The kitchen is one of the most functional rooms in the house. Every inch is dedicated to the tools, utensils, and accessories that will be used in the pursuit of culinary perfection. If your kitchen is a little short on space, things can get really cramped, making food preparation exponentially more difficult. However with a little organization, and some creative strategies, you may be able to turn a space that would otherwise be too small, into a cozy environment that wraps itself around you, making every tool you could possibly need just an arms length away.

In a small kitchen you will have to make up for the lack of room by using an organizational strategy. Every single item should have a place where it belongs, and it should be returned to that space the second it is no longer being used.

One way to help keep track of everything is to organize your items so that similar utensils are all stored in the same place. You can either organize based on utility; with all baking goods placed in one cabinet and all frying tools in another, or you can organize based on type, with spoons, bowels, ladles, and cups all stored with similar items based on shape and function.

A great way to stretch your storage space is the use of utensil racks. These can be installed on the ceiling or on walls, and they allow you to use empty space hanging in the air to organize and present your various tools, spoons, ladles, bowels, tongs, forks, etc.

Clutter is a common problem in many smaller kitchens. There are just too many cool cooking gadgets out there promising to revolutionize your culinary experience. The problem is that once purchased, most of these are used once or twice, and then become clutter, taking up vital work room without providing any real value.

The best way to deal with this is to go through the kitchen and make a list of anything that you don’t use on a weekly basis. These are occasional items; and except for the rare holiday or special event where you might actually need them, they exist as little more than clutter gumming up an already tight space.

These accessories should be stored away, in either a cabinet or a pantry if you have space in the kitchen, or in a closet in a room nearby. By removing them from the work flow of the kitchen you are freeing up a lot more room for your day to day cooking activities. It’s also not like you are throwing anything away, as long as these occasional items are stored in an organized and logical manner, you can always easily retrieve them when special occasions arise.

Another common problem in smaller kitchens is a lack of counter space. Counters are where most of the essential work occurs, and they represent just about the most important functional aspect of the space.

If you have a lack of surface area to work on, you can try supplementing it with a small table, or a lunch counter which can be installed on the wall. If you have a dining room, or even just a small breakfast nook, a bistro table floated in this space can provide you with another effective area to work from.

A small kitchen can be a cramped nightmare, or it can be a cozy glove, that fits snuggly around you, allowing you to easily reach out and retrieve any tool that you might need to create a delicious meal. The secret is planning and organization. Every utensil should go in its appropriate space, and unused or occasional items should be stored away outside of the work flow of the room. In this way you can maximize the efficiency of even the tiniest kitchen.

This article was sponsored by PebbleZ’s line of small kitchen tables made from natural mosaic stone patterns. The actual text of the piece was written and researched by style philosopher Joey Pebble.

	Enter your search terms Submit search form
	Web www.creativehomemaking.com