The Space-Saving Tools and Tricks That Made My Tiny Kitchen Usable

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Last year, one of my New Year's resolutions was to overhaul my apartment and turn it into a cleaner, more comfortable, more organized, and more efficient space. Knowing that a messy space can negatively impact your productivity and overall mental health, I reasoned that this would actually serve the purpose of making me a more efficient, peaceful person, so I took it seriously. One major issue was quickly apparent: My kitchen is tiny, which meant it was disorganized and more or less useless when it came to its primary function, which is to facilitate my cooking. It took some creativity (and money), but I figured out what to do—and now I'm learning to cook and bake better for one of this year's resolutions.

The improvements I made to the kitchen

My kitchen is a little over three feet wide and five feet long. (I live in NYC, where this is the norm.) There is no counter space; all there is along one side is a sink and an oven. The first thing I had to do was manufacture counter space, which I did by adding cubed storage shelving. (I did this years ago, but only truly organized the cubes last year. We're getting to that.) It looks like this:

Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

The main things I thought of, besides organizing the cubed storage, were how I could better utilize what space I did have, which is why anything and everything possible is now hanging vertically on under-cabinet wine glass racks, utensil holders, or a towel rack, plus hooks all over. What I'm most excited for is the impending delivery of this big peg board, which is going to allow me to hang more utensils and cookware on the wall.

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Other, smaller improvements became more obvious to me as I worked through organizing the big stuff. Once I cleared out and designated a suitable spot for my Nespresso, I figured out I needed a vertical, adhesive-backed holder for the pods, since there wasn't enough room in the cubes to hold them in their retail boxes. I finally bought a big ladder so I could actually use my cupboards. I then set about organizing the cupboards with acrylic risers, the same way I organized my perfume and makeup. For the area under the sink, I bought a pull-out shelf to give me easy access to cleaning materials. The boxes containing my various grains and oats were too unwieldy to keep in my cupboards, which led me to a rotating rice dispenser. It went on that way for a while, with me paying tribute to the Amazon gods every few days, but it was all because I had a bigger plan.

The organizing rules that guided me (and can help you, too)

You may not want a giant peg board or need to hang all your spatulas upside-down. Maybe you have lots of drawers. That's cool. You still need a plan for organizing whatever you've got and a plan for figuring out what you, specifically, need.

Throughout the organizing process, I kept a key principle in mind. It's called the Organizational Triangle and it's a set of three rules: Everything needs a place, similar items must be stored together, and for every new thing that comes in, one should go out. I ignored the last rule, for the most part, because what I was bringing in was meant to store what was already there better, but those first two were crucial. Prior to using the OT, not everything had a place. Some bowls and mugs lived in the sink. Not everything was stored together, either, which made it a pain to attempt to cook. By grouping similar items and designating each of them a spot, I could assess the volume of each category, get rid of what I didn't need, and better organize everything. By organizing smaller batches of things that would fit into one cube or on one hanging rack, I ended up organizing the whole thing, big-picture-style.

Other cleaning and organizing techniques, like SIMPLE and Core 4, were also instrumental. Both of these advise that you need containers for your things. Again, this helps you assess actual volume and make sharper decluttering choices, but it also keeps everything neat. I got a little abstract in my interpretation, considering my hanging organizers "containers," but also used boxes and the aforementioned grain dispenser to meet those requirements.

By following strict, pre-identified cleaning and organizing rules, I was able to more effectively turn the space into something usable. The guidelines helped me make a plan, even if I was redoing and correcting it as I went along, so I wasn't just hanging myself out to dry. Now, when I need a spatula or whatever you call that special tool that breaks up ground beef, I know where they are, they're easy to reach, and I feel good about how everything looks before, during, and after a cook session.

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