Space-Saving and Organizational Tips for Tinier Kitchens by Jessica Johnson

Jan 29

Well, it's January! You know what that means, it's time for TONS of organizing ideas, tips, and how-to's! We recently spoke with one of our vendors about how hard it is to organize small kitchens, so they contributed this guest blog with some great ideas on how to manage a small space. Enjoy!

How many times have you been exasperated with your kitchen space when trying to entertain friends and family because there simply is not enough room to comfortably accommodate everyone? Maybe you have actually burned dinner because you have to dig to the back of the cupboard to get your hands on the thing you need to finish preparing the meal or have extra crispy cookies instead of the soft texture you could have had if only you had enough counter space to transfer them from the cookie sheet immediately! No matter the nature of your kitchen woes, a common theme emerges: Your insufficient kitchen space can negatively impact other areas of your life, from interpersonal relationships to culinary endeavors.

Fortunately, there is a solution. Whether you have a 'charmingly' cozy kitchen or simply want to find some extra space in your cabinets and on your countertops, the key to your success likely lies in finding better ways to organize the space you have and making more efficient use of your kitchen as a whole. Here are some tips to help you achieve a more organized kitchen and create a space that facilitates fast and fun food prep and effortless entertaining.

De-Cluttered Countertops - Rather than being overwhelmed by a cluttered kitchen, break the project down into manageable tasks; it may help to move from the outside-in. In other words, address the countertops before moving to the interior of the cabinets. Not only does this give you an immediate sense of progress because you can see a clean and organized space right in front of you, but it will also help you sift through the things that are absolutely essential and discard the items that you don't need or use. Start by transferring everything off of the countertops and giving them a good scrubbing. Next, replace only the items that need to be there and put the rest aside to sort through when you move on to organizing the drawers and cabinets.

Down to the Drawer Details - A major aspect of maintaining a clean, efficient, and clutter-free kitchen is keeping things where they belong and out of sight when they're not in use. Once your countertops are de-cluttered, move on down to the drawers. If you are like most people, drawers can become so jam-packed with 'stuff' over the years that have ceased serving their initial purpose of housing cooking utensils, flatware, and various kitchen tools and gadgets and have instead become the place where you throw everything from ketchup packets and menus to business cards and coupons. Begin the process by pulling everything out of the drawers so you can see what you are working with and can give them a quick wipe-down before you start replacing items. When you are ready to re-load the drawers, do so with a purpose.

Design your drawer layout with functionality in the forefront of your mind and house items where they make the most sense. To the best of your ability, keep things within arms' reach from where you will need them. For example, keep cooking utensils near the stove and flatware near the dishes.
Keep like items grouped together. When you know exactly where to look for the things you need, you can eliminate all of those time-wasting drawer searches because things are scattered throughout the space instead of in one centralized location.
Utilize drawer organizers. This is especially important if your drawers are pulling double-duty and must contain several different types of items (flatware and cooking utensils, for instance).

Cohesive Cabinets - The last major area of storage to address is the kitchen cabinets. Pulling everything out, sweeping up crumbs and wiping off sticky fingerprints and tossing expired food products are the first steps before you begin building up your cabinets with purpose. Once you have pared down your cabinet contents, start rebuilding your cupboards with intention!

Keep things you use the most in the most accessible location, both in terms of the kitchen and in the cabinet itself: If you use something semi-regularly, avoid blocking it in near the back of the cabinet with a platter that you pull out once a year.
'Nest' items whenever possible. We all know how much space things like plastic containers can take up and you can greatly streamline your cabinet contents by placing them inside each other or stacking them up, lids lined up separately.
Incorporate space savers like lazy Susans whenever possible. They are super helpful when you are working with a corner cabinet or for organizing lots of little items in one place.

Creative Kitchen Tricks In general, some other ways to maximize your kitchen space include:

Optimize wall space. Hang items from under-cabinet hooks and install wall shelving units in unused corners and above sinks. Incorporate magnetic strips for lining your knives or metal utensils along a wall or cabinet.
Use over-the-door racks in your cabinets for things like spices and put odd-sized and shaped plastic wrap or aluminum foil boxes in the cabinet under your sink.
If you need to keep your excess kitchen wares (rather than donating or discarding them), select the essentials to remain on-site and relocate all unnecessary items to an attic or storage space that you can visit on an as-needed basis.

What are some of the ways you've found extra storage space in your kitchen?

Jessica Johnson works for www.extraspace.com and contributes to the Extra Space Storage blog, exploring various aspects of organizing and storing possessions. We hope this has been inspiring and helpful for you. If you have insight to share and are interested in doing a guest blog feature or being on our radio show, please email service@bettybrigade.com for more information. Until next time – Keep It Simple!