Finding storage in your kitchen is hard enough, but in a small kitchen, it feels impossible! Don’t worry, as we take you through some of our best kitchen storage ideas for small spaces, you’ll find something that will help.
Trying to find storage in a small space, especially in the kitchen, can be incredibly frustrating.
But we have news for you: having a small kitchen doesn’t mean there’s not any room for storage. You just need to be a little more creative than most!
In this post, we’ll walk you through some of our favorite kitchen storage ideas for small spaces so we can help you maximize your small space!
If you enjoy this blog post, then you should also check out this one, which is all about organizing a small home!
This blog post is all about kitchen storage ideas for small spaces.
Genius Kitchen Storage Ideas for Small Spaces
1. Remove the clutter
If you’ve read other blog posts on this website, you’ll notice that this is something we add first in almost every organization-related blog, and it’s because it’s important! You probably have space for storage in your kitchen and don’t even realize.
People don’t realize it, but the kitchen is one of the places in your home that easily becomes the go-to holding space for random items, and most of these items shouldn’t even live in the kitchen.
You just brought in all your mail and you leave junk mail sitting on the counter instead of throwing it out. Your friend just gave you back that sweater they wanted to borrow. And there are so many more examples we can think of! Removing clutter and other items that you don’t need can surely give you back a little space.
2. Measure your space
This might feel silly because most people say that it’s so small anyway, why does it matter? The smallness of it is exactly why we want to measure it! Before you add anything extra to your space, even though it might feel like the tiniest item, ensure you measure exactly where you’re adding it.
You would be doing a big disservice to yourself if, for example, you bought some shelf risers and they didn’t span the entire width of your cabinet. That’s wasted space that you can’t afford in a small kitchen. Additionally, if you’re on a budget, you would not want to waste your money on something that doesn’t even properly fit in your kitchen.
3. Invest in a folding stepladder
If you’re taller than average, this might not apply to you, but get yourself a folding stepladder because you’re about to use every little space you can in your kitchen. There are more spaces than you think you can use when looking at a smaller space, you just might need a ladder to properly get to them. Depending on the height of your kitchen, you can utilize the entire wall, on top of appliances, and even the ceiling.
4. Arrange your items based on daily usage
When it comes to maximizing the amount of storage you have in a small space, everything about your kitchen must be methodical. There must be a reason for why you put items where you put them. Unfortunately, you don’t have the luxury of just throwing them anywhere.
One of the best methods that we like is putting your least used items the farthest away in the spots that are harder to get to. Places like the highest cabinet or the back of the shelf are good examples of these places. Then you should ensure that your daily items are closer and easier to get to.
Another great tip is really think about when you’re handling your least used items. How often do you really use this? Is there another spot for that item that’s not in the kitchen? Depending on how much space it takes up, maybe you could even toss it.
5. Go ahead, use the ceiling
This may sound crazy depending on the layout of your kitchen and how low your ceiling is, but this will definitely make sense to those who have lived in really small apartments and a tiny little alcove with a countertop. If it’s doable for your space, then you should try to get one of those racks that can hang from the ceiling for your pots and pans.
But safety comes first! Please do not hang anything super sharp and do not have anything flammable on it if it’s too close to your stove. Try your best not to have it hang over any area that you someone would constantly be standing directly under as well. Know what your space can accommodate and if you’re questioning it, you probably shouldn’t do it.
6. Add shelf risers
Shelf risers are one of the best items to add in small kitchen cabinets. These act as a second or, maybe, third shelf to help you neatly stack your items on top of each other. Yes, you could just stack your plates, pots, and pans, but eventually the disorganization will lend to you not maximizing the space that you have.
Additionally, having shelf risers also helps continue to be more organized when putting back your items. It’s way too easy to just throw them in there and say you’ll organize them later. This way you will already have an organization system in place and you can slide your items back in without false promises to yourself.
7. Make shelving your best friend
Having a small space, especially when it’s the kitchen, means that shelving is going to have to be your best friend. You need to utilize the wall space as much as possible. The best type of shelving to use are probably floating shelves. Most of these are pretty easy to install themselves, but make sure you’re mindful of what you’re actually storing on these shelves.
If you plan on putting heavier items on these shelves as opposed to spices, you need to make sure you get durable shelving and you are properly securing them to the wall. Additionally, if you want to maximize your kitchen space, look into corner shelving as well.
8. Use the sink (cover)
One great idea that people tend to forget is that if you keep your sink clean, you can utilize that space as well! This is such a great idea when you have a very small kitchen. Like many other tips, this all depends on the size of your sink and what you would want to utilize this space for.
There are a few different options, including buying a sink cover so you can place other items on top of it, using it as a drying rack, or you can even use it as a cutting board. Unfortunately, if your sink is oddly shaped, you may not find the perfect cover and may have to get a custom one if you want to be fancy.
But there are plenty of readjustable items that you can find that will fit almost any shape or size sink.
9. Grab some reusable containers
Another easy way to maximize your space in a small kitchen is by utilizing reusable containers. People don’t realize how much space there is in food items’ original boxes or bags. If you are someone that has a lot of snack bags or boxes or even cereals, this could help you gain back some space that you would otherwise lose. You would be surprised how much extra space you’ll find once you do this. One of the best reusable containers that we suggest are OXO containers.
10. Use a cart
If you have a very small kitchen area, a good idea would be to get yourself a moveable kitchen cart. Having one of these can bring so many benefits, including extra counter/prep space and extra storage space, of course. Additionally, it can also solve a common pain point of smaller kitchens, which is the lack of space for a dedicated trash area.
You can utilize a part of a cabinet on the kitchen cart for that. Remember when I told you to measure your space? This is very important for this piece because you want to be careful with how much space this might take up and weigh the pros and cons of getting an item like this.
11. Put up a magnet strip
Larger utensils can often take up a lot of space, and with a smaller kitchen, you can’t afford that. This is easily done by adding a magnetic strip to the side of your refrigerator and you can easily hang your larger utensils, such as some of your larger knives. It’s another great way to utilize a part of space that might not otherwise get used. But let’s be clear, this is not something that we recommend for anyone with smaller children in the house.
This blog post was all about kitchen storage ideas for small spaces.
