
Falls from standing on furniture are a common cause of serious injury, particularly for older people.
A small step stool costs very little and lives in a gap beside a cupboard. A wheeled office chair is the worst possible choice.
If daily items require climbing, they are stored wrong.
Cleaning Products
Child locks on under-sink cupboards, and higher storage where possible.
Original labelled containers always, and never decanted into drink bottles, which is a recurring cause of serious poisoning in children.
Never mix products: bleach with ammonia or with an acidic cleaner produces harmful gases.
Knives
A block, a magnetic strip out of reach, or an in-drawer tray with slots.
Clear the Floor
Anything stored on a kitchen floor is a trip hazard in a room carrying hot things.
Keep the Poison Line Handy
Programmed into a phone.
Buy a Step Stool
It lives in a gap and prevents the injury that standing on a chair causes.
Nothing Daily Above Shoulder Height
If it requires climbing, it is stored wrong.
Check the Under-Sink Cupboard
It is at exactly toddler height and holds the most dangerous things in the house.
Store Glass Below Shoulder Height
Dropping it from height on a hard floor scatters fragments a long way.
Keep the Floor Clear
In a room where people carry hot pans.
Original Containers Always
Never a drink bottle, for anything.