Are lazy susan cabinet organizers worth it?

For most kitchens with a corner cabinet, a deep cupboard, or shelves where things get lost and buried at the back, a lazy susan cabinet organizer is worth it. By putting the contents on a rotating shelf you simply spin, it makes the hard-to-reach back of the cabinet accessible and turns awkward or wasted space into usable storage, so you can see and reach everything without unstacking or digging. It is a cheap, effective fix for the common problem of deep or corner cabinets where items disappear. For a shallow, already-accessible cabinet where you can reach everything easily anyway, a lazy susan is less necessary, so whether it is worth it depends mainly on whether you have awkward, deep or corner cabinet space it would make usable. Our Best Lazy Susan Cabinet Organizers compares five of them.

The problem it solves

The case for a lazy susan comes down to the problem it solves: hard-to-reach cabinet space where things get lost. Corner cabinets, deep cupboards and the backs of ordinary shelves are awkward because you cannot easily see or reach what is at the back, so items get buried behind others, forgotten, and the space goes underused, and getting something means pulling everything out and putting it back. This is a common, daily frustration in many kitchens, and it wastes storage space.

A lazy susan addresses this directly by making the contents spin to you: you put items on the rotating shelf and turn it to bring whatever is at the back round to the front, so everything is reachable from one spot without digging. So the question of whether a lazy susan is worth it is really the question of whether you have this problem, awkward, deep or corner cabinet space where things are hard to reach and get lost. If you do, the lazy susan solves it cheaply and effectively, which is the basis of its value; if your cabinets are all shallow and easily accessed, the problem, and so the need, is smaller.

Why it is worth it

A lazy susan is worth it mainly because it makes awkward space usable and accessible, with clear everyday benefits. By spinning to bring the back to the front, it lets you reach everything in a corner or deep cabinet without unstacking a pile or rummaging, so items stop getting lost and forgotten at the back, you can see what you have, and you actually use the whole space and the things in it, reducing waste and the daily hassle of digging. It effectively reclaims storage that was going to waste.

It is also cheap, simple and effective, which makes the value high. A basic lazy susan is inexpensive, needs no installation (you just set it in the cabinet and load it), and anyone can use it by spinning, so for a low cost and no effort you fix a real, recurring annoyance and gain usable storage. This combination of solving a genuine problem and doing so cheaply and easily is why lazy susans are such popular and recommended cabinet organizers, and why, for a kitchen with the awkward space they suit, they are clearly worth it.

Where it is worth it and where less so

A lazy susan is most worth it in the cabinets that have the reach problem: corner cabinets (where the turntable, often kidney or D-shaped for the cabinet, makes the deep corner usable), deep cupboards and pantries where the back is hard to reach, and cabinets where you store lots of jars, bottles, cans, spices, oils or similar that otherwise get buried. The deeper, more awkward or more crammed the cabinet, the more a lazy susan helps, so for these it is a clear win, and it also suits fridges and counters with the same spin-to-reach benefit.

It is less necessary where cabinets are shallow and everything is already easy to see and reach, since then there is little hard-to-reach space for the lazy susan to make accessible, and it would add little. It is also worth matching the lazy susan to the cabinet, it should fit the cabinet’s size and shape (with special shapes for corner cabinets with a center post or bi-fold door), and suit the heights of what you store, since one that does not fit or is the wrong size will not help. So the value scales with how awkward and deep your cabinet space is, being well worth it for corner and deep cabinets and less so for shallow, accessible ones.

How to decide and choose

To decide, look at your cabinets: if you have a corner cabinet, deep cupboards, or shelves where things get lost and buried at the back and the space is hard to use, a lazy susan is worth it and will make that space accessible and cut the daily frustration, which most kitchens with such cabinets will benefit from. If all your cabinets are shallow and easily reached, you may not need one, though even then a lazy susan can tidily group items like spices or oils.

If you buy one, choose a lazy susan sized and shaped to fit your cabinet (measuring it, and getting a kidney or D-shape for a corner cabinet with a post or bi-fold door if needed), with a sturdy build and a smooth-spinning, good-quality bearing so it turns easily under load, a raised rim if you want to stop items sliding off, and tiers or the right height for what you store. A well-fitting, smooth, sturdy lazy susan delivers the benefit, while a poor fit or cheap bearing disappoints. So the honest answer is that lazy susan cabinet organizers are well worth it for the common problem of corner and deep cabinets where things get lost, making awkward space usable cheaply and easily, and less necessary for shallow, already-accessible cabinets, with choosing one that fits your cabinet being key to it working.

The short answer

For most kitchens with a corner cabinet, deep cupboards, or shelves where things get lost and buried at the back, a lazy susan cabinet organizer is worth it, because it puts the contents on a rotating shelf you spin to bring the back round to the front, making the hard-to-reach space accessible and turning awkward or wasted space into usable storage. You reach everything without unstacking or digging, items stop getting lost, and you use the whole space, cutting the daily frustration of corner and deep cabinets, all for a low cost with no installation, which is why lazy susans are such popular organizers. It is most worth it the deeper, more awkward or more crammed the cabinet, especially corner cabinets (with kidney or D-shaped turntables) and deep cupboards of jars, cans and spices, and less necessary for shallow, already-accessible cabinets where everything is easy to reach anyway. Choose one that fits your cabinet’s size and shape with a smooth, sturdy bearing, and it makes the space usable, so for the awkward-cabinet problem it is a clear, cheap win.