by Linda Cann Pearson

Created on: July 20, 2010   Last Updated: September 07, 2010

As our kitchen is often the busiest room in our home, it is important that it be a cheerful and comfortable place to prepare food and enjoy meals with our family and friends.  Although often a daunting task, organizing a small kitchen is possible, with a bit of creativity and a lot of de-cluttering.

If you do have a small kitchen you need to heed that wise old saying “A place for everything and everything in its place”.  Even with a small kitchen you can make it work if you follow a few basic principles:

1)   Think clutter-free.  Clean up, clean off, clean out.  Get the number of items in the kitchen down to the essentials with a few extras.

2)   Think space.  Make every inch count.  Strategically place your items around the kitchen while leaving some open space here and there to give the illusion of a bigger room.

3)   Think inward and upward.  Use stackables, hangables, and your imagination to maximize all available vertical space.

4)   Think ergonomics.  Create a space-saving, time-saving, efficiency-generating and comfortable kitchen area that works for you.

Where to start?

The first step with any organization project is to start with a clean slate.  Clean your countertops, cabinets, drawers and refrigerator.  Get rid of all items you don’t want, don’t need or haven’t used in a long time.  Check the expiration dates on all food items.  Once this is done you will have a better idea of what you need to do.

Ten tips for organizing a small kitchen:

1)   Decide what essentials you absolutely need to create a functional kitchen.  Consider those appliances and utensils you regularly use - microwave, blender, cutting board, food processor, crock pot, bread maker, coffee maker, toaster oven.  Don’t forget your cookbooks.  Your essential items should go on the countertop or close by for easy access.  Remember, each item should have its own place and be put back when not in use.  Non-essential items should be put away in cabinets or in another room if there isn‘t enough room in the kitchen.  Leave yourself enough available countertop space for food preparation.

2)   When organizing your drawers and cabinets use compartmental organizers, space-saving bins and tiered racks wherever possible.  Put frequently used items in front, less frequently used items in the back, and rarely used

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