We moved our daughter into her first college apartment. The move-in was very smooth, but then we had to deal with a small apartment - the kitchen was extremely tiny. While the cabinets were plentiful, it was not well organized at all. So, I went and modified the items in the cupboards. This post will share with you all the extra storage space hacks you can add to a small kitchen on a limited budget. Follow along and make your small kitchen organized.
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- Buy affordable interlocking cubbies
- Buy foldable fabric bins
- Color coding your shared kitchen.
- Use Vertical Storage when possible.
- Add over-the-sink pot racks or dish racks.
- Wall mount units work great for small kitchens.
- Use the side of the refrigerator.
- Use the inside of the cabinet doors.
- Use the inside of the oven or below the stove.
- Buy acrylic bins to organize the fridge.
- Minimize duplicate supplies in your small kitchen.
- Add shelving under the counter overhang.
- Additional safety considerations
Buy affordable interlocking cubbies
In small spaces, you need to be creative about where you place all your stuff. One thing I used in my tiny college apartment was wire interlocking and stackable cubbies (affiliate). They were easily transportable. And they can be assembled exactly as you want them in any room you need. Below are the ones I found on Amazon (affiliate) (affiliate).
Wire interlocking Cube Storage Unit, with Divider Design, Modular Cabinet with Plastic Panels
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Wire Interlocking Cube Storage, 8 - Cube Organizer Metal C Grids, Modular Shelves Units
Buy Now →(affiliate)
Buy foldable fabric bins
Then, I used foldable fabric bins (affiliate) (12 x 12 x 12 inches) for each cubby opening to house my daughter's kitchen tools (affiliate). Foldable bins are great for the kitchen as well as closets and are versatile when moving from one place to another.
Color coding your shared kitchen.
She has a medical condition that requires her to keep her kitchen supplies separate from others to minimize the risk of cross-contamination. Her few pots, pans, and other supplies made a great home inside these fabric bins (affiliate). She also labeled all her food items to remember which ones were hers when they could not separate the things, like in the refrigerator. This would ensure that only her food would be in this bin.
Buy Now → (affiliate)
Use Vertical Storage when possible.
Vertical storage is a wonderful place to start if you only have one area to store your kitchen things. Going from floor to ceiling with freestanding shelving (affiliate) will create a substantial amount of storage space for your small kitchen.
Add over-the-sink pot racks or dish racks.
Pot racks or sink racks are perfect to hold these frequently used items without taking up cabinet space. We had a pot rack and hung it over the peninsula we had in our kitchen.
Wall mount units work great for small kitchens.
This is great for people who own their small house. Landlords may not want you to make holes in the walls or ceiling. Wall mounts work well for lighter items, such as spice and herb containers.
Use the side of the refrigerator.
Find magnet storage items that work well for the side of the refrigerator if one side or both are available. Some rear reflector fronts are not metal, so they will not hold magnets or these units. Find organizing shelving (affiliate) units that have strong magnets. If they are not strong, they may not be able to keep your small items. It will just slide off the refrigerator.
Use the inside of the cabinet doors.
Only do this if you are sure the cabinet door is securely closed. This option may not be suitable for doors that are loose or that do not have a wide open span. Below are some possibilities for utilizing the inside of the cabinet door without incurring excessive costs.
The over-the-door (affiliate) cabinet organizer can hold items such as cleaning supplies, spices (affiliate), pot lids, and cutting boards. They are great for items you use often.
Use the inside of the oven or below the stove.
Some older ovens have a drawer at the bottom for storing pots and pans. They also work great for cookie sheets (affiliate), platters (affiliate), and other larger flat items.
Buy acrylic bins to organize the fridge.
In the refrigerator, she had a clear acrylic bin at home for her small food items and specialty bread, and labeled the container so it was easily recognizable.
Refrigerator Organizer Bins - 8pcs Clear Plastic Bins 12.5 inch deep
Buy Now →(affiliate)
There was an opening above the upper cabinets, allowing us to store boxes (affiliate), paper towels, and extra supplies for later use. Again, having a step stool (affiliate) nearby helped me reach these places quickly.
Minimize duplicate supplies in your small kitchen.
The next tip for finding extra storage in your small kitchen is to minimize duplicate supplies.
There were many duplicates in the kitchen space—plates upon plates, several sets of silverware, duplicate kitchen tools (affiliate), and supplies. To keep the area more organized and clutter-free, minimize duplication whenever possible. If you know your roommates, share a spreadsheet so they know who is bringing what kitchen supplies. Visit our Helpful First Time Off-Campus Apartment post for tips on maximizing space.
Tip! Look at the small kitchen and be creative with your storage. There may be storage under the bar area, on top of a higher counter, and above a cabinet. Vertical storage space is essential in a small space.
When I say be creative, I mean, look at your space as a blank slate. Try not to see the obstacles. There is always space when you use your creativity! Look above cabinets, below cabinets, on the other side of the peninsula, on the walls near doors, and over the fridge areas. Stay as open as possible. If you need some inspiration, take a look at an example of what I did in my small kitchen years ago to add more storage space.
Add shelving under the counter overhang.
Before we remodeled our kitchen, we discovered these excellent wire shelving (affiliate) units and bins that added significant storage space under the bar area on the outer side of the peninsula. It was a useless space since we had a kitchen table less than 3 feet away from the counter.
Buy Now → (affiliate)
Thanks to labels (affiliate) and wicker bins (affiliate), I love the functionality of this storage area. =) When the kids were little, we rarely used the bar on our peninsula counter. So, I decided to make this area additional storage space.
I used the same wicker bins (affiliate) for snacks and dog food, labeling them with ribbon and tags to make the containers look more cohesive. Then, I added DIY cookbook binders, where I housed the loose-leaf magazine recipes that I often used when planning meals for the week. There was a total of 3 wire shelving units in this area.
I have another wire shelving unit, as shown in the image above, that holds recycling bins (affiliate) for paper and plastic. The shallow wicker containers (affiliate) on top of the wire shelves (affiliate) were used for tablecloths and placemats. To prevent the baskets from snagging on the wire shelves (affiliate), I added a cabinet liner to the wire shelves (affiliate) when I moved them in and out. It provided a smooth surface for movement. The three units of wire shelves offered me an additional 31.5 sq. ft. of storage. Yay!
Additional safety considerations
Check the weight capacity for your storage items. Some may not be able to hold things like larger mixers and other appliances.
If you plan on mounting to the wall, ensure that at least one of your mounts is in a stud and the other is using a wall anchor suitable for the weight of the item you are affixing to the wall.
The extra storage in the kitchen helps you feel more comfortable and practical when preparing meals for the family. I hope this post inspires you to add extra storage to a small kitchen.
What ideas have you used to make your small kitchen more storage-friendly? I would love to hear your comments!
Below are some additional posts for small kitchen organizing tips. The titles in all caps are from our blog.
10 CLEVER SMALL KITCHEN ORGANIZING TIPS
How to Organize a Small Kitchen
HOW TO FIND WASTED STORAGE SPACES IN YOUR HOME
Visit my other small house storage hacks for the other areas of your home.
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