5 Big Solutions for Your Pesky Small Kitchen Problems
Whole House Organization Challenge: Week 6
If the kitchen is the workhorse of a home, then the systems used to organize it are the handlers; the whisperers that determine the flow, function and level of successes achieved there.
A well organized kitchen reduces waste and keeps you from making the mistake of buying multiples of the same thing over and over again. It makes preparing meals less stressful. I also believe it can even help a good cook become a great one.
Welcome to week 6 of the WHO Challenge, where we will be taming the wild horse that is our kitchen.
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One of things I love about doing this challenge is that there are no gimmicks. Small space living has become a bit of a trend in recent years. But many of you dear readers and I have been living the small space life and handling it like a boss long before it was ever "a thing".
Sure, a customized small (or tiny) home sounds awesome! Most of us however, have purchased our small abodes as is. That means that we often have to work around someone else's creation in order to make the space fit our needs. After more than 20 years of living small, I've come up with my own list of unconventional solutions for addressing common problems in order to squeeze every ounce of function out of my kitchen. Below are my top five:
5 BIG Solutions for Small Kitchen Problems
1. The Cabinets Are Too Shallow
Think outside of the box when choosing organization solutions. Visit the bath section of your favorite store. You'll find that it is ripe with stylish, affordable solutions. The first photo below is a great example of that.
Do you know what that silver canister is above? If you said a bathroom trash can you would be absolutely correct!
My kitchen cabinets and pantry are not only narrow, but they are also quite shallow in depth. Many standard organization solutions just don't work for me. So I had to find a work-around, and bathroom trash cans provided the perfect solution.
RELATED POST: Small Kitchen Storage Solutions
2. A Tight, Dark Blind Corner Cabinet
Ahhh yes, the big black hole of the kitchen - the blind corner cabinet. Do you really need all of those plastic containers anyway? I didn't. So after a bit of purging, a simple basket was all that was needed to corral and organize what was left. Check out my results
4. Fear of Wasting Precious Space
My solution? Use square containers instead of round ones. Below are the two solutions that I use in my own kitchen. The squared off edges of these babies help me get a mile out of mere inches of cabinet space! Au revoir round containers.
5. A Teeny Weeny Pantry
My pantry is only 15"W x 11.7"D. For years I've wanted to "enlarge" this space by using the area on the door. The problem? I only have a 2.5" clearance inside of the pantry when I close the door. The answer to my problem? Well office supplies of course! Office supplies? Uh huh...
While checking out the latest from the awesome new Chip and Joanna Gaines' Hearth and Hand collection at Target, I moseyed over to sneak a peak at items from the Project 62 Line too. There, I spotted these skinny metal wall pockets in the office supply section.
They have the perfect depth of 2.5". WHAT are the chances of that? After giving them a coat of white paint, I was able to use them here:
How cool is THAT! Now I can finally get to my vinegar and oils without a hassle. Overflow items are stored in the bins below, and foils, paper and plastic also have a place on the door. After adding this fun magnetic glass dry-erase board from Container Store, along with a wall-mounted spice rack I was one happy chica.
And those my friends, are just 5 of my big solutions for pesky small kitchen dilemmas. I'd love to know what you think. Please tell me in the comments below.
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