I'm assuming that neither you nor hubby are handy with DIY projects. If not, why not call a "Hire a Handyman" type service and see what they can suggest?

If it were me doing the work, I'd look into some kind of space dividers inside the cabinets, either something premade or made from plywood. If I were worried that the dividers would be seen by someone, I might use paintable grade plywood.

You could also place some kind of basket(s) inside the lower cabinets to hold things in place. I am assuming the problem with one large space inside them is that things don't stay in the cabinet area where they belong.

As for the drawers, I'd look at the big box stores for replacements for the entire drawer glider. As long as the drawers are in decent shape, you should be able to just remove the current drawer glider and put a new one on the drawer.

How badly does the end drawer scrape the stove handle? Is it small enough that you could just sand that "hidden" side of the drawer down to be able to open the drawer? If not, could you get a lower profile handle for the stove?

The other option is to put some kind of container in the back part of the drawer and store seldom-used items there. Then, you could pull the container out if you needed access to those items.

I hope these suggestions help. :)

They way I am understanding it... you have one giant open space, not real cabinets. OR, another way to put it, one GIANT cabinet with multiple doors? If that's true, you'll have to use some kind of prefab unit so that each one lines up with the door fronts and at least allows some organization. Maybe I'm understanding you wrong.

Yes I think you have it right, it's one big cabinet with multiple doors and one shelf inside for each door. Please explain what you mean about pre-fab units.

I'm not sure if sanding would make the drawer front short enough to alleviate that problem. I will measure next time we are there. I never thought about checking for such things when we were shopping for this house. How do people do things like this?

Anita,

You could put undermount pullout shelves in each of your cabinet spaces. Or use what my sister calls her economy pullout shelves, ie cut down cardboard boxes! I used Sis' version in my old kitchen...stored my plastics in the boxes and just pulled them forward to reach the back stuff. So, by cutdown I mean the front of the box was cut down and the back and sides were high, we reinforced them with duct tape. OK, it wasn't pretty, but it WAS functional!

Our old drawers were similar, well one was. New glides should solve the problem, and depending on how the drawers are constructed- they may need regluing, stapling, or nailing together first before you put on new glides.

If you can't sand or plane the drawer front down enough to clear the stove, could you remove the drawer completely, and insert a box so that there would just be open storage space for oven mitts, hot plates, etc?

I was browsing on the internet and I saw pullout shelves but I"m wondering if they need walls to be installed? I would definitely need 2 tiers to use the space efficiently.

The website I found

http://www.slideoutshelvesllc.com/

I had some cabinets installed by a local custom guy recently that were "just one big cabinet with no dividers". I think sometimes that is what custom cabinetmakers do. I wasn't impressed :)

I would consider calling either a handyman or a local custom cabinet person to do some modifications for you.

In your big open spaces, your handyman or cab guy could install shelves inside fairly easily. You could stop with the shelves, or you could install some pullouts using the shelves.

I had to replace some drawer fasteners in my old kitchen. I found a huge selection at Home Depot. If you can't find the right one, you could also replace the glides instead of just the fasteners. My custom cabinet guy had cheap but still reasonably good glides for $4 each.

My friend has a drawer like yours near her oven that competed with her open oven door as well. It is just a bad design! In her case, they took the drawer front off, cut the drawer front and box about 3" from the oven end, and glued that section in place. The left side of the drawer doesn't open, but the right side opens. She has a smaller drawer in that spot, but it still opens and gives her usable space. The cut in the drawer front is angled away (into the corner) so it isn't all that noticable unless you go to open the drawer. If you need pictures of this, I'm sure she'd let me take one for you.

Anita

You can find undermount slides that will attach new slide-out bins to the interior shelves, if they are deep enough:

Here is a link that might be useful: assortment of undermount slides

Thank you for that link, circus, I've sent it on to my husband who will run it by the local "handyman". I was stuck on looking for replacement parts for the existing drawers but this could be a permanent solution for this problem. That's why I love these forums. Anita, I also like the idea of making the "trouble" part of that drawer a dummy, and having a smaller drawer that is still usable. Thanks! If you can get a photo that would be great, but please don't put yourself out. I just appreciate the idea, and if the guy who works for us can re-do an entire bathroom, I suppose he can alter one little drawer for us. Thanks!

You might check out the Closetmaid products. Many of them attach to the bottom of the cabinet rather than the sides. They are carried at Lowes as well as elsewhere and are pretty affordable.

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Here is a link that might be useful: Some of the Closetmaid cabinet organizers