The Best Way To Store Kitchen Appliance Parts Without Losing Them

These days, one of the best ways to save money on kitchen appliances is to limit how many you actually buy. It seems like there's a specialized appliance for everything under the sun, from dedicated breakfast sandwich makers to handheld crepe making wands and tabletop pizza ovens. However, even if you eschew these impulse purchases, it's likely you still have an abundance of essential KitchenAid mixer attachments, bullet blender parts, or air fryer inserts that are crucial to your kitchen's efficiency but notoriously difficult to store.

One reason appliance parts are so clunky is that they're rarely a standard shape, meaning you can't simply chuck them into a drawer and walk away. However, you can keep them corralled by placing the different parts and attachments for each appliance in its own dedicated plastic storage container. Bonus points if your containers are coordinated and stack neatly inside your cabinets, which not only keeps miscellaneous parts organized, but makes the most of your cabinet space.

Sometimes, you can even get away with storing the appliance and its parts together. For instance, that budget bullet blender you found at Aldi can easily fit in a small plastic tub with all the accompanying cups, lids, and extra blades. Be sure to stack duplicated parts together to ensure everything fits neatly. You can even put smaller items, such as the screw-on cup lids or the smaller cups, in resealable plastic bags inside the container so you can always find them easily.

Generally, we recommend storing plastic containers with appliance parts all in one cabinet, but different spaces may require different storage solutions. Keeping all the containers together may work best in a small kitchen with limited counter space, where you'll only be using one or two appliances at a time. However, in a larger kitchen where there's enough space for frequently used appliances to have a permanent home on the counter, it's a better idea to store the appliance parts near the appliance itself.

For instance, if you use your KitchenAid to prepare homemade pasta, make baked goods, or blitz up ice cream several times a week, running back and forth in your kitchen for attachments makes no sense. Instead, slide your box of attachments in a cabinet above or below where the mixer sits. This not only saves you steps, but also makes it more convenient to swap out attachments if you need more than one when preparing a meal. If storing the appliance and parts together, place them where you'll use them most often. For example, tuck your immersion blender away near the stove for blending soups and sauces.

It's also worthwhile to clearly label all of your storage containers, especially if they're opaque. A simple label on the side of the container can save lots of time and frustration. Use a label maker, or even masking tape and a permanent marker to make fast, easy, and inexpensive labels.