Time again to have a visit to my Kitchen!
In our first time together we took a peek at the area around the fridge, sink and lazy susan.
Last time we were in the beverage zone.
Today we will have a look at this final area of our tiny efficient kitchen.
There is a time and a place for that style of doors, but for me it is not in a small kitchen like mine. They might be for a large kitchen where you can afford to just have “pretties” stored in them – a lovely simple display that is pleasing to the eye.
My first thought when I saw these doors (and knowing it was an IKEA kitchen) was that I would get new solid doors to replace the glass ones. However, I had the brain wave that I had nothing to lose by painting the inside of the glass white, thus giving the appearance of a solid door. I used chalk paint – which promises it will adhere to any surface – and I had great results. Money saved! Four years have gone by and the paint shows no sign of wear.
The one thing I did do in order to give these cupboards even better storage options was to go to IKEA and buy extra shelves. I use the prime real estate shelves of these cupboards for my spices.
Thanks to the extra shelves we’ve added, I can max out the space. I use lots of spices as I love to cook. For ease of retrieval I do have them in alphabetical order. Not sure that I like to admit that I’m “that person who alphabetizes her spices”, but here I am.
Spices are where we make use of the elastic trick.
You know how you can buy your spices in bulk?
You come home and empty them into your container and it doesn’t all fit. Well, put in what you can and then put an elastic around the container to indicate that you have more of that spice elsewhere.
Bundle all the bits together and store them in a bin. It doesn’t have to be in prime real estate.
When your container is empty, go to the storage bin and add the remainder to your container. Then remove the elastic and this will let you know that as the level gets close to the bottom, then it is time to add this item to your shopping list. I keep my overflow supplies in a container with a lid. I put it in an out of the way spot in my kitchen cupboard, tucked in behind my recycling bin. I pull it out when I need to fill up a container, but the rest of the time it is tucked out of the way.
The upper shelves in this cupboard are for my casserole dishes, a few larger rectangular tupperware containers (for vegetables) and up top a couple of rarely used serving pieces. If I need to access the things on the upper shelf then I use my 2-step ladder that I store close by in my front closet.
Next I have 2 shallow drawers across the top.
This one on the left is the stationery supply/tool etc (junk drawer)
I did a blog last year about organizing your junk drawer
The drawer on the right is my what not drawer.
It doesn’t have much in it, but it is a spot that I can tidy papers off the counter if I need to get them out of sight when company is arriving. It is also a spot where I give a home to various things that just don’t have a spot anywhere else. If I find something and I’m not sure what it is, but I think I might end up needing it then I tuck it in this drawer for safe keeping.
For more about the ‘what not’ drawer and assigning logical homes to other things around your house check out this blog.
Down below I have 2 great rolling drawers.
The top one is for glass and plastic storage dishes.
I have an extra bin sitting here in the corner to separate the plastics. The key to keeping order in a drawer like this is to not have too many dishes. This is prime real estate and just keep containers that you use regularly in this area. Ones that you only use occasionally should be stored in a kitchen overflow area.
The bottom drawer is the home for our small appliances – food processor, blender, coffee grinder and also a bin of small plastic containers. I keep them in a bin so it acts as a boundary to keep reasonable quantities.
This last cupboard in this section of the kitchen is a multi-purpose area.
First and foremost it is our recycling zone. There is room for 3 small blue bins. This spot is handy to the front door so we can easily get them out to the garage to be emptied a couple of times a week.
In the one other spot I have my cookware. The larger dutch oven in the back and the stack of 3 sizes in front.
A lot of our clients have big sets of cookware and I have just never had that. These quantities have always worked for our family. The amount of space required for storage is quite reasonable. I do have 2 extra dutch ovens for when I’m making larger batches of soups etc. Those I store in my kitchen overflow area. I can go and grab them when I need them and return them there afterwards.
I have thought ever since we moved in here that I would like to have roll-outs installed in this area. Maybe some day 🙂
If your kitchen is out of control and you’d like some hands on help contact us today. Mention this blog and receive 15% off your project.