20 ideas for keeping small kitchens neat and tidy
Small kitchens are a challenge. And as many of us know, this problem doesn't just affect cooks on small sailing ships. Often, we're left wondering how we can cram our cutlery, pots, pans, and cleaning products into such a tiny space. Then we have to find out a way of keeping everything nice and tidy at the same time. That's why we've come up with the following ideas that may help you make the most of the (little) space you have....
1. The cabinet under the sink is usually used to stow smaller items such as cleaning products. If you stow these items in small baskets, they should no longer fall about all over the place. Perhaps the best idea in the image below is the bar installed at the back for hanging the spray bottles.
2. If you keep your garbage can below the sink, it's always good to have the bags handy. As well as saving some space, these homemade mounts make it easier to tear off the individual bags.
3. There are people who have never bought a cookbook, but have received countless copies as gifts. These baskets attached to the wall are a neat alternative to shelves, and prevent the books from falling over to the side.
4. This hanging basket is ideal for smaller cups. As it's quite hard to stack them, this is an excellent way to keep your cups on a flat surface without taking up too much space.
5. Here's another basket idea for storing smaller items such as Post-it notes, pens, paperclips, and any other things that you think you'll need at one time or another.
6. Though often forgotten, the area next to the window is a great place to keep some of your nicer things. And everyone can see how well you've cleaned out your glasses.
7. To prevent your cables from getting into a tangled mess, you can either attach clips to your kitchen appliances like the one below or use reusable cable ties.
8. Here's a space-saving trick that we've shown you before. You can turn an empty tissue box into a first-class plastic bag dispenser by following the instructions in our video.
9. Magazine holders aren't just limited to their intended purpose, as the following example shows. Perfect!
10. You can use strong double-sided tape to stick a magazine holder to the cabinet door. Inside, you can keep your baking parchment, replacement sponges or freezer bags handy.
11. Magazine holder trick #3. This storage idea makes sure round grocery items like onions and potatoes cannot roll away. However, the best thing about this hack is that the magazine holders can be kept in the narrowest of cabinets.
12. While pots can be neatly stacked inside each other, the same cannot be said for their lids. If you install a small towel rail on the wall, your lids will never get in the way.
13. Though they may not look too pretty in the image below, these brackets made of pipe are a smart idea. This way, you no longer need to root around in cabinets, as the pot in the size you need is always at hand.
14. As you can see in the image below, magnets have been glued to the screw-top containers. These are then attached to a metal plate on a wall unit, making the perfect "floating" spice rack!
15. Magnets can be just as useful for kitchen knives, too. With this trick, you'll no longer need a bulky knife block taking up room on the worktop.
16. While we're at it, here's another cool trick for stowing your kitchen utensils upside down. Whether you need a spatula or a wooden spoon, the right item is always at hand.
17. From soups to pudding mix, those little packages can be extremely useful when we're preparing food. The following idea is just as practical, as you can hang the packages on the improvised mini curtain rail.
18. You can fit a rack even in the narrowest of gaps. Just add some wheels and a handle to make this useful contraption even more incredible.
19. As well as providing a stylish touch, this fold-up table provides you with more room to stow your stuff.
20. If you have little space (or laundry), it's best to get a top-load washing machine. Sadly, these can take up a lot of space in the kitchen though. To get around the problem, this person has built a fold-up worktop to keep the washing machine inside!
Of course, every kitchen is different and not all of these tricks will work everywhere. But we hope you've at least found a few ideas from the list that will save some space in your kitchen. If you know someone who needs to get their kitchen in order, share this article with them!