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If you love to cook, kitchen downsizing can be a daunting task. But with a few easy tips and products to help maximize every inch of storage, even a smaller kitchen can be a dream kitchen!
Making a Good Start in My Smaller Kitchen
As I explained in my first post on Kitchen Downsizing and Decluttering, my husband and I recently moved into a smaller home. (If you haven’t read the first post, you might want to check it out.)
The idea of downsizing didn’t seem all that daunting…until we got to the kitchen.
Cooking is a hobby as well as passion for me. The prospect of cooking in a kitchen with less than half the storage and counter space of my old kitchen was more than a little overwhelming.
following the tips I shared in my first post was heartening.
Don’t get me wrong – fitting all the food, equipment, and tableware I need to cook in this smaller space was still a daunting task. However, decluttering the equipment I didn’t really need, prioritizing the equipment I did need, and carving useful storage space out of wasted space made a big difference.
I’d made a good start. But there was still more to do, and only one way to do it.
Find efficient, attractive ways to make the most of every inch of available space.
Kitchen Downsizing: Combatting Countertop Clutter
My old kitchen had miles of countertops. That meant I could store all kinds of the things on the counters without it looking cluttered.
Not so in my new kitchen. Placing all the stuff I’d left out before on these far less spacious counters made the kitchen look untidy and disorganized. That kind of thing just makes my teeth hurt, so I had to find a better way.
The first step was to prioritize the things I used frequently that really needed to be left out on the counter.
Coffee pot? Utensil crock? Yes.
Tea kettle? Toaster? No.
The answer to those questions will be different for everyone, but sorting out what absolutely had to live on the counter versus those that could be stored in cabinets was a good start. My next step was to find some practical, good looking storage options for items in both those categories.
The giant island in my old kitchen had room for a 20-inch wooden tray to store salt, spices, oils, and vinegars I liked having close at hand.
That wasn’t an option this time. I pared the list down to the essentials and bought a 10-inch, bamboo wood Lazy Susan to store salt, pepper, olive oil near the stove. It’s attractive and very handy.
Chef’s knives are something I use every day. I wanted to keep them close at hand, but my knife block took up a lot of space on the counter. This magnetic knife holder sticks to my refrigerator and solves the problem perfectly.
This nifty paper towel caddy can be mounted under or inside a cabinet, or on a wall. I chose to mount it on the interior door of my pantry, making the most of some otherwise wasted space. It’s easy to grab a paper towel when I need it, and keeps the roll from cluttering up the counters.
Simple Solutions for Useful Lower Cabinets
Lower cabinets are necessary, but less than ideal. Having to bend down or get onto the floor to find what you’re looking for is a pain. If you’ve got a bad back, the pain of lower cabinets is more than just a figure of speech.
Pull-out shelving makes dealing with lower cabinets much, much easier. The pullout shelves I found on Amazon have some real advantages.
First, they’re expandable. I ordered shelves that will fit any cabinet from 12 to a bit more than 20 inches. However, they’re available in several different width ranges – from 9-inches to more than 26. So, you should be able to find one to fit your particular cabinet.
Second, adhesive mounting strips made installation super easy. They’ll work on frameless or framed cabinets with edge heights up to .04-inches.
If you’d prefer to mount the shelves with screws, that’s an option too. But the adhesive mounts are very strong. My shelves are loaded up with heavy pots, but I’ve had no trouble with them coming loose. Just make sure you follow the easy installation instructions and you should be good to go.
Drawer space is a little tight in my new kitchen, but these slide out baskets were a great solution. They gave me a place to store baking tools, dogs treats and other items, putting some small and fairly inconvenient lower cabinets to good use.
Once again, they feature strong adhesive mounting strips. Installing them only took a few minutes.
Kitchen Downsizing: Easy, Good-looking Organization
It’s easy to just toss stuff into a drawer. I mean, nobody’s going to see it unless they open it, right?
But cluttered drawers make it hard to find what you need, when you need it. That’s the kind of thing that can take the joy out of cooking. It might even make you scorch the caramel during the mad search for the candy thermometer, and nobody wants that.
