The pain of organizing a tiny kitchen is something I know all too well.
Since moving out of my parents’ house, I’ve lived in approximately 15 homes. One had a big, spacious kitchen. The rest have all been…compact.
Maybe itsy-bitsy is a more appropriate word?
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In any case, I’m no stranger to figuring out tiny kitchen organization and working with mini amounts of counter space, itty-bitty cabinets, and fridges that would feel at home in a college dorm.
And yet, it hasn’t stopped me from working as a freelance, at-home recipe tester and recipe developer for going on 10 years now, all within a tiny kitchen. I’ve cooked full Thanksgiving dinners for 15 people, using only 3 feet of counter space and a single oven.
I’ve never been one to let a tiny kitchen area get in the way of my cooking.
And you know what? Kitchen organization simply comes down to creatively utilizing what you already have!
So with that, I’ve scoured the interwebs to come up with 9 of the coolest ideas I could find for organizing your small kitchen space, without hiring a contractor or storing pots and pans in your bedroom.
Make sure to click on each photo and description to check out the full posts so you can get all the juicy details.
1. Make the Most of Your Kitchen
A while ago, I wrote a series of posts demonstrating how you can make the most of your kitchen. It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a huge farmhouse kitchen, or just a wall with a fridge, a stove, and a small counter; with a few tips, the right appliances, and some simple know-how, I’ll show you how you can make any small kitchen organization ‘hack’ work for your space.
I’ve compiled the posts and their accompanying recipes (there are 22!) into this simple, free eBook – click to check it out here and download it to your phone for easy reading!
2. Tips to Keep Plastic Containers Organized In The Kitchen
Ellen over at Confessions of an Overworked Mom put together a great post about best practices for storing your plastic and glass food containers. It’s good to know I’m not the only one who sometimes finds storage options of our food containers to be the bane of my existence!
Ellen has a few simple tips for what to look for in storage options, what to keep and throw away, and the best ways you can store those food containers without losing your mind or being buried under plastic lids.
Related Post: HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR KITCHEN FOR HEALTHIER EATING
3. What Is Mise en Place? Preparing Your Kitchen
Shelley from TwoHealthyKitchens is a woman after my own heart. I learned the importance of mise en place while in cooking school and it’s still a habit that I’m glad to have; it makes cooking meals so much easier and faster.
I love Shelley’s words: “In the 15 years that I’ve had kids, I have rarely cooked an uninterrupted meal. Plan on it – and embrace mise en place as the key to cooking sanity.” Hear, hear, girlfriend! Mise en place is a total sanity saver. Check out the rest of Shelley’s post here.
4. How to Clean Your Oven (Without Using the Self-Cleaning Feature)
Jessica at AllSheCooks has broken it down here, with tips on how to clean your oven the right way, without using the self-cleaning oven feature.
I, too, have fallen victim to the self-cleaning oven dream; that is until I used the feature at my mother’s house and her kitchen filled with smoke. Whoops!
Make sure to also check out her tips for cleaning the top of a gas stove; especially those hard to clean hob grates!
5. Stocking a Kid Pantry
This idea from Christina at the ShirleyJourney is so smart, it’s the first idea on this list that I plan on fully implementing right away. She’s taken a small bathroom cupboard and turned it into a kids snack center! What’s more, she has a great idea for making sure her 4-year-old doesn’t blow through the snacks in a day; I’m thinking I may have to take her up on that idea as well.
Related Post: DECLUTTER AND CLEAN | 5 SIMPLE STEPS TO HOME OFFICE ORGANIZATION
6. Organize Your Pantry: Tips From Readers
Nicole from MomSavesMoney asked her readers how they organize their pantry… and they had some great ideas! I never knew all the ways you could use an over-the-door shoe organizer, but clearly, it’s smart.
However, my all-time fave idea on this list is from her reader Nikki S.: her meal planning idea is cheap and genius! Simply organize your dry goods items in dollar store tubs designated for each day of the week…. it’s so smart. Click through to the post to see what I mean.
7. Secrets Big Families Use to Stay Organized in the Kitchen
Sarah from Must Have Mom has what is possibly the cutest kitchen in Minnesota.
She’s put together a handful of great ideas for a kitchen command center, keeping all-important garbage bags at the ready, a menu board, I’m loving her super smart way she keeps from having to wash a thousand kids’ cups every day.
8. DIY Drawer Organizers
If you’re like me, you probably have a ton of Amazon boxes lying around. Or cereal boxes. Or diaper boxes! Damjana from AppleGreenCottage has such a cute, cheap (free!) idea for turning your old cardboard boxes into free drawer organizers and drawer dividers.
9. DIY Spice Rack Without Using Counter Space
Leanna from Faeries and Fauna Craft Co has put together this crazy-helpful DIY tutorial for building a spice rack on the inside door of your pantry! I love that this means you can just glance at your spices without having to dig around.
There you have it; 9 super easy ways to organize your small kitchen and pantry spaces like the boss you are.
Honestly, I thought I was kind of on top of my own kitchen organization, but after finding all these ideas, I’m pretty sure I’ve got more work to do! Don’t forget to follow my Kitchen Organization board on Pinterest, and if you’ve got some great kitchen organization ideas that the world needs to know about, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Ruthy Kirwan is a recipe tester, developer, and cooking instructor living in New York City.
In 2016, Ruthy created the website ‘Percolate Kitchen’ to be a digital kitchen resource for busy people. Sharing simple and quick recipes, how-to’s and guides, and meal prep for the everday family, she has built a loyal following of busy parents who want calmer weeknights. Her weekly newsletter is full of actionable tips, recipes, foodie links from around the web, kitchen ‘hacks’ and more.
You can find out more at percolatekitchen.com
