
Reclaim Your Kitchen Space And Become More Organized
As the end of the year comes closer and closer, I realize my kitchen setup is small and organizing would help. Read how you can reclaim your kitchen space like I did!
Look At Your Space - Do You Have Unused Space? Read These Organization Hacks
Working from home coupled with having a small house makes me go a little stir crazy from time to time. Often, I sit at home and complain about the lack of space. One day I realized I had unused space as well as poorly used space. For example, a cabinet where I store my pans - like you would store books on a shelf. Another example is under my clothes washer, we placed it on a platform, and have a large space underneath that sits empty!
First, I thought about what I could store in these places if I got creative. That's when I came up with my organization hacks! I decided to take the space under my dryer and add a laundry basket. This is now where I store my pans & other kitchen tools items I don't use often, but want handy! In the space where my pans were, I now store dried goods. This space still needs work, but it's more useful than it was previously!
Second, I thought about adding cabinets to an area in our dining room - this would serve as a tea corner. With my budget in mind, I knew that wasn't an option. I opted to buy a kitchen island instead, as I have many goals in mind for my small space.
What Do You Need To Reclaim Your Kitchen?
My main goal was to get all my counter space back - I previously had my coffee maker, and other appliances on the counter at all times. This took lots of "shuffling" while I was in the kitchen or doing dishes. Constantly having to move things around, or onto the floor - not great for being in the kitchen.
After determining my goals, and reviewing my space, I came up with the top 5 things I needed to get my space back. These items allowed me to re-organize my space, and ultimately get rid of a larger piece of furniture I was previously using for storage.
Angie's Top Storage Items For The Kitchen
Plastic Storage Containers - 2.5L and 5.2L
These containers are BPA-free and provide air-tight storage, I use them to store my dried goods. The 2.5L is perfect for dry items I don't use often - like nuts or powdered sugar while the 5.2L can fit an entire bag of flour or sugar! Both sets come with (4) containers, (4) 1 cup measuring cups, labels, and a chalk marker to label your containers. I will no longer need to wash my measuring cups (yay)!
When I looked at my new kitchen island I knew I wanted to store my tea on the island, it is my "tea corner" after all. Thankfully this tea bag storage would fit in the drawer, I ultimately ended up removing the lid so I could leave it in the drawer and access my tea. Since the set came with (2), I used the other one to store snack bars in the pantry.
Fit More In Your Small Space With These Items
Two Tier Sliding Storage Drawers
Originally, I thought I could use these to replace my can rack (see below) in the pantry. However, this only held about 6-8 cans in each drawer. Instead, I opted to place my popcorn supplies in here - a popcorn maker, kernels, and seasonings. This way everything I need to make popcorn is easy to find. While it may not be "full" that's ok with me. I want my space to look organized & neat, not cluttered and overflowing.
Talk about space saving! I can fit 45 small soup cans in a 17" x 13" space. I've had this for a while in my pantry, and have never been able to use it to its fullest. The space was too small, and I couldn't use the top rack, so this got moved to a space that I now can fill 100%.
This may seem like a different organizational tool to use, but it's so necessary. I love having my cookbooks accessible in the kitchen, and I want to easily see the books I have without worrying about them falling over.
I must get back into the kitchen, if you want more tips & tricks - check out other posts on my blog.