My tiny kitchen requires an elaborate dance.  One of the great features of my kitchen is it’s openness which is great for cooking together.  Unfortunately, discovering how to efficiently and functionally use the space has taken approximately 11 months.  Just as I am on the brink of signing a new lease, I feel as if I finally learned how to cook in Apartment Seven.

The functional part of my kitchen is very small. There is not a lot of cupboard space and over half of the shelves are out of my 5’5″ reach. Here is a list of 5 strategies and tips I’ve discovered throughout the past 11 months.

1. Without a dishwasher and with 1 foot of counter space, always do the dishes. To increase space, Ikea has an awesome dish drainer that I mounted over the sink. This allows me to fold up the larger dish rack when needed.  Unfortunately, I very rarely always do the dishes, I should though.

2. Organize the shelves. I find that with limited shelf space, I need to prioritize  what gets “rights” to a highly accessible shelf. I also noticed that I spent the majority of my time moving things around to either find the vanilla or put away the vanilla. Thus, I’ve begun organizing my shelves not based on type of supply but based on their functionality. For example, I bake a lot. So I put all of the baking supplies in one area. This way, I only need to go through one shelf while I bake cookies.  On the shelf below, I put coffee and chocolate chips… Two things I buy in bulk and use often. I transfer these bulk items to containers so they stack and look pretty.

3. Hang stuff on the walls! This is kinda related to the dish rack, but I’ve taken it to a new level. Until recently, there was not nearly enough space for mugs and glasses. Since my cat has been very busy knocking over water glasses, I only now have room in my cabinet. When I first arrived at Apartment Seven, I had a full set of glasses and many many mugs. My solution was to hang the mugs on an empty wall.  Luckily this worked because I collect the Starbucks mugs, so it looks somewhat uniform.

I also used the same wall hanging bar and hooks to hang my pots and pans.

My hanging mug collection.

4. Add shelves

Ikea sells this shelf for $6 each. A great cheap way to give a little extra space

5. Buy a kitchen island 

Purchasing a kitchen island doubled my counter space.