So I am getting around to posting just now because I have spent a big part of today reorganizing the kitchen — I blame it on Smitten Kitchen who had a *great* post on maxing out a tiny kitchen, and the 150+ comments where people were comparing sizes of tiny counters.
You see, if you live in a small apartment, you are always looking for ways to maximize space and minimize clutter. You wish for floor to ceiling built-in shelves (ok, I do). Oh, and pretty much every piece of furniture but the table has additional built-in storage in it.
Anyways, all those comparisons made me take a look at the kitchen here and realize that (1) it is small but (2) it actually has real counter space that I was not maximizing at all and (3) the rack on the wall left by the previous owner (who mind you, moved out almost 8 years ago) was actually a pots and pan rack. I had just ignored it before because I found it was ugly. Fortunately I was too lazy to actually ever remove it, and now I have no less than 6 pots and pans hanging from it. It also means that the overstuffed cupboard where I store pots and pans is no longer an overstuffed mess where things fall out clanging loudly.
I loved Deb’s tips for a small kitchen and wanted to add some of mine:
1. The area under the kitchen sink is a great place to store appliances because it’s a nice tall cabinet. I have cleaning supplies on one side and most of my appliances on the other. If you are one of those people who says “if you don’t leave your appliances out you won’t use them” you must have a big kitchen.
2. In opposition to Deb’s “get an additional kitchen island and do not put anything on it”, the additional island is where I store my Le Creuset pot and my rice cooker now, so I can use my actual counter. I reclaimed a good square foot today. Of course, that’s really up to how much counter space you have in your kitchen.
3. The fridge is a great place to store things like flour and sugar and vinegar. Those would take up a lot of space in cupboards otherwise.
4. The inside door of freezer is the best place to store spices. It will beat any spice cabinet out there (except a custom made one) if you have a lot of spices, plus they last longer that way. Kim O’Donnel of Mighty Appetite was the person who suggested this, and she is so right.
5. And finally, a tiny stove is no reason to not cook. I have the exact same stove you see on Deb’s blog, and with some judicious balancing, you can use all four burners at once. And Deb baked a wedding cake in her tiny 3/4 size oven. It’s doable, really.
General Disclosures & Disclaimers
