When it comes to small kitchen organization
solutions and ideas, it's not how much space you have; it's how you organize
it. With helpful storage tools and smart ideas, there are easy ways to maximize
your small kitchen's square footage.
Expanding
the space in your kitchen without changing the floor plan is absolutely
possible. First, reconfigure your cabinetry, whether that means a customized
project or a no-construction-necessary addition. In the first category,
consider building out kitchen cabinets to ceiling height. This renovation not
only increases storage space by expanding cabinets, but it can allow for more
countertop space to make room for floating shelves or a display of your
prettiest kitchenware, like containers filled with dry goods. Secondly,
introduce order to cabinets by rethinking the interior space. Trading out fixed
shelves for a two-tier rollout shelving unit places necessities in plain view,
enhances accessibility during cooking prep and prevents pots and pans from scratching
against one another.
Put cabinet doors to work by adding removable hooks to hold a
paper towel roll or a rack that will bring order to spices. Using dividers,
customize an existing cabinet to tuck away narrow kitchen tools such as cutting
boards, pans and baking sheets. Finally, conceal space-hogging waste and
recycle bins inside a pullout cabinet.
We can't forget the pantry! Without the luxury of space for a
walk-in pantry, enlist a vertical cabinet to stash your culinary goods or
install a mechanical pullout pantry rack with shelving.
While you're updating the cabinets, pack more use into your
kitchen by bringing order to your built-in or removable kitchen island, too. A
center island can easily serve double-duty if it's equipped with drawers and open
shelves, offering a quick inventory of what you have. The added benefit of an
island on casters is that it can be rolled away when more room is needed in
your small kitchen.
When space is tight, corralling all of our things is key, so
swap chaos for organization inside drawers, along walls and on open shelves.
Line kitchen drawers with removable dividers to give everything from eating
utensils to measuring cups a proper place to belong. Enlist a blank wall to
house a cork board and calendar as your family's information zone, stash wine
glasses under a cabinet with the help of a stemware hanger, or install a
floating shelf above the stove to line up spices. Who says storage and style
are mutually exclusive?
