If your kitchen cabinets are stuffed to the gills, you’re not alone. The average kitchen only has about 20 square feet of storage space–barely enough room for the essential cooking gear, let alone the myriad of appliances, serving ware, and weird kitchen gadgets we all seem to accumulate.
But before you go knocking down walls or signing up for an expensive remodel, there are plenty of affordable and innovative storage hacks you can try. From repurposing what you already have to DIY projects and organizational solutions, these genius tips will help you maximize every inch of your small kitchen’s storage potential.
The Struggle for Kitchen Storage is Real
It’s no wonder so many tiny kitchens become disorganized chaos zones. Between pots and pans, appliances, plates and bowls, food staples, and everything else needed to cook meals, our kitchens fill up fast. The average person has 300,000 items in their kitchen, from spices to serving trays. And the average kitchen only gets about 20 square feet of storage space. It’s just not enough!
No matter how organized you try to be, it’s an ongoing battle to keep your tiny kitchen cabinets from becoming overstuffed. Pots get stacked precariously. Spices spill over from overcrowded racks. Sometimes it seems impossible to find matching containers. If you’re digging through messy cabinets or have given up hope of using that top shelf, it’s time to get strategic about storage.
Getting Creative with Storage Solutions
Before tearing out your current kitchen, get creative with storage solutions! There are plenty of ways to maximize space that you can try without remodeling. Here are some ideas for finding new storage areas and repurposing what you already have:
Think Outside the Cabinet
Cabinets don’t have to be your only storage solution. Get creative and identify new spaces you can use. Under-utilized areas like walls, under sinks, and behind appliances can gain you valuable real estate. For example, install shelves or racks directly on walls, or try freestanding storage units like utility carts.
Repurpose/Dual-Purpose Furniture
Do you have a kitchen table you don’t use much? Consider stashing specialty appliances like your stand mixer or food processor under the table with a drop-down shelf. Or stash lesser-used serving ware in an attractive chest that doubles as a bench seat. Even the space under your stove can be put to work with some storage love.
Take Advantage of Vertical Space
Don’t forget the wealth of storage overhead! Install racks or shelving high up on walls to utilize vertical space for bulky or lesser-used items. Vertical storage is also great for small wares like spices, oils, or drinking glasses. You can group items in matching aesthetic containers for a pulled together look.
Use Wall Space and Unusual Areas
Take inventory of random nooks and crannies and look at your kitchen with fresh eyes. Could you mount a knife strip or pot rack on an empty wall area? Don’t forget inside cabinet doors–great spots for smaller storage solutions like spice racks. Repurposing these overlooked spaces adds usable storage without remodeling.
Hacking Your Existing Cabinets
With some DIY magic, you can transform your current cabinetry into a space-saving storage wonderland. Little tweaks like extra shelves, drawer organizers and other accessories can make a big difference. And best of all, they still let you use what you already have installed.
Shelf Brackets and Adjustable Shelves
An easy upgrade is installing extra shelves between existing ones. Brackets allow you to double up and customize shelf height for ideal storage. Pro tip: choose adjustable shelves that can move up and down or be removed as needed. Great for handling odd-shaped items or future flexibility as storage needs change.
Drawer Organizers and Dividers
Drawer organizers are magical for transforming jumbled messes into tidy storage. Segment cutlery, utensils, bakeware, and other items into custom compartments. You can buy inexpensive organizers or DIY your own dividers out of wood, acrylic sheets, or upcycled boxes.
Cabinet Door Racks and Holders
Take advantage of cabinet door space with racks, holders and storage bins that mount to the inside. Great spots to stash kitchen tools, small appliances, cookbooks, plates, and anything else you can hang. Door storage equals prime real estate!
Pots and Pan Organizers
Does digging for a pot or pan buried deep in an overstuffed cabinet make you crazy? Get them organized and accessible with racks, dividers or inserts that optimize cabinet space. Now you can actually find (and return) what you need while keeping your cabinet blissfully clutter-free.
Spice Drawer Inserts
Spices always seem to spread chaos everywhere they go. Corral them into organized bliss with divided drawer inserts custom sized for spice bottles and jars. Keep them visible and within reach for easy cooking prep and recipe building. Ah, sweet, satisfying organization!
DIY Storage Projects
For more ambitious organization aficionados, there are awesome DIY storage projects that add function while taking your tiny kitchen up a stylish notch. And you get serious bragging rights for building them yourself!
Build Pull-Out Pantry Shelving
Maximize oddly-shaped dead space with custom pull-out shelving built right into your existing cabinetry or pantry. Great for narrow spaces like gaps around the refrigerator, next to the oven or in blind corner cabinets. YouTube has tons of easy-to-follow tutorials for every skill level.
Install Slide Out Trays Under Cabinets
The awkward under-cabinet void above your counters begs to be put to work! Install slide-out trays to access small appliances, coffee supplies or anything else taking up precious counter space. Just slide ’em in when not in use for concealed storage magic.
Create a Drop-Down Mixer Shelf
Free up counter space by stashing bulky appliances on a shelf that lowers from above at the push of a lever or spring release. Super sleek design if you incorporate custom cabinet fronts to hide everything when shelf is raised. Perfect for stand mixers, blenders, or processors used less regularly.
Build a Butcher Block Cart
A movable butcher block or prep cart adds storage, workspace, and classic character to cramped kitchens. Find plans online or customize one to your space. Great for frequently used staples, knives, or small appliances that you prefer having readily available as you cook. Wheels let you tuck it out of the way as needed.
Storage-Optimizing Kitchen Remodels
If you’ve exhausted storage hacks and are ready for a full kitchen overhaul, there are fantastic built-in options to maximize usable space in your new custom cabinetry and storage solutions.
