Simple Storage Solutions: In the Kitchen
This is part 1 in a series of posts on Simple Storage Solutions. Check back each day this week for storage solutions throughout the rest of the home. Or subscribe to my feed to make sure you don’t miss it!
By moving into a smaller home than I lived in before, I have been forced to downsize the amount of stuff in my home and also be more creative with storing the things I choose to keep. The kitchen is an area that can become cluttered quite quickly, with pots and pans, utencils, gadgets, and dishes. Here are a few simple solutions for storing your items so they’re easier to find, reach, and use when you’re at work in the kitchen.
Maximize Wall Space
Hanging pot racks, magnetic bars for knives and hook bars are all inexpensive easy ways to make the most of your vertical space in the kitchen.
A hanging 3 tier basket can hold fruit and veggies to keep them from taking up valuable counter space in a bowl. Make a spice shelf to put above your stove or other convenient wall space to keep them organized and out of precious cupboard space.
Use height to your advantage
One of the best tricks for making better use of small spaces is to go up with your organization. From floor to ceiling, you can put functionality to work. In my kitchen, I had a bare wall and not enough counter space. I wanted to free up one side of my kitchen counter so I put in a mobile cabinet that I scooped up off of Craigslist, hubby installed two extra upper cabinets we had and I made what we’re now using as a breakfast bar. We added functionality and maximized space in the kitchen by filling the wall from floor to ceiling with useful storage space.
Before
After
To maximize this space, I could hang hooks below the cabinets for some of my favorite coffee mugs which would free up even more cabinet space. But I’m not. I could also store my toaster in the lower cabinet and just bring it out when I am using it. But I like it. So it stays. I will have to do something on the bare wall but it will likely be something more decorative than useful like hammered copper panels for visual interest.
Maximize drawer and cabinet space
By using pullout drawers in your most used cabinets, you can make getting to your items easier and make better use of the space in the back of cabinets.
This space could be better organized by installing lid racks on the inside of cabinet doors and getting the jumble of lids out of the way.
Also, use the go up philosophy inside cabinets. You can do this by adding tiers to your shelving or simply adjusting shelf heights to make sure you’re not losing space by having them too far apart. A lazy susan can help you take advantage of vertical space within a corner cabinet as well.
These are a few simple storage solutions for around the kitchen. I would love to hear what some of your tricks are for maximizing space and increasing productivity around the kitchen. Feel free to share in the comments! And be sure to come back tomorrow for another installment of this series as we make our way around the house solving storage issues.
August 25th, 2008 at 7:16 am
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August 25th, 2008 at 9:31 am
I love your post! It has been so helpful to me. My kitchen is so small, but I love to cook and entertain so I have a lot of gadgets and things. Great ideas!
Rachels last blog post..Picnic Table Garden Update
August 25th, 2008 at 10:28 am
Thank you Emily. Our kitchen is the size of an outhouse, so everything helps. Happy Monday, and have a great week.
Writer Dads last blog post..Red Furry Monster Vs. High School Musical
August 25th, 2008 at 11:23 am
This just make me even more determined to get my dreadfully impractical kitchen redesigned.
Btw, did you know that above the stove isn’t a great place to store spices? The heat and humidity means their potency will diminish far more quickly.
Sharon Js last blog post..Harking Back To The Past
August 25th, 2008 at 11:38 am
@Sharon, I didn’t know that! I have mine in a lazy susan in a cabinet but my mom has hers above the stove. I always thought that was clever. Thanks for the information!
August 25th, 2008 at 7:42 pm
This is a great post. I really need to work on this!
Carolyns last blog post..Big Men’s Shirt Into Cute Fitted Women’s Shirt
August 27th, 2008 at 6:03 am
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August 27th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
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August 28th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
[...] In the Kitchen - The keyword here for optimizing for more room in a kitchen is “wall space.” She also shows how she went up in order to hold more. [...]
August 31st, 2008 at 6:03 am
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August 31st, 2008 at 12:27 pm
I read your blog all the time and love it. This time I thought that I should leave a comment and let you know how great your storage solutions was! I forget to use Height! Our kitchen is so small, but we do have height to our advantage! Thanks, I’m going to try that this weekend!
August 31st, 2008 at 5:57 pm
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September 1st, 2008 at 8:19 am
@Teri, thanks for commenting! Good luck with trying to implement this. It’s fun to be creative with what you have, so just because we all may use the “go up” philosophy, it’ll look different for all of us because of what we choose to use. Have fun!
September 1st, 2008 at 8:31 pm
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September 2nd, 2008 at 5:09 am
Love this post, I’ve just blogged about my tiny kitchen and trying to deal with the lack of space. You’ve got some great ideas here - thanks!
Lizs last blog post..Fall Nesting Week
September 15th, 2008 at 5:08 am
What a great project