Clever storage ideas for small kitchens

Where do you store things in a small kitchen?

Storage need not be an issue in a small kitchen with our clever storage tips:

• Use the ceiling space — copper saucepan ceiling hangers look particularly stylish.
• Put up shelves — you can immediately see what you have in stock on an open shelf. Glass storage jars can be lined up neatly with labels.
• Utilise the space underneath wall cupboards — you can buy metal racks which hook on the base of the cupboard to act as an extra shelf. These are useful for hanging tea towels or storing chopping boards.
• Use a filing organiser rack for pans, chopping boards, trays and serving platters. You can buy slimline organisers which can fit in the gaps beneath appliances. 
• When designing your kitchen, make sure the cupboards reach the ceiling, so that every inch of space is used. Even the space above the cooker hood can be used. 
• If your cupboards don’t have shelves, you can buy tiered cupboard organisers to fit in even more — while keeping the cupboards neat and organised — so that you can open the cupboards without fear of items toppling out.

How to organise a small kitchen counter space?

You might start out with the best of intentions, but it’s amazing how quickly kitchen counter space can be overtaken with piles of ‘stuff’: bills, schoolwork, sunglasses, keys, random bottles of olive oil, orange quash or other food items that haven’t been put away immediately. It adds up to a real collection of odds and ends! This can happen in any kitchen, but it’s particularly problematic in small kitchens. It can become an eyesore and you run out of space to prepare meals! It’s time to get organised:

1. Relocate the clutter to a countertop organiser — there are some stylish options on the market.
2. The inside of your drawers may be hidden from sight, but they will fit more in if they are well organised. Use drawer organisers to make the most of all the space and relocate things away from the countertop. 
3. Use hanging storage above the countertops — pan hangers, utensil hangers, plant hangers — not only do they fit a purpose, but they can look good too. 
4. Create levels on your countertops using racks and steps. You can get tiered spice and oil racks, or countertop kitchen roll dispensers with extra room for utensils and an additional shelf. 
5. Utilise the space above a countertop microwave by using a microwave rack which fits over the microwave and adds a shelf above. 
6. Use the walls over the countertops for wall hanging organisers.

Reorganising your small kitchen without cabinets

One of the issues with small kitchens is that the owner fails to look beyond the lack of kitchen cabinets — they see only a shortage of space and try to cram everything into just a few small cupboards. This results in not being able to find items and the danger of everything falling out of the cupboard onto the next person who opens it! There are, in fact, lots of ways to reorganise your small kitchen without the need for cabinets.

Think about how you can utilise the kitchen walls. Pegboards are a funky way of hanging kitchen utensils on the wall. This looks particularly good in a modern or urban kitchen. You’ll never have to turn out the drawers looking for your potato masher again — it will be right there to grab.

You don’t need to use up precious cabinet space with all your plates — a wooden plate rack painted in your favourite Farrow & Ball shade and fixed to a wall will become a kitchen centre-piece. You can also hang coffee cups on a wall rack (choose your best specimens, as they are on display!).

If you have the floor space in your kitchen, you can use a kitchen trolley for additional storage space (which can be pulled flat for storage) or a portable kitchen island with wheels and pantry shelves.
If you don’t have the cabinet space for dried food items, you can also put them on display. Glass jars look really good when filled with rice, pasta, nuts or seeds and then neatly labelled. You can buy reusable chalk stickers or you can order stickers in an elegant font and colour of your choice. You could also arrange your cutlery in glass jars, which also looks aesthetically pleasing — just add some dry rice to the bottom of the jars to prevent the cutlery scratching the glass.

Use a food waste disposer to improve efficiency

Food caddies are awkward in small kitchens with a lack of counter or floor space — and the smell that comes from a food caddy can seem even stronger in a small space. Fitting a food waste disposer to the kitchen sink will mean that you can get rid of the food caddy.

How does it work? The disposer breaks down the food waste into very fine particles and into your wastewater pipe. From there it flows to the wastewater treatment plant or your septic system, avoiding landfill. Not only will you be relieved to be getting rid of that cumbersome food caddy, but you can also feel good that this will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the food waste can be processed and used for renewable energy.

FAQ:

What can I put in my skinny kitchen cabinets?

So many skinny kitchen items can be satisfyingly stored in a skinny kitchen cabinet, including:

• Oils and vinegars
• Baking sheets
• Bottles of wine
• Chopping boards
• Spices

How should pots and pans be stored in a small kitchen?

There’s nothing more annoying than the crashing of pots and pans tumbling out of a cupboard, or hunting around for a lost pan lid. There are lots of places in a small kitchen where you can cleverly store pots and pans:

• In the cupboard above the stove
• Hanging on a pegboard
• Hanging on a ceiling or wall rack
• In a draw beneath the oven 

Lids can be hung on the back of cupboard doors — you won’t be hunting for them again.