Small kitchen ideas for storage
In a previous blog post you could read about how we designed my kitchen and how the planning process went. I mentioned that my kitchen will be relatively small and I won’t have a separate pantry for food storage. I thought that the following small kitchen ideas could be an inspiration for you if you have a small space for cooking and baking.
Space-saving tricks for storing dishes
When it comes to storing pots and other kitchen utensils, it’s not about cramming everything into the tightest spaces possible. Compact storage should be the aim and priority! A rotating tray, for example, can be handy! And before that, a thorough sorting is what can help you minimise the amount of your items!
Sort through your kitchen stuff!
Even if you have a big family, you don’t think you need 30 plates and glasses, so if you’ve accumulated a few over the years, it’s time to sort out the ones you never use or don’t fit in the set! If you’re about to buy a new set, it’s a good idea to choose the thinnest type of plate you can find, as this will save space.
See how you can store them in the most practical way. Nested inside each other? How many cm does it take up? Are you sure it’s convenient for you? Can you lift them off the shelf easily? How fragile are the plates? With an internal kitchen shelf, you can maximise space vertically and store your plates conveniently on it, stacked one inside the other. However, if you don’t feel this is the best way to store them, you could try placing a lid holder. This will have the opposite effect.
If you have wider shelves rather than tall ones, this may be a better option.
Measure how many inches the storage will take up on your shelf or in your drawer, see if you can fit all your plates in and decide based on that!
What can be a headache in a larger kitchen: storing pans and lids
Storing pans is made difficult by their elongated handles. But organising the different sizes of lids is often a challenge for many people. If you store them on the pan, they take up a lot of space, as you can’t stack them. And when stored next to the pots, they can easily tip over and make it harder to find the right one. These can be solved with a standing pan rack, which you can store on the kitchen counter or laid out on a shelf, depending on which is more practical for you in terms of space saving.
Pans storage is also a good option if you’d store your cutting boards in a designated drawer anyway, but want to create an aesthetically pleasing and transparent system for them. If you have a fixed place for your pans but haven’t found a good solution for lids, a simple wall or door-mounted lid holder can be a practical option as it doesn’t take up much space.
Small kitchen ideas for seasonal storage
How many items do you keep out front in your kitchen that you don’t use on a daily basis?
These might include a stretching tree, Christmas gingerbread figurines, various electrical appliances like a blender or hot sandwich maker, an impulse buy ice cream maker or popcorn popper. It’s understandable if you don’t want to part with these because you like to use them 1-2 times a year, but don’t let them take up space in your kitchen in front of your everyday tools, find another one! The following small kitchen ideas show possible solutions.
For example, you can use the high shelves to store them. Box up items that are not used on a daily basis by category. Whisks and small appliances should be packed together, while larger electronic appliances should have a separate storage box.
Don’t forget to label them, especially if you use several boxes to store your kitchen tools, so that when you’re looking for something you can grab the right one off the shelf!
If you don’t have high shelves in your kitchen that you can use for this, find somewhere else to put them. They can be packed away in a built-in cupboard or packed away in the attic or hallway for items you use a few times a year. Festive items like gingerbread figurines or Christmas tablecloths and pine tree napkin holders should go with the other Christmas accessories, as you’ll only be digging out these kitchen utensils at Christmas anyway, just like the Christmas tree ornaments and other festive decorations.
Small kitchen ideas if you’re planning ahead
If you are about to design a new kitchen, the following small kitchen ideas can help you decide how to get started!
The most important thing when designing a kitchen is to tailor it to your own habits.
You have to be honest with yourself!
Consider how much you cook, what staple foods are in your household on a regular basis, how many plates, pans, small spoons and so on you need. This is very important because, for example, if you don’t cook on a daily basis or only prepare simple meals for one or two people, you may want to consider whether a two-burner hob is more worthwhile than a traditional four-burner. You’ll save a lot of counter space.
What do you use the oven for and how much? If you only use it for one thing at a time and not very often, consider a combination microwave and oven. There are a lot of brands on the market nowadays, so it’s not hard to find good quality ones and the big advantage is that it frees up a lot of space in your kitchen. You can even create several extra drawers with this solution!
What about washing up?
Here you have to consider how many people in your family, how many dirty plates and cutlery you accumulate in a day. How much time do you have for washing up? Does everyone wash up after themselves or is there a designated person for this task? If your goal is to have as much extra storage space in the kitchen as possible, a dishwasher is not the best option for you.
However, if you can’t give it up, consider opting for a narrower model. So don’t go for the traditional 60 centimetre model, but rather a 40 centimetre, more compact appliance. However, you should be prepared for the fact that if you accumulate more laundry each day, it will mean multiple starts, unloading and loading. So a slight compromise is required.
Where you want to free up extra space may also play a part in your decision on the dilemma of traditional dishwashing or dishwasher. If a dishwasher is not a priority for you, this could gain you extra drawer or cupboard space. If the kitchen counter is where you need more free surface area, you might be better off with a smaller dishwasher. In that case, leave the dish drainer next to the sink.
Use the dishwasher for washing dishes, and those things you can’t clean in it, wipe up and put away straight away after you’ve washed them!
Less than great solutions and not so practical kitchen ideas
You can often read about small kitchen ideas on the internet that advise you to install as many shelves as possible and that will solve the storage problem. However, this is not always a good solution, as it can make the space feel cluttered and you can’t really reach the top shelves. By minimising your stuff and using space-saving storage methods, you can tidy up a small kitchen without the need to add more and more shelves to the wall when buying a new food or kitchen utensil.
When you buy something, consider whether it will replace one of your older appliances. If it does, replace it.
Shop sensibly, if you know where you have free packing space, choose the most compact products accordingly. For a kitchen electronic appliance, for example, this is a prime feature.
Open shelving opens up space and can make the kitchen look aesthetically more spacious, which is why many people use this practice in small kitchens. However, with this solution, you need to be very careful about what you store on the shelf. If you pack too much stuff on it, if it sometimes gets cluttered, you won’t be able to hide it behind cupboard doors, creating visual noise in your surroundings. If you’re not the type of person who can take the time to tidy and organise every day, this might not be the best solution for you.
Overall, then, what you need to keep in mind if you’re looking to furnish a small kitchen:
Compact, space-saving storage, because if you design it and find a place for everything, you’ll increase your kitchen’s output. Because transparency is the key to everything.
Mapping habits, whether it’s cooking or storage preferences. If you don’t tailor your kitchen layout and equipment to your own or your family’s habits, you’ll find that in the long run, order in the kitchen won’t be sustainable and you’ll find yourself rearranging again and again.
Choosing the right size organisers and storage units to save extra space.
Are any of these small kitchen ideas that were new to you? I hope you’ve managed to get some useful information and you’re inspired to make the most of your smaller kitchen!
