Lazy Susans: Versatile Organizing Tools

Lazy Susans are a great tool for those pesky corner cabinets, but they can also be used in myriad other ways.

Organizer Geralin Thomas notes these uses on Twitter:

Double-decker Lazy Susans in mens' closets for tie stays, cuff links, coins, buttons, golf tees, pocket knives, phones, wallets.

I also use double-decker Lazy Susans on small desks [w/o drawers] for stapler, pencil cups, calculators, etc.

Organizer Aby Garvey shows how she uses a Lazy Susan for her scrapbooking tools, and also notes:

What I most love about a Lazy Susan is that it — or rather she — makes what would be unusable, invisible and hard-to-access storage space easy to reach and see. You can use a Lazy Susan on a deep shelf (such as in your refrigerator or in deep closet) and suddenly, the stuff in the back is no longer out of sight or out of mind.

Organizer Monica Ricci writes about six uses for a Lazy Susan, including this one:

Store small jars of bolts, nails, nuts, screws and other tiny pieces of hardware on your workbench in the garage.

And Martha Stewart tells us:

Refrigerator door space is prime kitchen real estate. Free it up by moving a few necessities to a turntable, where they’ll still be easy to grab.

Your basic Lazy Susan is easy to find — but if you want something beyond the basics, here are a few choices.



Jane Suzanne's Shop & Studio has the most eye-catching Lazy Susans I've seen. They're made of hand-painted wood.



French Bull has four different Lazy Susans, made of melamine. [via Mighty Goods]




This hand-painted sunflower Lazy Susan from Artstream Design also caught my eye.




This wine cork Lazy Susan kit allows you to make good use of all those corks that wine enthusiasts sometimes accumulate.




Prefer to have a lip on your Lazy Susan, to keep things from falling off? Take a look at this turntable platter from Sue Patrick Pottery.



And the wine barrel Lazy Susan from VivaTerra — made from wood "salvaged from an oak wine barrel end cap and carefully refurbished" — also has that sometimes-useful edge.




Here's another type of Lazy Susan — one that's made from a basket. Foxcreek Basket has these in two sizes — and it also has double-tiered versions.




This craft turntable comes with removable buckets. However, I'm only finding it in New Zealand and Australia, at stores including Peter's of Kensington, Green with Envy and UrbanBaby.




Finally, Bearcat Woodworks makes some lovely Lazy Susan craft caddies; you have nine wood choices.