Above the Sink
I’m also pretty excited about how we made use of our space around the sink. We used a tension curtain rod and S-hooks to hang dish towels, oven mitts, and a dish scrubber. This keeps the area around the sink much less cluttered.
We got this awesome dish drying rack that saves counter space. In our little kitchen, counter space is so important, and using this dish drying rack instead of a traditional one gives us over an extra square foot of counter space.
And in the cabinet above the sink we keep tupperware, mixing bowls, and smaller cutting boards. You can see we made use of a wire cookware organizer on the left to organize the cutting boards and the awesome reusable sunflower lid.
Counter Space
I knew with such little counter space, we had to keep as little out as possible. I settled on keeping a few small and commonly used appliances, a knife block, a paper towel holder, and a utensil holder out on the counter.
I already mentioned how our awesome dish rack saves us a ton of counter space. Keeping appliances to a minimum also does this. I recommend only keeping out appliances that you are using at least twice a week. By this standard, it is probably time for us to move the blender to the closet, because we haven’t been using it as much lately.
I also made use of space on top of the fridge to keep my homemade dishwasher detergent tabs which were too big to fit under the sink and a cereal box that is too tall to fit with our food storage. I also keep a flashlight up there.
The cabinet above the fridge is really hard to get to so I keep a few things that we rarely use up there, like some paper goods and lunch boxes.
Food Storage
Since we had so few cabinets, we had to get creative and make use of other types of furniture for food storage. We do keep coffee, tea, and some baking supplies in a narrow cabinet next to the fridge, but it doesn’t hold very much. So we had to figure out where to keep everything else.
I’m gluten free, so we always have a bunch of different types of flours in the house. I decided to use glass jars with chalkboard labels to store flour and other baking goods. We made use of these on a bookshelf that used to be in my sister’s bedroom- it just happened to be the right dimensions for the kitchen. We use the baskets to keep snacks more organized, and we also keep some cookbooks on the shelf.
We are not quite ready to give up the microwave yet, so we keep our microwave and toaster oven on top of this bookshelf. We use some small wire shelves to organize other random things on top of the microwave, including ziplock bags, tinfoil, saran wrap, my favorite tea, a box of twist ties to reuse, and our magic bullet.
I don’t know why- but I always dreamed of having a hanging fruit basket in the kitchen. Ours fits perfectly here. Funny story- the day we hung this basket up we had to use a chair to reach the ceiling to screw in the hook. Well, we didn’t take the chair out of the kitchen right away and I forgot it was there and I ended up breaking my toe by stubbing it on the chair later that day. Whoops! Don’t worry- it’s all healed now.
Our last piece of furniture for food storage in the kitchen is this wonderful kitchen cart. We keep canned goods, some baking supplies, and other snacks in here. The cart is awesome because I can just wheel it over next to the stove when we are cooking for some extra counter space.
Other Storage
Just a few more things to mention- we made use of some more command hooks to hang my apron and our reusable grocery bags. We also have a plastic shoe mat because this area also serves as our backdoor which we use a lot, and man do white kitchen floors show EVERYTHING. I do not recommend them if you have a choice. We also have this cute little alcove where we keep our trash and recycling bins.
In addition to our kitchen- we also use the hutch in our dining room to keep beer and wine glasses, vases, bakeware, and some other random things. But that will have to be in a future post, so keep your eyes open for how we organize the dining room!
What really helped me keep everything in our kitchen organized was planning it out before we moved in. I thought about everything we had and made sure there was a place for it. And that’s really the key to organizing- knowing what you have to work with. Because it’s the stuff you forget about that you can never find a place for.
So- keep track of everything you have, and make use of all your space. Think cabinet doors, vertical space- be creative. And don’t do something just because it makes the most things fit- think about the functionality of everything. That is ultimately what will matter most.
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lorraine williamson says
love your organization skills always need help with my kitchen thanks for sharing visiting from living well spending less have a great day
Selene Galindo says
What a great use of space!! I have one of those lid organizers as well and absolutely love it!!
Stopped by from the Pin Me party and started following your lovely blog on bloglovin and pinterest!
Have a great weekend :)
Susie says
Thank you so much for following!
Erlene says
I like how you stood the pans on their sides. Thanks for sharing on Merry Monday Linky Party.
Angela @ Angela Says says
I love the way you’ve organized your kitchen! It looks like you didn’t really have to go without very many small appliances, or pots. One of my favorite small storage solutions is the wire pull out basket. I love being able to put extra things like cleaning cloths on top while still being able to keep misc sponges or cleaners in the basket part.
Stopping by from Thrifty Thursday!
Megin says
This is great! I’ll be stealing some of these tips.
Thank you for sharing your post this week at Brag About It Link Party on VMG206. I’m featuring you at Next Weeks Brag About It Link Party, Monday at midnight!
~ Megin of VMG206
Susie says
Thank you so much! I’m honored :)
Sarah Eddins says
Great ideas! I especially loved seeing how you stored your pots and pans since my kitchen is small as well! I’m pinning this for later!! :-)
Sarah says
I LOVE this! I love how you stored the lids. I live in a 800 Square FT former chicken coop with my two girls, husband and 110 pound puppy! So I always need better organization! Thanks for linking up at Tips and Tricks. Pinning!
Milani says
AAAAAAH :(
I can’t control my kitchen,,, it’s making my life really hard. The apartment is sunny with cool breeze all year with a view.
BUT…
The kitchen is small ugly not pretty olive color shade with no place for oven, hardly could fit the refrigerator, small cupboards no upper cupboards (can’t add nor reconstruct; its rental) with no hot water ( the pluming problem is inside the wall & can’t be fixed easily).
I liked what you did, it gave me hope
Is it only me who feels that the kitchen is the soul of the house???
Emily, Our house now a home says
these are some great solutions. Our kitchen is small but for some reason very functional with storage space. The first apartment my husband and I lived in together the storage was HORRIBLE, we did a lot of these little tricks you have done. It is a lot of work, but better then not having what you need ready to go. Great ideas!