How much space are you willing to devote? You could lay them on their side, and keep a general pattern of what type food goes where. I do this in my pantry, since I can only see the front can. Line of beans, line of corn, etc. Would you be able to lay two high this way?

Create angled inserts like the spice drawers use, (Lee Valley one shown below) but it will depend on the actual drawer height how useful that might be and what angle will work.

How about inserts in the drawers, slightly wider than your cans? Then the cans can lay on their sides, and even be stacked, without rolling into each other.

love these ideas, esp live-wire-oak's idea of using angled inserts. Thanks for your thoughts! I will try it a couple of different ways.

I was just at Ikea and saw some nice plastic bins and thinking of organizing it by bin (beans, tuna, tomatoes, etc.) Than I just have to remember how I organize the bins in the drawer!

Do you not have a lazy susan for can storage? I can't imagine trying to keep them organized in a drawer. I'd look into finding a place to put narrow shelving for cans, even if not in the kitchen....even if they are only 6" or 8" deep....

Funny, I was actually thinking of doing this when I finally do my kitchen. I was thinking of something you could put in the bottom that would be curved so the cans don't roll around, like an egg holder but for cans. The above idea that's for spices looks good, too, but I was trying to get to something where they lay flat. I'm still thinking.... :)...but will report back if my brain actually kicks in...

Technicolor, that's what usually has popped up for me when I've done searches, partially because I couldn't think of the right words, lol...I wanted a sheet that has grooves in it so you could lay the cans flat without them rolling around.

My brain actually kicked in a little today, and "corrugated" was the word I was trying to think of, but as you can see by the examples, I wouldn't want metal, but something plastic maybe, that I'd be able to cut....

Here is a link that might be useful: corrugated sheets

Aha! Like this! I knew I had seen something before, and I think this was it...obviously depends on inside drawer height. Glad I found it, I was starting to think I was going nuts...

Here is a link that might be useful: Flat spice jar inserts

Here's another version.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wood Hollow Fluted Spice Insert

Canned goods are very heavy. Be sure what your weight rating is on your drawer glides.

Edit: the weight of the drawer itself also needs to be included along with the contents of the drawer

This post was edited by angela12345 on Sun, May 11, 14 at 7:04

KB, I love creative uses. With the many corrugated options now available, those would work for a multitude of possibilities.

Oooh, Cal, I like that one even better I think - thanks for sharing. You're right Technicolor; I'm definitely saving this - who knows what I'll come up with? :)