What your kitchen cupboard stacking says about you

Are you a tin can co-ordinator? Or are they jumbled in with your jars? Personalities according to plates, pots and pans - your cupboards are the new claire-voyants.

Is it strange if you're a bit funny about the direction of your pots' labels? Are you a hot mess if you prefer the ‘chuck it all in approach'? Truth is, you can tell a lot about someone by snooping around their cupboards.

Forget palm-reading, try cupboard reading - the domestic way to analyse your friend, neighbour or co-worker.

Here we look at various kitchen packing methods and what they say about you..

Chuck it all in to the pantry:

kitchen pantry with wooden shelf and white door

(Image credit: TBC)

Some get back from the hour long slog at the supermarket and just chuck it in wherever there is a spot. This group are carefree spirits who love to live spontaneously. These social butterflies would rather throw it in and go out and have fun before returning to a hand-in-see-what-comes-out approach to dinner.

Pros: This method is certainly quick and much easier than the organised process.

Cons: You can't be sure what you already have, which often leads to nine tins of vegetable soup and four bags of unopened rice hidden at the edges. Plus, throwing it in means you wont be able to fit as much in as you could.

Pans in ascending order:

kitchen with white wall and cabinet

(Image credit: TBC)

Do you hang your gleaming pans according to function and size? For you, stacking your pans is a tetris-like task where if one lid doesn't slot perfectly beside one pot, you start again. This is a lifestyle choice that should not be adopted by the faint-hearted.

Pros: Nothing gets wedged where it shouldn't, scratched or damaged. Plus, you know where everything is.

Cons: Not always feasible to get precisely placed pots and pans. You also run the risk of guests thinking you are mad.

Segregate your cutlery:

cutting board with oranges and pomegranate in kitchen

(Image credit: TBC)

Do you love the trays that slot perfectly into top drawers and allow you to separate spoons from forks and fish knives from steak ones? Then you are a segregator. You're the type of person who would rather put the elbow work in early in order to make their life easier in the long run.

Pros: You know exactly where everything is - making it quick to lay the table.

Cons: It takes ages to empty the dishwasher and find the appropriate slot and what happens when the tray needs cleaning...

Fridge free-for-all:

smart refrigerator with brown bread and glass shelf

(Image credit: TBC)

Are you confused what the door shelves are for, what to put in that hanging box and why there are so many slots for eggs when yours are sitting in their box in the cupboard? Then you are a fridge free-for-all. No time for meat and cheese separation, and food contamination is a concept you don't understand.

Pros: Strange foods next to each other spark amazing ingredient combinations.

Cons: Strawberry juices may drip on chives and your cheddar may acquire a yogurt coating.

Pile your plates:

plates on wooden table with blur background

(Image credit: TBC)

Do you pile your plates rather than place on stands? Those who pile them high are looking for shortcuts but really creating more work for yourself. Sound familiar? You're also carefree, not really bothered by scratched edges and you may even throw in some miss-matched designs.

Pros: Easier than the balancing act that is positioning them on stands. Also quicker to pile them in a drawer than have specific slots fitted.

Cons: Scratched surfaces and chipped corners are a frequent occurance.

Thea Babington-Stitt
Assistant Editor

Thea Babington-Stitt is the Assistant Editor for Ideal Home. Thea has been working across some of the UK’s leading interiors titles for nearly 10 years. 

She started working on these magazines and websites after graduating from City University London with a Masters in Magazine Journalism. Before moving to Ideal Home, Thea was News and Features Editor at Homes & Gardens, LivingEtc and Country Homes & Interiors.