Small, cluttered kitchens with limited counter and cabinet space create challenges in tiny apartments and small condos and homes. Problems arise from wasted time to wasted space. Want to organize your appliances, maximize your space and make your kitchen more efficient? Consider the top ways to remove the clutter in a small kitchen.
Gauge your gadgets.
From fruit slicers to standing mixers, everyone loves a nifty kitchen gadget. But with limited space, too many handy appliances create a recipe for clutter. For some extra cooking space and a little more breathing room, start by sorting through that old drawer full of gadgets.
Ask yourself: can you replace that shiny fruit slicer with a regular old kitchen knife? Can you roll up your sleeves and mix that cake batter with just your own two hands and a spoon? If grandma did it back in her day, then you can do it today.
It’s also a good time to throw away any broken gadgets. If you’re in a giving mood, repair the broken gadgets and donate them to charity.
Downsize your dinnerware.
We buy it for fun, we get it as gifts and we save it for special occasions. But how much dinnerware do you really need? The answer: about as much as you use at one time.
No kitchen would be complete without a set of plates, bowls, cups, glasses and utensils. But 30 wine glasses and 15 plates can eat up serious cabinet space in a small kitchen. The best way to declutter dinnerware is to downsize.
It’s hard to part with the dinnerware we know and love. But unless you host a party every Saturday night, you can let some of it go. Don’t want to say goodbye forever? Stack your dinnerware in a cardboard box and store it in a closet or storage space.
Go big on pots and pans.
Downsizing works for dinnerware. But bigger is better for decluttering your pots and pans. Why? Because one large, versatile pot or pan does the job of a small or medium-sized one. Your pots and pans can multi-task, too. A fruit bowl works as a salad bowl and a mixing bowl all in one.
More practical. Less decorative.
Every kitchen balances practical and decorative items. But the small kitchen—with less space for both types of items—tips the scale in favor of the more practical ones.
The same huge and whimsical cookie jar that brings a large kitchen to life can eat up precious real estate in a small kitchen. But there are simple ways to make a small yet practical kitchen fun.
Anything you hang on the wall helps to decorate and declutter a small kitchen. Get creative with all types of kitchen accents from fine contemporary art to fancy pot-holders.
Kitchen cloning syndrome.
Maybe you bought a new bottle opener, only to find you already had one at home. Maybe your parents gave you a coffee machine for Christmas but you never got rid of the old one. Maybe it was pure magic. Somehow, kitchenware has a way of cloning itself.
Got a kitchen full of duplicates? Get rid of them to free up some space and stop the madness.
Play to your strengths.
A cupcake tin belongs in a baker’s kitchen. A cheese plate belongs in the panty of a wine and cheese connoisseur. But an oversized meat grill can waste serious space in the kitchen of a vegetarian.
If you want to declutter a small kitchen, play to your cooking strengths. Anything you use counts as a staple of your kitchen. Everything else belongs in storage—or at your next garage sale.
Get smart about tools.
Small kitchens are no place for limitless appliances. Rather than buy every specialty product at the kitchen store, stick with the tried-and-true tools designed for multi-tasking. A hand-mixer, for example, can double as a whisk. And fridge-safe dishes can replace your plastic containers. Figure out how to make your appliances work smarter—not harder.
NDA Kitchens
Ready to design and build the kitchen of your dreams? Reach out to NDA Kitchens today.
