I don't know if you are like me, but I love looking at other people's houses... how they decorate, how they organise things, what furniture they use. It is fascinating. I do most of my looking online however. If I come to your house, I promise I won't look in your pantry.
I have adopted quite a specific method of organising my kitchen. In the first house my husband and I bought, I was not so well organised. When we moved there, I was unaccustomed to really using a kitchen. I was working full-time, and away from the house many weekends and evenings. I 'organised' my kitchen based on where things looked good, not on functionality. By the end of our time there (and being around home with small children a lot more), I realised that in order to do a simple task, like make a cup of tea, I would have to walk from one end of the kitchen to the other at least 3 times. When I was heavily pregnant, I hated cooking because I didn't want to have to bend down and reach into low corner cupboards in order to get at pots and pans.
It all changed in our new kitchen. I had a specific plan of where I wanted things to be. Some of my priorities were:
* Saucepans and baking dishes near the oven/ cooktop
* Oven near the microwave (I could do this as we renovated our kitchen)
* Cutlery, plates, cups and glasses near the eating/ dining area - so kids could set the table without having to walk right through where food preparation was happening
* Coffee mugs, tea, coffee, sugar and teaspoons within easy reach of the kettle
* Food kept all together (fridge and pantry near each other)
We had a limited kitchen renovation budget, and limited space. My dream kitchen would be something like this (ha ha):
To make the most of the area we had available, our (actual) kitchen is a galley style. We don't have a lot of space, but we do have mostly drawers below bench level, rather than cupboards, for maximum access and to create natural divisions. This is our kitchen:
We had a limited kitchen renovation budget, and limited space. My dream kitchen would be something like this (ha ha):
To make the most of the area we had available, our (actual) kitchen is a galley style. We don't have a lot of space, but we do have mostly drawers below bench level, rather than cupboards, for maximum access and to create natural divisions. This is our kitchen:
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| (Keeping it real - there is always something in the dish-drainer). |
With limited space, a system is even more important... and here it is:
Side 1:
Standard-sized drawers:
1) Cutlery - nice and close to the dining room
2) Larger kitchen utensils
4) Lunch-boxes (for easy access, and they don't fit easily with the plastics)
Glass-fronted cabinet above drawers (you can't see this in the photo, sorry): standard glasses - in easiest reach, and nice and close to the dining room, wine glasses, vases and fancy dishes/ cups live on higher shelves.
Under-sink cupboard: Cleaning cloths, non-toxic cleaning products (dishwashing powder, vinegar and bicarb soda, water spray bottles). We also have our slow-cooker here.
On-bench pantry. Pantry also extends to two drawers below - one for snack foods, pasta, dried fruit and nuts, and the other for baking products:
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| Not edited for photo: needs a bit more organisation, though I have no trouble finding things here with the bird's eye view. |
Side 2:
Fridge (opposite pantry, so all food is 'together'). I have a stereo above the fridge - planning to listen to music/ talks while cooking. This rarely actually happens.
Cupboard above microwave/ alongside oven and range-hood: baking dishes/ china mixing bowls (I like to have these near the oven)
Below microwave, drawer 1: baking utensils - measuring cups, rolling pin, stab blender and food processor
Drawer 3: other appliances - rice cooker, electric wok
Drawer below oven: flat(ter) baking trays
Set of drawers on dining-room side of oven:
Drawer 1: bowls and plates. This is a soft-close drawer, so the plates and bowls are safe - even when children close the drawer!
Drawer 3: Larger baking dishes
Our kettle sits on the bench above these drawers. Importantly, the cupboard above the kettle contains tea/ coffee/ sugar and mugs. The teaspoons are in the cutlery drawer which is just behind you as you face the kettle:
With limited bench space, we try to keep the bench fairly clutter-free
As you can seem our system is not perfect. I need to do a little tidying within some of these cupboards/ drawers, but in terms of the overall placement, this system works perfectly for us.
Over to you. How do you organise/ conserve space in your kitchen? What are your best tips?
