13 Foldable Finds From Walmart That Will Help Save Space In The Kitchen

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I live in an older home with a pretty small kitchen, so my fondness for food and cooking means it's constantly getting cluttered up with new condiments, seasoning blends, and inexpensive kitchen gadgets I pick up at Dollar Tree. Not only is counter space at a premium (necessitating the removal of all unnecessary objects on a regular basis), but pantry and floor space is limited, too. I've found that one of the best solutions for this problem is to make use of folding and collapsible items, and Walmart is a treasure trove of such things.

All of the following items are either something I use on a regular basis or am seriously considering for a future purchase as funds and space permit. Some of these finds will help with food prep, others with food storage, but each one can be used on an as-needed basis then folded up again so it fits in the tightest of corners or drawers. Some of these products can be found in-store (who doesn't live near a Walmart?) while others can be delivered to your doorstep in a day or so.

When you're preparing a multi-part recipe or meal, it tends to eat up a lot of counter space, whether you're the neat-as-a-pin, mise en place type or more of a seat-of-the-pants flyer. (I'm definitely the latter.) One way to add space is to lay a cutting board atop a kitchen drawer, but it can be hard on the hinges. A better way to triple the area available to you is by going high-rise with Walmart's $23.59 foldable kitchen prep station. It can either be mounted to the wall or used free-standing and when unfolded adds three-tiered shelves that can each hold a plate, bowl, or small cutting board. It measures 11.81 inches high, 7.87 inches wide, and 8.66 inches deep, but it can fold up when not in use.

A spice rack can be a useful space saver as its multiple levels allow you to fit more spice jars in the same area. The $17.99 foldable spice rack at Walmart, however, is an even more versatile tool as its design allows it to be installed either vertically or horizontally. When extended, it has a depth of 22.4 inches, a width of 12 inches, and a height that can be adjusted to measure between 10.4 and 11 inches. When collapsed, it's just 1.26 inches high.

Funnels are a kitchen necessity, but they can be a real pain in the junk drawer as their diameter makes them difficult to fit and they sometimes shift around in a way that blocks the drawer from opening. That won't happen with the $5.72 GoodCook collapsible funnel made of soft, sturdy plastic. It has a diameter of 3.8 inches and measures 4.6 inches long when fully expanded. When it's flattened for storage, however, it's just 2.5 inches thick.

The GoodCook stainless steel steamer basket that Walmart is selling for $11.97 is an adaptable gadget. It's made of perforated, overlapping plates that allow it to expand to fit different pot sizes, and when not in use it can be collapsed to a compact 7 inches across and 3 inches high. It also features a keep-cool silicone handle that allows you to open and close it without having to touch the hot metal as well as three silicone-tipped feet that lift it 1.5 inches off the pot bottom, allowing the water sufficient room to steam.

A salad spinner is something that's nice to have, but you might not necessarily want to make room for it in an already overcrowded cabinet. Fortunately, the $16.78 Prep Solutions collapsible salad spinner does just what its name implies. When ready for use, it measures 9.5 inches wide, 9.5 inches deep, and 6.5 inches high and holds three quarts of salad greens. After you're done spinning salad, you can simply press down on the spinner to collapse it to a height of just 3.25 inches.

If you're maximizing storage room by keeping lesser-used appliances on top of your kitchen cabinets, you may need a step stool to get them down. If you're also short on floor space, though, a folding step stool is going to be your best bet. The Walmart house brand Mainstays folding step stool sells for $15.94 and will elevate you a foot in the air. It measures 12 inches high by 13.7 inches long by 9.05 inches deep when unfolded. When you don't need it, you can flatten it to a depth of 1.75 inches. This should make it small enough to be tucked away in a corner somewhere.

When you stock up on staples, you may need a place to corral them lest they threaten to overflow the countertops. The problem with most storage solutions is that they're still taking up space even when you manage to use up that surplus of ketchup you bought. The solution may be the Simplify collapsible storage crate which can be purchased at Walmart for $11.55. It measures 17.2 inches long by 9.84 inches wide by 12.4 inches high, but can be folded flat for storage. These crates even have handles that let them serve as shopping baskets and, if you buy more than one, you'll find they're also stackable.

When you're creating a complicated dish that dirties every pot in the kitchen, you may find your dishwasher isn't able to handle everything in one go. That usually means some hand-washing is in store, which can require a dish rack. If handwashing is something you do on a regular basis, you may want to check out the HBlife two-tier bamboo folding dish rack, available from Walmart for $33.99. When opened, it measures 16 inches wide, 9.8 inches high, and 9 inches deep. It has a top tier that can hold over a dozen plates and a bottom tier that's great for bowls and mugs. (There's also a silverware holder that attaches to the side.) When you're not using it, it folds up flat to a depth of 1.62 inches.

After baking a big batch of cookies, you might find yourself running out of counter space to spread out your cooling racks. This won't happen with Walmart's $20.99 collapsible cooling rack, though. Once you unfold it, you'll have four tiers of cooling surface, each measuring 15.75 by 9.85 inches. The rack is adjustable, but at its full extension reaches 15.5 inches high with 5 inches of space between each tier (helpful for extra-tall cupcakes). Once the baked goods have cooled, you can flatten the rack to 1.97 inches to put back in the cupboard.

A box grater is an indispensable kitchen tool for anything from grating cheese to zesting lemons, but it does take up a fair amount of cabinet space. As an alternative, consider the $12.46 Good Grips multi grater at Walmart. It measures 8.46 long by 3.54 inches wide and offers two sides, coarse and fine. It opens up into a self-standing triangle for stability but can be folded flat and tucked in a drawer when not in use.

A set of measuring cups is another item that fits awkwardly in any kitchen drawer since even the stacking kind take up a fair amount of room. Prepworks collapsible measuring cups not only nest together, they're also made of soft silicone that can be compressed to ⅓ the height of the cups at full size. This colorful set of four includes 1 cup, ½ cup, ⅓ cup, and ¼ cup measures and is priced at $14.95.

If you host a lot of cocktail parties, wouldn't it be nice to have a rolling bar cart to hold the booze bottles, mixers, and garnishes? The cart would only get in the way once the party is over, though. Or would it? Not if it's the Alexent foldable three-tier rolling utility cart. When unfolded, it measures 11.8 inches deep, 17.3 inches wide, and 35.2 inches high. It can, however, be folded up to a depth of just 3.34 inches for storage. The cart is available in a choice of colors, too. Both the blue and black carts sell for $39.99.

A nice thick trivet can do a lot to protect your countertops and kitchen tables from hot cups and pots. The trouble is, they can take up a lot of space when piled in a drawer. These foldable silicone trivets at Walmart are designed a bit differently. They consist of four support arms radiating out from a small center disk to cover an area measuring 8.66 across on each side and 0.6 inches thick. Once the trivets have served their purpose, they can be folded back up into compact bundles 3.5 inches long, 1.18 inches wide, and 1.18 inches high. For $15.49, you get a pack of five trivets in assorted colors (blue, gray, green, purple, and red).