Tips for Organizing a Small Kitchen

I have a small kitchen, yup you heard me right. I loved the house that we bought so much that I had one hundred excuses as to why the small kitchen would not be a problem for me. Boy, was I wrong! Small kitchens are a nightmare, but with a few tips for organizing a small kitchen, you can survive and actually learn to love it!

You will not believe the #1 tip for organizing a small kitchen, I will get to that here in just a bit!

Are you stuck with a small kitchen?? Small kitchens are short on quite a few things…..

Workspace (aka countertops)
Cabinet space
Food storage
Flooring (This is a major problem when you have kids)

So what are the most important tips to organizing a small kitchen? The ones that will really make a difference and change the way you feel about your kitchen. Read on my friends, read on.

Interior of a modern small kitchen.

Tips for Organizing a Small Kitchen

Make use of every square inch of cabinet space – Have you opened your cabinets and checked for unused space? Look at the space above the food, is there unused space? You can use a cabinet basket organizer with a pull out drawer under your existing items. The top is flat on the top leaving your plenty of space to place food boxes on top. You can also use a cabinet shelf organizer, place your small things under them and other things will fit nicely on top.
Find an over the sink cutting board – When your countertop space is limited it is really hard to find a large open space while cooking a meal. Ingredients take up space and so do your dirty dishes. An over the sink cutting board is an awesome way to grab a little extra space for all your cutting needs, it can also create extra space for just about anything else you need space for. Bonus** When you’re done with it, hide it in a cabinet!
Use a door mount rack organizer – These are great for holding saran wrap, aluminum foil, and even plastic baggies. This door mount rack organizer works best for aluminum foil and such and this over the door organizer doesn’t have to be mounted and works well for storing cleaners that you use most often.
Organizing your pots and pans – This was one of the first things I wanted to tackle when I began organizing my small kitchen. I have The Pioneer Woman 10 Pc. Vintage speckled pan set and it is my pride and joy (seriously folks, it is an awesome set). I have one cabinet for pots and pans…. just one. I purchased two of these pot and pan organizers from Amazon (the cool thing is they adjust, so you can use it for skillets or saucepans) they have really worked well for me and keep my pans from touching so no scratches!
Remove things from boxes – This one may sound a little weird but it really works for us. If I bring home cereal from the store I immediately dump it into a large plastic ziplock bag. All snack cakes or granola bars are taken out of the box and put into the snack bowl (right next to the fruit bowl). you would not believe how much extra space these boxes take up!

I could probably talk forever giving you tips on organizing a small kitchen! When you use one on a daily basis you tend to come up with these little tricks to survive!

Now it’s time to tell you the #1 tip for organizing your small kitchen!

You must become a minimalist! I know you guys have heard of tiny homes. Well, those people live in a one room house and how do they do it?? They get rid of all the excess stuff out of their life! Look around and really clean your space out. Do you really need three 12 in. skillets?? I doubt it!

I know it’s hard to part with your things but I do promise you one thing. It will make your life so much easier!! If you are leery about doing it then take a box and put it in your basement… if you survive without those things for 3 months, take them and donate them! You won’t miss them, I promise!