I've always kept potatoes and onions in one of the crispers in my fridge (I know, blasphemy, LOL!). It works for me and keeps them from sprouting (longer than keeping them out).

Garlic and shallots I keep in little olive wood bowls (from Crate and Barrel) on the counter. On the same counter I keep my tomatoes in either a small black glass bowl (or two or three) or in a clear glass bowl. Tomato season when our garden is in full swing finds us rotating larger bowls with various tomatoes in them. I also use the black glass bowls or other bowls for bananas or other fruit if we have some, like nectarines or other soft skinned fruit (apples, however, are stored in the fridge, same crisper with potatoes, onions, lemons,...).

Some weeks there is a nice little collection of tomatoes and fruit in their respective bowls on the counter, and some weeks just a handful of cherry tomatoes.

That's our system :-)

I have 2 baskets that are really cool looking , I go them at Hobby Lobby. I have the potatoes in one and onions in the other on the bottom shelf of my island. I put other things like a big squash etc on the mantle over the fireplace. I keep tomatoes in the fridge after they ripen. Garlic and ginger root are in small ceramic bowls by the cook top. Hope this helps. I hate anything on the counter. c

I'm low tech. I just shove them in an under cabinet in a 99cent bin I got somewhere. Tomatoes I keep in the fridge - dh likes his tomatoes cold. And I"m sure there is some sacrilege with that but I despise tomatoes so wherever he liks them best is ok with me.

This is too funny because as I write, I am looking off in the distance at a cluttered corner of counter covered with a fruit bowl with oranges, limes and bananas, 3 plastic containers of grape tomatoes and a spaghetti squash! This has really been annoying me and just this morning, I thought, I need to solve this storage dilemma as it's junking up my counters. I only want one nice fruit bowl out and that's it!

We used to keep our potatoes and onions in one of those hanging metal baskets in our mudroom off the kitchen but the potatoes would sprout so fast (as it's sunny). Now we've made room in the bottom shelf of our closet pantry for a plastic bin for each...though I think you're not supposed to store those two anywhere near each other. All of the tomatoes and large veggies are a mystery.

Hope someone has a magical solution though I imagine it just depends on where you have room in your own individual kitchen.

That's funny though!

I have some adjustable wire baskets in the pantry for a vegetable bin - onions and potatoes go in there. (They're Closetmaid Shelftrak, for the record - easily installed, and I can configure the three baskets as required which is very helpful in as small a space as we have)

In the fridge! No such thing as non-perishable produce where I live :)

I keep potatoes and onions on the top shelf of my lazy susan, one at either end with pot holders in the middle. What I need is a good storage place for bread and rolls. I don't have an extra drawer.

My plans call for a 9-inch base pantry pullout with three shelves. Narrow, I know, but enough room for tomatoes on the top shelf (because we use them most often); onions, garlic, and shallots on the next shelf down; and potatoes on the bottom shelf. I will line the shelves with foil and paper towels, and I am saving the small plastic containers that grape tomatoes come in to use to further organize so that small things (garlic, shallots) don't roll around. There are just two of us, and I don't buy tons of produce at one time, so I'm hoping this arrangement will work.

It's not pretty but I use a small high-sided rectangular Rubbermaid tote (without the lid) in my corner cabinet to store potatoes, sweet potatoes and squash; I keep onions in one end too. I've never had any problem with them going bad as they get used quite quickly. I have a terra cotta garlic keeper (the kind with the vented holes) next to it. Tomatoes go in my 2-tiered decorative fruit holder that I keep on the counter. Grape tomatoes nestle in their original container next to it--or on it depending on how full it is. The fruit container is metal and I found crystal-looking glass plates that perfectly fit both tiers so that if something goes mushy/liquidy it stays on the plate and doesn't migrate downward (I know--ewwww) :)

We have a drawer in the pantry that has two off those rectangular expanding stainless sieves across the rails

one holds potatoes the other garlic, onions, and shallots

and stuffed beneath them are a bunch of extension cords because I didn't want to waste the space

pillog- i keep them all in the fridge, too!

I keep all non-refrigerated perishable vegetables and fruits in individual baskets scattered around the kitchen and pantry. The potatoes are covered with a dish towel over to keep them from turning green from light exposure.

tomatoes on the table or in the fridge, depending how many, how ripe, and how soon I expect them to be gone

potatoes in a shoe box covered with a paperboard (talk about low budget!) in my pantry/laundry room that's next to the kitchen -- the intent is to limit the light/heat exposure. onions & garlic in the same room but in a paperbag.

random stuff like squash that I don't buy regularly ends up either on a garage shelf or on the table

(slapping forehead) Auugh! Forgot to think about bread/rolls. One of the things that drives me crazy about my kitchen is the food that's sitting out....the produce on the countertops, and the big basket of bread, bagels, and rolls on top of the fridge.

Thanks for some great ideas here!! I love hearing them all.

I usually keep onions and garlic in a mesh insert in a drawer, I use a wire basket pullout for potatoes, sweet potatoes and squashes. I like fruit and tomatoes in an attractive wood or wicker basket on the counter.

Remember to store onions and potatoes in the dark and well ventilated, but separately!!! They each help the other spoil more quickly. It's the moisture from the potatoes that spoils the onions. There is a gas from the onions that spoils the potatoes.

It's OK to store onions in the fridge. Storing potatoes in the fridge increases the starch content which affects flavor, texture and how they cook. You especially would not want to do this if you're cooking for a diabetic.

We live in FL so all bread goes in the fridge right away or it ends up green and fuzzy. We just have a dedicated fridge shelf for bread products. If we get a nice bread/baguette or something for a specific meal, we might leave that on the counter for a day. Otherwise, fridge.