Custom Built-In Cabinets and Pull-Outs
For maximum efficiency, work with a kitchen designer to optimize every inch with storage custom-tailored to your space and needs. Incorporate specialized pull-outs, drawers, racks, trays and other space-saving goodies built right into new cabinetry for incredible organization.
Full Extension Drawers
Drawers are one of the most underutilized areas of wasted kitchen space. Upgrade from standard to full extension models that pull all the way out so you can see and reach everything in back. Game changer!
Corner Cabinet Optimizations
Take advantage of awkward corner nooks with angled lazy susans, sliding shelves, or vertical storage units that exploit all available space. Half your storage battle is fought–and won–in the corners!
Pantry and Closet Builds
For kitchens truly starved for space, consider converting adjacent closets or walls into spacious walk-in pantries. Fully customized to your family’s food storage needs, nothing beats roomy pantry bliss!
Maximum Cabinet Decluttering
Sometimes gaining more storage space is as simple as getting ruthless about stuff you really don’t need. Be brutally honest: if you haven’t used it recently, you probably won’t. Here are handy tips to pare down chaos:
Ruthless Purging of Unused Items
Are you hanging on to relics purely for sentimentality even though you’ve got five vegetable steamers you actually use? Limit duplicates. Toss oddball singular use tools. Pass along unwanted wedding gifts. Once you clear out what you don’t use, organizing what’s left is a dream.
Storage Containers and Baskets
Uniform containers instantly streamline cluttered cabinets into matching stacks of orderliness. Labeling helps identify contents at a glance. It also designates optimal homes for wayward items when one creepingly becomes “miscellaneous storage basket”
Strategic Food Storage Tips
Group like with like for food staples you use regularly. Keep go-to ingredients visible and within easy reach for smooth recipe prep. Stash lesser used specialty flours, giant holiday platters etc up high or down low.
First In, First Out Organization
Use shelf dividers, trays etc to create separate zones within cabinets based on food turnover. That way oldest stuff gets used before deterioration or expiration. No more digging to the back for a fresh jar! Saves money and waste.
The Best Storage Solutions for Tiny Kitchens
When square footage is extremely limited, lean into smart solutions maximizing what little space you have. Utilize every square inch with these petite kitchen ideas:
Function Over Form
Embrace simple shelving for expandable and affordable storage vs pretty cabinetry with inadequate space inside. Let go of needing cabinets above counters if space better serves you elsewhere. Go all in on extremely customizable pull outs.
Multipurpose Furniture
Kitchen islands, rolling carts and folding dining tables pull double duty, serving secondary functions as storage units when not used for food prep or eating. Stash serving ware in benches. Hide small appliances in drawers under counters and islands.
Shelving Over Upper Cabinets
In super tight kitchens, consider open shelving rather than dysfunctional soffit spaces or pits of unused emptiness way up high. Perfect for frequently accessed basics. Stylish woven baskets add organization.
Small Space Organizing Tips
When working with limited real estate, a strict “a place for everything and everything in it’s place” methodology helps keep order. Invest in stacking/nesting food storage containers, vertical dividers, slim storage carts etc custom tailored to crammed quarters.
Storage That Moves With You
Renters tired of customizing kitchens destined for the next tenant should maximize portable furnishings providing personalized storage.
Portable Kitchen Islands
Wheeled carts offer additional counter space plus storage for small appliances, bins and baskets to wrangle cooking chaos. Many even feature nifty built-ins like cutting boards, towel rods or spice racks.
Rolling Carts for Extra Space
Versatile utility carts have a million uses beyond just hauling stuff. Repurpose one as a mobile pantry for dry goods, or stash extra pots and pans not used daily to free up cabinets. Carts give flexibility to customize storage on wheels.
Freestanding Cabinetry Over Built-Ins
Skip bulky permanently installed cabinets with no guarantee your new place accommodates them. Opt instead for movable storage units offering utility and flexibility: shelving racks, sideboards, or second-hand media centers easily adapted to kitchen gear.
Staying Organized is an Ongoing Project
No matter how optimized your organization systems, maintaining order as an ever-changing array of new kitchen stuff flows through is an eternal struggle. Here are handy strategies to help habits stick:
Maintaining and Editing Your Systems
Revisit and tweak things seasonally the same way you deep clean. Maybe swap out some smaller containers for larger ones to accommodate a new air fryer. Or install extra hooks on the back of cabinet doors as additional items need homes.
Continuing to Declutter
Combat accumulation from well-intentioned gifts or impulse gadget purchases. For every new item coming into your kitchen, discard a comparable one unused over the past year. One in, one out prevents overflow!
Integrating New Kitchen Tools and Appliances
Avoid cramming yet another cookie sheet onto an already-full rack. Or gently lay that always-tipping immersion blender alongside upright appliances destined to topple in a drawer. Instead, thoughtfully consider their unique storage needs as you make space upfront.
Hopefully these creative storage hacks sparked ideas for maximizing cabinet space even in the tiniest of kitchens! With a little strategic planning, it’s amazing how much room you can eke out of existing built-ins through better organization, shelves and other DIY solutions.
But don’t be afraid to relinquish the fantasy of gourmet chef-sized kitchens and lean into the cozy charm of petite spaces! Tiny kitchens oozing with character and efficiency are totally on trend. Put your own flair on a thoughtfully curated palette of multipurpose small appliances and portable furnishings that move with you. Focus less on what your space lacks, and more on just how beautifully that vintage Hoosier cabinet stores all your most-used gadgets and cookbooks!
