Lost in the Lazy Susan

Do you have a Lazy Susan in your house? We refer to the corner cupboard with a turning shelf in it as the Lazy Susan, however, that's not really where the term originated! I did some research into the background of this name and found that true "Lazy Susan's" are actually the turntables placed at the center of a table to assist in serving a large table of guests. I've seen these a time or two at Chinese restaurants, but we have never had one at our house. 

My research on the Lazy Susan brought me to a website with a wealth of information. According to "Lazy Susan Furniture" the folklore behind the name is varied. Some attribute the name to a lazy daughter (of course, named Susan) who was always served last. The other common name for the Lazy Susan is "dumbwaiter". This name indicates that the Lazy Susan turntable was meant to replace the dwindling servant population of the time. Another story blames a lazy maid named Susan for inventing it! No matter the history,  Lazy Susan turntables and cupboards are a staple in many households across the globe.

Now that we have the interesting history out of the way, let's get on with the more pressing matter at Home Ericanomics. Why are they so hard to keep organized and why am I always losing things in there?? I love that my Lazy Susan has so much space. It's probably the most used lower cabinet (second only to the silverware drawer). We keep a lot of the kids snacks there and it's a pantry for some of our extra dry goods, like salad dressings, syrup, brown sugar, popcorn. Heck, even the dog has figured out how to nose his way in there. I'm sure he knows that's where we keep the peanut butter for his chew toy. 

I have always tried to keep my cupboards organized. I've tried keeping rectangular bins in the Lazy Susan, but they never quite fit right. I'm probably overstuffing the cupboard because stuff is always pushed here and there, the turn tables sag from weight and there are always mystery objects that fall off the turntable and get lost in the back. I have short arms-it's hard to get that stuff back! Once time I had an entire container of oil in there fall off in the back and SPILL! Do you know how fun that was to clean up?? Let me tell you, it wasn't. 

Not too long ago, I stumbled across several products that are designed for organizing a standard 24 inch Lazy Susan cupboard. Some of them were sort of expensive, but I found a set to try and decided to make it a blog topic. There are several sets out there that come in a variety of sizes. Here are some pictures of my adventure in organizing the Lazy Susan!

My Lazy Susan is always full. This wasn't even close to capacity, but things were falling all over the place.

Everything was emptied out and we adjusted the shelves so the weren't dragging and hitting the edge of the cupboard.

I love these baskets! They hold so much!

I really enjoyed organizing my cupboard with these handy baskets. In the video I posted in my facebook page, I went over the whole process, step by step. There are so many options online for buying organizers, from large baskets to smaller plastic bins. You can customize and organize your Lazy Susan however you want. Below are my affiliate links to products that I think would work for you! The first link is to the baskets pictured above. I also posted links to some alternate materials and some smaller sizes. Be sure to measure the diameter of your turntable before you order! Thanks for reading the blog! Check out the facebook and IG pages too!