Cooking in a Small Kitchen
Trying to cook in a small kitchen with limited counter space can be a frustrating experience. With just a little ingenuity, imagination, and organization you will find that not only can you really cook and entertain…you can do so successfully with great results!
Here are a few things to incorporate and/or keep in mind as you organize your work space.
- Minimize – It’s natural for kitchens to tend to become overgrown in gadgets if we allow this to happen. Keep only what you use and give away everything else. Be ruthless as you go through your drawers because the less clutter you store the less frustrated you will be on a daily basis. If you have rarely used gadgets you can’t bear to part with, store them elsewhere. Keep a list of these items so that you can easily locate them when you need them.
- Buy compact appliances – Having small appliances will help keep your premium counterspace as free as possible. Consider a hand-held mixer instead of a standmixer…buy an immersion blender instead of a conventional model. A mini-processor would be a good substitute for a full size food processor.
- Store cookbooks in bookcases – Obviously, not in the kitchen! Or better yet, find your recipes on the internet!
- Use vertical space – Utilize shelving. Shelving units are relatively inexpensive and easy to install. A peg board on the wall is a great way to store utensils and even small pots and pans.
- Clean as you cook – Keep sudsy water in the sink to wash your dishes as you cook. Place refuse and trash in a waste can immediately also.
- Stack vertically – When cooling baked items on racks, stack the racks on cans going up vertically instead of spreading them out on the counter.
- Create additional surfaces – Expand your counterspace by finding other horizontal surfaces. You can place items on top of the refrigerator, on the stove top, or even pull out a cabinet drawer and set a cookie sheet on top for additional space.
Any additional ideas? Everyone can always use more space – especially with holiday entertaining approaching. Please share with us!
