Dealing with small kitchen??

[mommy4ever]

Now my kitchen isn't horribly small, but I'm still in mourning for the kitchen I designed in our last home.

I'm finding it hard to keep tidy and organized. The counters accumulate clutter, and I just hate it. My kitchen table takes up ALOT of space(8x4). A smaller table isn't an option. I sit up to 9 people there 5 days a week. We love table, it looks nice, it's hardy and survives the every day life of a kid and a childcare without me worrying it'll be damaged.

Any tips on getting a kitchen streamlined to work for a busy family??

I'll post pics tomorrow. I'm off for the evening now. I've got the itch to renovate, but that is 5 or so years away, if not longer. So what can I do to make it more functional, streamlined??

Thanks!

[MNmommy]

I dont know what to tell you but if you figure something out let me know. i have a small kitchen too and its driving me nuts

[Lady_V]

My kitchen is only 10x11... and every free space is taken up by something or other... except a table because we have no room for that!

Not much advice, but I did get things from Ikea that let me put shelves, knife rack, spice rack etc on the walls...

[Jamauk]

I have a spacious kitchen, but hardly any counter space. What I found to help with the clutter was to put all of my small appliances away. No more stuff is allowed to "live" on the counters (exeption: coffe pot & kitchenaid mixer).

I found that when I let a lot of stuff live on the counters they pretty much always looked cluttered, so it was easier for other things to migrate there. With the counters cleared, it just seems like its easier to keep them decluttered.

I don't have a lot of cabinet space, so I took things that I don't use regularly (like the roasting pan, my glass salad bowl, my canning supplies, etc...) and packed them in a big plastic tub and they live in the garage. I know where they are if I need them, but they aren't taking up precious space in my kitchen.

One thing that helped me organize my kitchen was to stand in my various "spots" and think about what I do there. I have one area between the stove and the kitchen where I do almost all of the meal prep, cooking, etc..so my knife block is right there (oops, that is one other thing that lives on the counter - gotta keep it up high enough from little fingers!) - I made sure I put all of my mixing spoons, measuring cups, whisks, etc...in a drawer right in that area, etc...

Another little counter spot on the other side of the sink is where I usually make sandwiches, etc...so the bread basket is in that cabinet, the silverware drawer is right there..

I don't know if any of these tips will help you or not, but this is what worked in my house! Good Luck!

[Darlene]

We have a small kitchen too but I have one space cleared, dedicated space for working. My counters are full but mostly things (canisters) pushed into corners. kitchen aid, big toaster oven, mw, but it all has a space for working near it ... just well thought out. The spot right of the sink, above the dw is my work space. Dirty dishes are in cleaned & in the drainer or in the dw before I work. Having that one big space makes meal prep a breeze and me loving my small kitchen.
I'll measure it tomorrow. I've posted the size before but my kitchen is realy small. My dream is a kitchen with an island, room for many. This small kitchen with few steps to whatever I need is great tho too. Great for one person or 2 relaxed cooks that don't mind dancing around each other.

Put away what you don't use and other than that dedicated space, enjoy being cozy & close to everyone in your kitchen. Good excuse for extra hugs.

[geckoace]

our kitchen is tiny, ity bity and i mean cant open stove and fridge at same time or cant open either with more than 2 people in the room LOL. also we have virtually no walls its is all windows except for over the stove and where the fridge/pantry are.

my tips are:
figure out what your really need and what you keep cause you "may" need it

only keep your day to day in the room at all. our blender, crock, chopper are on a shelf in a tiny recessed area in the hallway.

use veritcal space, we have a towel bar with S hooks to hold pans just above the stove and we only have a few pans. my everyday stuff the (griddle pan and kettle) i just leave on the stovetop unless its christmas dinner or something lol

our glasses are held on slim spice rack shelves, over the fridge we use open shelving instead of a cabinet that i cant access, this is where platters and occasional things are kept. we have a lazy susan corner cabinet that is the best thing ever and pull outs with drawers instead of traditional cabinets elsewhere.

we have no dishwasher so i have a dish rack that actually fits over the back of the sink and i stack my toaster oven on top of my microwave.