8 EASY WAYS TO ORGANIZE YOUR SMALL KITCHEN
We have a small kitchen. In fact, I almost didn’t buy our 1954 home because of the kitchen.
That being said, I had to come up with creative ways to fit all our kitchen gadgets into one room, without the cluttered mess.
Here are 8 ways I organized my small kitchen space.
We have a small kitchen.
There, I said it.
In fact, I almost talked Tyler out of buying our 1954 home because of the kitchen. It was extremely outdated at the time and felt teeny tiny.
(Did people in the 1950's not feel the need to have big kitchens!? It makes zero sense to me! Like, didn't y'all have a multitude of kids!?)
...But, I digress, because Tyler won that battle, so here we are.
That being said, I had to come up with creative ways to fit all our kitchen gadgets into one room, without the cluttered mess.
Anddddd, here's what I came up with.
1.Hang your pots and pans
Growing up my mom had her pots and pans hanging from the ceiling over top of our kitchen island.
I actually liked the look of it and thought to myself, 'hmmmm, if she can hang her pots and pans from the ceiling, why can't I hang them on the wall!?'.
So, I did!
And look how great it turned out!
All it took was this industrial looking bar from Amazon, along with black hooks to hold each pot and pan. Then, I lay all of the lids on top and ta-daaaaa it looks aesthetically pleasing and it's out of the freakin' way!
2. Hang your cutting boards
This one took some thought.
Our kitchen cabinets and drawers are old and the drawers are not as big as modern day ones, so I was having a hard time fitting our cutting boards inside of them.
With that said, I was temporary housing the cutting boards within the lower part of my cabinets. (Which is what most people tend to do!)
However, it was frustrating to have to grab them while cooking. They were not in an ideal location and kept getting stuck with other random things I would throw within that cabinet as well!
That's when I thought 'how cool would it be if there was a wall organizer for cutting boards!'
And, believe it or not, there are, but I didn't like any of them.
So, I opted for a smaller looking industrial bar (similar to one that holds my pots and pans) and decided to hang them with the same hooks.
I think it looks kind of cool, and — a plus side — it's super easy to grab when in the middle of cooking!
3. Install open shelves
Like I said, our kitchen is small, which means we don't have a pantry.
(Again, did they not believe in pantries back then!? Older homes amaze me!)
Because we are without a pantry, we need to make space and invest in storage pieces where we can store food.
And one of my favorite ways to do that, in a small kitchen, is through open wall shelving!
A mixture between flour and sugar containers and some shelves that you can install yourself is a great way to organize all of your cooking/baking contents!
4. Install a cabinet with sliding doors
Extra cabinets within an already small kitchen can make it feel even more cluttered.
Which is why I recommend finding a slim/short-depth cabinet that has sliding doors.
This type of cabinet is usually made for bathrooms, but can easily be repurposed for a kitchen space as well.
Not only will this give you more space to store food and/or kitchen supplies, but it will bring the look of your kitchen together.
Check out this one that we got for our kitchen. It sits right above our kitchen island cart.
5. Invest in a kitchen island cart
Our kitchen island cart is used as our kitchen pantry. This is where we house snacks, cooking contents and where our fruit bowl and toaster live.
Do we use this as an actual kitchen island? No. But, do we sometimes use it for extra countertop space? Yes.
Our kitchen island has a stainless steel top and complements our cabinets fairly well!
6. Place baskets on top of the fridge
When it comes to a small kitchen, decorative storage options are your friends.
Again, without a pantry, you need an easy and aesthetically pleasing way to store your groceries/snacks etc.
I love our decorative storage baskets that sit on top of our fridge. A above-the-fridge basket is an easy way to store chips, nuts and other various snacks that you usually have sitting around the house!
Plus, they're semi-hidden and out of sight when you have a toddler that wants 29038402938 snacks a day.
Here are similar storage baskets made by the same brand we have!
7. Serving pieces and dishes stay in the Dining Room
My mom taught me this one growing up.
Always have a hutch or credenza of some sort within your dining room that houses all of your serving pieces and dishes (including serving silverware).
Honestly, this is one of the main reasons why I LOVE our Dining Room in this house.
The previous owner had an extension built off of the dining room and had built in cabinets and shelves installed. This means I have plenty of storage when it comes to storing my hosting/party/serving pieces.
8. Have a separate coffee/tea station
Due to a small kitchen, I didn't want to take up counter space for our Keurig and electric tea kettle.
Instead, I used an old kitchen cart we had in our apartment and made a coffee/tea station right in our Dining Room.
It's perfect for when we host parties and/or gatherings. People can easily help themselves to a cup of coffee or tea and not have to into another room to make it!
If there is one thing I've learned about having a small kitchen, it's that there's plenty of space to fit everything — you just have to get creative with that space!
Here's hoping this gave you some great ideas — happy organizing!
8 ITEMS TO MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER IN THE KITCHEN
Tyler and I are currently in the process of updating our kitchen for what seems like the 20th time since we moved in.
Except I think this will be it for some time, because I have learned a lot from trial and error.
Below I will share my favorite kitchen products that we have within our kitchen. I use these 8 products every day and let me tell you; they are awesome!
Corner Sink Caddy. I bought this caddy a couple years ago when we still lived in an apartment and LOVE it. It holds my sponge, dish scrapers and a soap dispenser full of dish soap to prevent any excess clutter around the sink. It even comes with suction cups that will suction right to your sink or countertop. Highly recommend!
Rev-a-Shelf Pull Drawers. These were super easy to install. I didn’t even need Tyler’s help – that’s how easy it was! You install them on your bottom cabinets and they easily pull out so there’s very little bending down and frustration when trying to get heavy pots and pans out from in the back of the cabinet. Such a win-win situation!
Cabinet Door Organizer. The picture shows this over-the-cabinet organizer holding cutting boards but I actually use mine to hold tin-foil, cling wrap, plastic bags and parchment paper. Why waste a drawer or make it difficult to grab those items when you could easily open your cabinet to grab ‘n go!
Mason Jar Soap Dispenser. I put my dish soap in this. I don’t know what it is, but I hate when a bottle of dish soap sits on the countertop or near the sink. For me, it makes things feel crowded, so that’s why I bought a glass soap dispenser so I could tell the levels of soap in there at all times.
Food Storage Containers. These are so cool! Not only are they different sizes and big enough to hold your baking necessities but they also come with a separate spoon that has a cute little slot to hold it! Also, they are clear so you can always tell when you are running low!
Floating Kitchen Shelf. I have a small kitchen which means that I have to get creative when it comes to kitchen organization. These floating shelves are a great home decor piece while giving extra space for items. They also come with hooks so you can hang your oven mitts and pots and pans!
Electric Tea Kettle. For all you tea drinkers out there! I have a similar ceramic electric tea kettle that I LOVE! It is super easy to use, heats up water quickly and even easier to clean.
Barn Door Kitchen Cabinet. This was a recent purchase but I love it! I got this from Wayfair when they had an awesome sale a couple of months ago. Like I mentioned before, our kitchen is small so I needed an extra cabinet to hold some more pantry items but wanted something that didn’t come out that far. This shelf is technically for the bathroom but I loved the rustic look of it in the kitchen. It holds our basic baking and cooking supplies in the middle and behind the doors holds pasta, rice and other miscellaneous pantry items. Make sure you don’t put super heavy things on here as there is a weight limit!
Yes, I have all of these items in my kitchen and yes I do LOVE all of them. Highly recommend them. Check back for more posts on our kitchen as we continue to make it even better!