Even if you have a small kitchen, everyone deserves a pleasant, stress-free cooking experience.
After a long day at work or school or taking care of the kids, you don’t want to dread heading into the kitchen to prepare a meal.
For a worry-free night of cooking, you’ll need to organise your kitchen space in a way that works for you, especially if you only have a tiny area to work with. Even if you already have a well-designed kitchen, some of these organisation tricks that might help you maximise your space:
1. Get an over the sink cutting board
This gives you extra counter space instantly and reduces the amount of cleaning you’ll have to do. You can find this at any home appliance store. Make sure you know the measurement of your sink before purchasing the board!
Read how this filmmaker tackled small space decor and interior design
2. Use top of cabinets
Don’t be afraid to use the space on top of your kitchen cabinets. You can use baskets to organise items. If you’re designing custom-built cabinets for your small kitchen, you can ask carpenters to build the cupboards all the way to the top so you that have doors for dust-free storage space.
Read more: Hot kitchen cabinet to try
3. Invest in rolling shelves
Speaking of cupboards, you can also invest in a rolling shelf system that will make it easy for you to access deep cupboards with ease. If you have an awkward corner in a cupboard, these can help you make the most of that space as well.
4. Use cupboard doors for storage
With pocket organisers, hooks, or rails, you can turn the inside of your cupboard doors into useful storage spaces. You can store anything from spices on a magnetic strip, to your boxes of aluminium foil, pot lids, spices, or even rubbish bags. Get creative!
5. Find tabletop shelves
Use risers or small shelves to create more room to organise your countertops. You can stack regularly used appliances and even store your favourite pots neatly.
6. Switch to 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 appliances
Speaking of appliances, a small kitchen will greatly benefit from multi-use appliances such as a microwave that doubles as a convection oven, or a blender with a food processor and juicer attachment. The initial investment might be a little steep, but you’ll save a lot of space and reduce clutter over time.
7. Install floating shelves
You can take advantage of your walls by installing some floating shelves to keep small items like spices or mugs. That’s not all, though. You can also put some hooks or magnetic strips on the undersides of the shelves to store small utensils or even potted herbs.
8. Hidden tables
Foldable tables are a great way to get instant space. You can keep them folded and only open them up when you really need the extra counter space. An alternative to that is a nestling table that can be rolled out from under your countertop as a surprise island.
9. Designate a pegboard wall
Pegboards are a personal favourite of mine. They’re versatile and can work in almost any room. Find a bare wall in your kitchen and install a pegboard. It also works great as a backspace. You can use it to hang regularly used pots and pans, oven mitts, potted herbs, or to keep trash cans off the ground. You can change it up as your needs vary over time.
10. Magnetic knife racks
Magnets are underappreciated storage tools. A smart way to store knives out of reach of small children is to use magnetic knife racks instead of drawers. Place the magnetic strip high up on a wall that only adults can reach. This also has the added benefit of making your kitchen look a little more professional.
But remember, before implementing these tips you should go through everything in your kitchen. Keep only what you need and really, really want. Donate the rest. Then start organising! A small kitchen is a happy kitchen when it’s not cluttered.
Edited by Mira Soyza