I cannot believe it, but I am still under the weather from this nasty cold! Because I’ve spent so much time cooped up in our tiny bungalow, I felt like it was a good opportunity to share more details of how we live. Today is really specific: it’s all about how our small kitchen is organized. I took a quick video showing what’s inside each cabinet, how we use our storage, and a few of the storage tools I can’t live without!
We’ve lived with the newly renovated kitchen for about 8 months now and it just keeps getting better and better! As you can see from my video tour, we’ve really made it our own. Recently, I totally removed everything from the cupboards and re-configured the location of everything. It felt like it was time to re-evaluate what was working… and what wasn’t. I’m happy to report that it’s pretty much organized exactly as I want it to be! Watch the IGTV video and let me know what you think.
5 Small Kitchen Organization Tips
Nest things as much as possible
I’m a big fan of pieces that nest. For example, our fine mesh strainer fits inside our colander. Whenever possible, try to chose kitchen tools that nest so that the footprint is smaller within the overall storage situation. Another good example is that I donated our existing set of non-matching food storage containers and bought a set that nested together. I also decided that we didn’t need round food storage containers. These square and rectangular ones felt more modular and a better way of keeping things stored in the fridge. So far it’s been working for us!
Keep lids tidy
Food storage lids used to be the bane of my existence. They just always went EVERYwhere and were never where I needed them to actually be. We moved the food storage containers from a lower pull out to the upper cabinet and I love the new location. It’s almost at eye level so I can see which size container I have on hand. Then — here’s the genius move — get a vertical plate organizer to hold the lids. Not only are my lids now organized by size, it’s easy for Sean to know where they go when they come out of the dishwasher. I highly recommend the one I linked because it has rubber feet to hold it all in place. Not all of them have that!
Use trivets to hold things in place
If you have giant sliding drawers like us, I highly recommend using a trivet that’s either silicone or cork to hold things in place. These IKEA trivets are my personal favorite… and who knew they are sold on Amazon now?? I know you can also get drawer lining paper that prevents things from slipping, but this is a hack I learned to do with whatever I had on hand at the moment. Plus, it allows me the flexibility to change things up as needed. Also, let’s be real here: I don’t have the patience to properly apply contact paper to anything!
Reassess your storage needs every 6 months
I know this can seem daunting, but it really helps in the long run! Because I took stock of all my kitchen tools, gadgets, bakeware, serveware, etc after about 6 months of using the kitchen, I was able to identify what wasn’t necessary. For example, I realized I did NOT need 4 different ways to make coffee… especially in 640 sqft and when I’m the only coffee-drinker in the house! I’ll probably comb through our cabinets and drawers after the summer is over to see what’s what.
Organize it for yourself, no one else
Yeah, it’s probably weird that I keep my microplane with our utensils… but it works for me! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked for it while in the midst of cooking. But now that it has a spot that simply requires opening a drawer (instead of riffling around through my crock), it’s so much more streamlined. Similarly, I don’t like having my knifes hidden away. So instead, they live on the countertop, on display.
What I’m saying is that it is your kitchen and, chances are, you’re the person who prepares most of the meals in your home like me. So set up the space so that it’s truly functional for you.
If you’re looking for the source of anything in our kitchen, I created an Amazon storefront with ALL of my kitchen essentials!
What do you think of these 5 small kitchen organization tips? And our video tour?? I’m thinking of sharing more posts like this based on each room in our house. Let me know which you’d like to see next!