Besides being efficient, neat, and attractive, organized drawers just make my heart happy. Here are a few items that really help.
This silverware caddy is one of my favorite organization finds. The bamboo wood looks beautiful and the nifty stickers make it easy to know what goes where. Best of all, I can fit all my cutlery into a narrow drawer. (The caddy I picked is 8-inches wide, but an almost 16-inch model is available too.)
These bamboo drawer organizers pictured below expand from 12.6 to 22-inches. They make it easy to separate items by category and find them easily. I like them so much that I bought three of them!
This wrapping organizer holds four, 12-inch rolls of wrapping plastic, paper, or foil, and comes with stickers to identify each roll. The built in cutters make it easy to pull out what you need and get a clean tear.
Easy Fixes to Maximize Pantry and Shelf Storage
As I said in my previous kitchen downsizing and decluttering post, building a new pantry was a game changer for me. I’m so happy we were able to find space to squeeze it in.
But even with the new pantry (more of a sideways-step-in than a true walk-in), I still had to find ways to maximize my available shelf space.
One of these adjustable racks lives in a cabinet near my stove to store my pot lids. I bought two more for the pantry.
They’re also terrific for sideways storage of serving platters, casseroles, bowls instead of stacking. Because the platter you want is somehow always on the bottom of the stack, right?
This nifty little corner shelf gives me easy access to a set of dishes I like, but don’t use daily.
Speaking of shelves, these rectangular numbers help my limited pantry shelf space do double duty. They’re sturdy enough for even my biggest bowls, and help me cut down on stacking. Because, once again…the one you want will always be on the bottom. Always.
The appliances and equipment I use seasonally or infrequently have been stored in the garage. But I still needed to find space for those I used more often, but not so often that they deserved to take up precious cabinet space.
The floor area below the bottom pantry shelves seemed like a good spot, but access was a problem. These rolling carts were a great solution.
At 22.4-inches tall, they fit neatly under the shelves. Wheeling them out whenever I need to use my blender or food processor is easy as pie. Often, I roll them right out of the pantry and next to whatever counter I’m working at.
Kitchen Downsizing: Don’t Waste Wall Space
Wall space can be useful space, especially when you’re downsizing. Make sure you take advantage of it.
In the past, I’ve always stored my huge collection of spices in kitchen drawers. However, drawer space is scare in my new kitchen so I had to find a new storage option.
These wall-mounted spice racks solved the problem. Two racks gave me room to store forty-eight spice bottles that I can see and access easily. If you don’t have wall space, they can also be mounted on the inside of a cabinet door.
Speaking of racks and doors, mounting these racks inside the pantry door gave convenient storage for jars and condiments.
The Finishing Touch: Kitchen Furniture that Fits
With my storage solutions solved, I turned my attention our kitchen furniture. My previous kitchen had a huge island, with room for four equally huge swivel counter stools that I loved.
However, even if we only used tow, those stools were just too massive for our new, smaller island. So, I ordered new Jack Metal counter stools from West Elm.
They’re just the right size and the quality is excellent. There are forty-one upholstery options. I went with Green Spruce upholstery and Champagne Bronze finish.
Something our new kitchen does have that the old one didn’t is a breakfast nook! A search for the perfect table sent me back to West Elm.
This 32-inch Mosco table in the Cool Walnut finish is the perfect size. Small enough so it doesn’t overwhelm, large enough to seat three. If you only had place settings on the table, no serving dishes, I think you’d have no trouble seating four.
However, I only ordered two Jack Metal Chairs to match the counter stools, one for my husband and one for me. We love eating breakfast or sipping our morning coffee here.
A Place for Everything in Our New, Smaller Place
Paring down and prioritizing my equipment, appliances, and tools, and utilizing various racks, caddies, and shelves to organize them has made kitchen downsizing a lot easier.
Though I had my doubts when I began, I love cooking in my new kitchen. There really is a place for everything, with everything in its place.
If you’re downsizing, I hope the tips, solutions, and products I’ve shared in these posts will help transform your new kitchen into a place you’ll cook up great meals and happy memories.
