Our kitchen is small and it's been challenging to find a place for everything. As you can see from the photo below, the fridge is to the right of the large door our laundry room). We have about 2.5 ft of counter space between the fridge and the stove with another 3 feet of counter space on the other side of the stove. It's an "L-shaped" configuration with a little more work surface on either side of the sink (you can barely see the steel sink in the bottom left of the photo).
Even after a simplifying purge, there still wasn't much room for pots, pans and lids. Storing them in the oven got to be a bit much! The solution? IKEA!Ah...one of my favorite stores (: This particular rail and basket series is BYGEL and only cost me $36. I looked everywhere for a wall system and couldn't find anything less than $250 for an entire unit. This system gives double the storage than any of the units I found and you can't beat it for under $40!!! Plus it allows space underneath for rolling recycling bins. Here's a list of each item and the cost:
- (2) 39 1/4" BYGEL rails - $2.99 each
- (4) 21 3/4" BYGEL rails - $1.99 each
- (3) BYGEL cutlery caddies - $1.99 each
- (3) 3 7/8x13" BYGEL wire basket - $1.99 each
- (2) 8 1/4x13" BYGEL wire basket - $2.99 each
- (4) BYGEL S-hooks - $0.99 each
The amount of wall space covered is 7.25 x 4 feet and stores 4 pots, 3 pans, 5 lids, roasting pan with roasting rack, stainless steel colander, medium size sieve, Asian strainer, measuring cups, measuring spoons, apple corer, oven mitts, small chopping board (behind the oven mitts and large lid), wooden spoon, microplane, grater, mandolin with blades and height adjusters, sea salt, pepper mill and pepper, apple cider vinegar, liquid aminos, several teas and then the rolling bins for our recyclables. Wow!And the neat thing about this wall is that it's tucked away and cannot be seen from anywhere in the apartment unless you're standing in the kitchen. Plus, each item is so easy to reach. No more digging around the back of cabinets or moving ten things just to reach one item (:
Here's another space saver...use magnetic tins to store your favorite spices. LOVE these! We keep ours on the side of the fridge near the stove. They're up and out of the way, but very accessible. We even have room on the other side of the fridge to store 2 folding tables for the times when extra surfaces are needed.Don't forget the top of the fridge! Ours keep glass jars filled with oats, flours, rices, and beans close by, but out of the way. Baskets that perfectly fit underneath the cabinets above the fridge hold items used only for special occasions.
So if your kitchen walls seem to be closing in with no room to spare, get creative, organize and find new spaces!
In Gratitude,
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