Designing Your Kitchen For Optimal Storage Space

You spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Cleaning and organizing it can seem like a never-ending process as you acquire new specialty gadgets, utensils, cookware, or even as your grocery requirements fluctuate. The kitchen can quickly become a victim of clutter and disorganization, especially if you have inherited one that is not intuitively designed to minimize this.

Here are five design tips for your kitchen to optimize storage space:

Customized pantries. Walk-in pantries tend to be the most efficient, but let’s face it, not everyone has space for a walk-in pantry in their kitchen. Other options that go a long way to maximizing ease of storage include tall pantries with pull-out racks or pocket doors and shelves.

Compartmentalized drawers for utensils and dishes. We’ve all breathed an exasperated sigh as we rifle through the multitude of drawers in our kitchen looking for a spatula or held our breath as we reach up to the top shelf and take down a hundred pounds of dishes in order to get at the one sitting at the very bottom. Customized cutlery drawer inserts and pull out racks for utensils make finding what you need easy.

Don’t let your appliances take over. Appliances like mixers, toasters and microwaves occupy a large percentage of most people’s counter space. You can minimize this by making simple architectural modifications, such as built-in microwave space and pull out shelves for items like toasters, blenders and even coffee makers.

Waste space. Don’t “waste space,” but do create a space for your waste. A drawer dedicated to trash and recycling will eliminate the ugly clutter that empty cans and jars can create. There are even models that come with dedicated areas for garbage and recycling bags and foot pedals which make opening the drawer as easy as stepping down.

The multi-purpose kitchen. Your kitchen is not just a place to cook, eat and store food. If you have pets, you likely feed them there, if you have children, they likely do their homework at the kitchen table. If you can spare the space, consider establishing a hybrid area in your kitchen where these activities can take place.

The kitchen does not have to be a lost cause! If you are moving into a new place and have free range to design and build the kitchen you’ve always wanted, or even giving the current one a much needed makeover, paying attention to things like the above five design tips when executing your plan will go a long way to optimizing your limited storage space bringing together a clutter-free room.