However big your kitchen is, there never seems to be enough space for everything but a few clever tricks and ideas can make the difference between a cluttered kitchen and a kitchen that is clutter free and working well for you.
How much can you fit on your work surfaces without making it too cluttered? It is easy to use the space on worktops and then adding to it with paperwork, post and other things. Try and avoid cluttering your remaining space by putting your organisation, planning and paper on the walls.
Invest in a good-sized magnet board so that paperwork that needs to be kept or dealt with later can be popped up and kept in a visible place. Whiteboards or chalkboards can be useful too to keep reminders or write messages and you can even buy chalkboard paint to create your own design wherever you need it.
Make the most of the space underneath cabinets. Many kitchens have wall cupboards with space beneath and these spaces are invaluable as you can fit extra shelves underneath them or store those appliances that you don’t use all of the time such as food mixers or even cookbooks.
Think about the tops of cupboards too, there often isn’t a huge amount of space but you might be able to fit baskets on the top which still look tidy but can store away things that you don’t often use and they make it easy to get things down too.
Hang things up. Aprons, oven gloves, tea towels, shopping bags, and even pots and pans can be hung up to keep them out of the way and easy to put your hands on. Whether you choose adhesive hooks, rows of hooks or over the door hooks, there are lots of options to choose from. Consider a pegboard, there are a range of sizes and styles available.
When it comes to where to put everything, it is a good idea to give some thought to how to organise your pots, pans, utensils, crockery and even food so that you make life easier for yourself. Wherever possible, try and keep things in the space where you use it the most.
Keep cooking utensils and pans near to the cooker or hob and if possible put your oils, condiments and herbs and spices within reaching distance. With crockery, organise everything into your cupboards so that the things you use the least are on the higher shelves.
Make good use of everything. Why not use jars, mugs, containers and even vases to store things in things in. Use storage jars for everything from food, tea and coffee; biscuits or even cake cases, lined up they can look really cool and can be a great space saver.
If you have a nice pot or small vase, why not use it to hold your cooking utensils and pop it by the cooker, useful and pretty. Mugs can be used to hold those odds and ends that you can never find a home for.
Think about your drawer space. Drawers can be brilliant spaces to keep a variety of things and not just cutlery. Why not use a drawer to hold all of those plastic tubs and lids that can disappear in the cupboards? Setting up a simple divider system in drawers using cardboard tubes or plastic tubs can help maximise space and keep everything organised.
Look under the sink. The cupboard under the kitchen sink is usually the place to keep cleaning and washing products and you can make the most of this pace in a few simple ways. Use a tension rod to hang bottles on so that they are out of the way and it will create more space below.
Attach baskets to the inside of the doors to hold cleaning cloths, brushes and scourers and put everything else into baskets or one of those plastic storage boxes with a handle so that you can easily get out what you need.
Introduce yourself to Lazy Susan. An interesting name given to a rotating shelf or turntable, which is traditionally used in the centre of a table to help share meals or to keep condiments.
These can be perfect in different locations around the kitchen to store anything from spices to pots with bits and bobs inside to jars or small items of crockery. You can keep them in cupboards to help with storage or keep them on work surfaces for an easy go-to for kitchen essentials.
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