It doesn’t matter how big or small your kitchen is there just isn’t enough space in it to store the items you need. Well let me tell you something, I have exactly the same problem.

I remember our first house and the small galley kitchen we used to have. It was indeed very tiny in comparison to the big, open dinning/kitchen/family room we have now. I look back and think how on earth did we manage to store anything in that small kitchen? And to be quite honest we were only able to have basic appliances like toaster, kettle, washing machine, fridge-freezer and microwave, but when we moved in to our new house last year I went absolutely crazy buying all sorts of new items we couldn’t own before due to the lack of space… We finally could have new pans, brand new set of pots, cake stand, cheeseboard, new dinnerware for 12, dishwasher, huge mixer, slow cooker, glass jars to store food and many, many more.
And guess what? Yeah, you guessed right; we quickly run out of space and I panicked. First thing that crossed my mind was: OMG! It suppose to be our ‘forever house’, but now we have to buy another, BIGGER ONE!!! You should see my husband’s face when I made a comment about our new kitchen being too small. Oh well, silly me!

After all that drama I eventually got a grip and decided to be much more organised. I told myself I could use few tips and tricks that I used to use when we had to put up with a small galley kitchen I our old house. I have also found some great hints and ideas online, so here they are:

1. Stack it

Stacking items like bowls and plates can save you a lot of space in the cupboards. I use IKEA Variera Shelf inserts. They are available in two sizes.
Check them out here.

You can also stack your tea cups and saucers to safe some more space.
The idea is borrowed from Martha Stewart.

2. Store Food in Jars

Store Food in transparent labelled jars. They don’t have to be neatly stacked in your pantry, cuboard or on the countertop. Think outside of the box. the jars I used were from IKEA and had transparent lids so I put them in the drawers underneath my cooker and honestly that was one of the best decisions I have ever made when organising my kitchen. These jars come in different sizes and you can get them for IKEA Droppar series.

These little treasures are empty coffee jars. I am a big lover of Douwe Egberts Flavour Collective coffees as you can see. 🙂 Instead of throwing these little glass jars away once they were empty I decided to used them for cake and cupcake decorations. They would be perfect to store spices too, they are not only pretty but also very useful.

3. Hang Utensils & Knifes

Utilise your wall space and hand your utensils. I love my utensils being so close to the cooker. It makes cooking so much easier. To hang them I used IKEA Grundtal Kitchen Series.

Get rid off that chunky knife block and hag your knifes using magnetic rack. IKEA sales cheap magnetic racks here.
The idea is borrowed from Design Sponge.

4. Display Spices

I love my spices being at hand when I cook and because they are on the shelf mounted to the wall I don’t waste the precious countertop space. Little jars were purchased in Next Home and Sainsbury. I used IKEA Ribba picture ledge to display my spices.

5. Hang a Pot Rack

This beautiful Vintage Blacksmith Pot Rack will not only save you tons of cupboard space, but it will also give your kitchen that ‘WOW’ factor. It will look awesome hanged over a kitchen table or kitchen island. The idea is borrowed from Houzz.

This pot rack will help you to make the best of your wall space (if you don’t have a kitchen island or if you rather have a nice light feature above your kitchen table). I used exactly the same one in my old galley kitchen (you can find picture at the end of this post). Rail and hooks are available from IKEA Grundtal Series.
The idea is borrowed from IKEA Spotting.

6. Organise Pot Lids

Use racks to organise your pot lids. These can be installed inside your cabinets or on the cabinet doors. These racks will save you tons of space so they are great investments. You can get them either on Amazon or eBay.

7. Display cups & glasses

You can make a nice feature in your kitchen by hanging the colourful tea cups on the wall.  You can use IKEA Grundtal series.
Idea is borrowed from Teahouse Studio.

 

 I absolutely love the idea of hanging wine or champagne glasses either underneath the kitchen cabinets or above the dresses/ mini bar. We have already discussed and we definitely having one in our house.
The idea is borrowed from I Heart Organizing.

8. Declutter Countertops

 If you don’t have a lot of cupboard space and you store kitchen items on your countertops you can use trays to make it look smart and organised.
The idea is borrowed from Courtney & Michael’s Scandinavian Comfort.

9. Group items

The key to an organised kitchen is to have all necessary things in the right place so you can find them when you need them. The best way to achieve this kitchen nirvana’ is to keep everything grouped, so keep your pans with pots, glasses with tea cups, coffee with tea and so on. Don’t forget this also apply to organising your pantry so no more pickled gherkins next to the baking soda. 🙂
The idea is borrowed from Better Homes & Gardens.

The idea is borrowed form ATG Stores.com

 

10. Use inside of cabinet doors

Yet another brilliant idea how to maximise small kitchen space. Often overlooked by many people the inside of cabinet doors is perfect for storing cans, spices and utensils, so don’t be shy and use it!
The idea is borrowed from All Things G&D.

11. Use baskets for small items

Coordinated wicker baskets are not only pretty but also very fictional. I use them in my kitchen to store small utensils or tea and coffee jars.
The idea is borrowed from Modern Furniture Décor.

 

12. Utilise the space on top of your cabinets

Don’t forget about the space above your kitchen cabinets. Use coordinated wicker baskets or plastic boxes to store rarely used items.
Picture is borrowed from Better Homes and Gardens.

Below you can find some storage solutions we used in our old house and what we use I our current home.
Tell us what are your best storage and kitchen organising hacks.

Old Kitchen

New Kitchen