Small kitchens can be both a blessing and a curse depending on how you look at them. On one hand, it means you’ll need to move around less than you otherwise would have, and on the other hand, you’d need to keep your kitchen clutter to the minimum. Even a few extra knick knacks on your kitchen counters will have your kitchen looking like a total mess.
But how do you even go about managing the little space that you have? The apartment kitchen cabinets you’re stuck with aren’t that roomy, and now you’re learning that you need to keep the counters clean too? Well, don’t worry too much. There are a lot of things you can do to improve the state of your kitchen, and with the help of just a few changes, your kitchen will be good as new.
Keep reading to find out what those changes are, plus some organization tips to help you keep things under control there.
Maximize Storage Space In A Small Kitchen
Being creative about how you store things can transform the look and feel of a space, which is why you need to know more about what vertical space is. Things like extra shelves for the corners and some creative stacking can go a long way when you’re trying to maximize space.
Don’t underestimate what clearing away small items from the selves can do for you either – get rid of that knife block and use a magnetic bar instead. You can stick those to a wall and hang all of your knives and spoons on a wall next to the preparation area.
Once you stop letting these tiny things pile up everywhere, you’ll notice a huge difference in the way your kitchen looks and feels.
Organize by Sections
There’s such a thing as too clean, and too organized and tidy. Don’t make it harder for yourself to work in your kitchen by trying to put absolutely everything away, even when it’s not in its right place, or easy to reach when you need to use it.
Keep the dish soap and paper towels right next to the sink, keep all your spices and condiments like oil, vinegar, and soy sauce near the cooking area, and don’t let the mixing bowls stray too far away from where you prep all your food.
If you organize every part of your kitchen in sections based on what you’ll need instead of what the kitchen will look like, it may not end up looking the best but it’ll be amazing to work in.
Opt for Open Shelves
If you think you’re up for the challenge, opt-out of kitchen cabinets entirely. They’re bulky and can take up more space than you need them to, and they’ll make a small kitchen look even smaller.
But open shelves are no joke either! With everything you have on display, you’ll no longer have the luxury of buying mismatched kitchen utensils and getting away with them. Having open shelves in the kitchen means you need to strip your belongings down to the bare essentials, and even then you’ll need to store them with extra care.
Vary heights and stack glasses and plates when you put them up there, and maybe even add some artistic elements or decoration to liven it up. As long as the shelves hold most of your stuff without looking outright ugly, you’re doing it right.
Make Storage Part of Your Small Kitchen Decor
If you want to keep some of the things in your kitchen on the counters or if you have open shelves, you can get away with storing a lot of stuff on the counters if you make it look good. Invest in some good-quality matching glass jars and storage containers, and you can even hang your frying pans on the wall against exposed brick designs. This way, you’ll have both great storage and interesting decor.
Don’t Store Everything in the Kitchen
Everyone has some things in the kitchen that they don’t always use like those Christmas-themed cookie cutters or the giant pans used to cook turkeys whole at Thanksgiving. A lot of people might even have large mixing bowls and baking equipment that doesn’t need to be in the kitchen all the time.
You can store this stuff in the garage or the attic where it’ll be out of your way. You’ll also find that you now have a roomier kitchen, ready to accommodate whatever more you need to store in it.
Things That Belong on the Counters
Even though it’s not smart for you to put things on the counter in small kitchens, some things belong there anyway. If you don’t have a dishwasher and you wash all your dishes by hand, you’ll need to keep a dish rack next to the sink. The same goes for the coffee maker and toaster if you’re supposed to use them every day.
Putting these things away will only mean more work to you, and it’s more convenient to store them on the counter.
Use Stackable Utensils
A lot of kitchen sets for pots, pans, bowls, and storage containers contain sizes that you might not need, but stackability is a huge plus when it comes to small kitchen storage. When not in use, you can put them one on top of the other and they’ll take up way less space than if the set wasn’t stackable.
At the end of the day, make sure you’re not compromising how useful the kitchen is for you. The kitchen is more for creating amazing dishes and tasty food than it is about looking neat – as long as the clutter is helping you instead of slowing you down, you’re making the most out of your kitchen space!
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