Apartment kitchens are often designed to be as space-efficient as possible. That doesn’t mean, however, that your apartment kitchen has to feel cramped if you are a chef. All you need are a few of our favorite space-saving apartment kitchen storage solutions!
Hang it! Use stick-on hooks (like Command™ hooks) for hanging things on walls or cabinets that would otherwise be taking up space in cabinets. Hooks under cabinets are also a great way to hang mugs, freeing up space inside of your cabinets.
Use a magnetic knife strip, which costs only a few dollars for storing kitchen knives instead of taking up kitchen counter space with a knife block or other storage container.
Rails and Hooks (like Ikea’s Fintorp system) is another great way to use wall space to hang and store kitchen tools on the wall and out of the way instead of placing them in drawers or countertop containers.
Use the insides of cabinet doors. Find a good organizer that hangs over a cabinet door and use it for handy storage of cleaning supplies and other things that you need within easy reach. We found a great, two-tiered one at Zulily for under $12! Door insides are also a fantastic place for a magnetic spice rack … we found tons of great options at Amazon, and these great 3-packs of magnetic spice containers (yep, we love Ikea!) that will also stick to your magnetic knife rack.
Use trays for items that you use often. If you entertain friends frequently for cocktails, create a bar tray and keep it on the counter, fridge top or on a handy cabinet shelf, ready to pull out and use whenever needed. If you’re a tea drinker make a tea tray with all of the standard accoutrements.
Use towel bars to store pot lids. These can be mounted over the stove or on the inside of a cabinet door to keep unruly pot lids organized and easy to grab without rummaging around. Here’s a complete how-to at thekitchn.com.
Use your cabinet bottoms. Look for space-saver, under the cabinet appliances. You’ll find lots of things designed to enhance your kitchen without taking up space on your counters, including can openers, microwaves, coffee makers, cd players, etc., all designed especially to hang underneath your kitchen cabinets. We especially love the SpaceMaker line from Black & Decker.
Hang a basket from the ceiling and use it to store anything from fresh produce to dish towels up and out of the way instead of in a drawer or on the counter. We love this beautiful and apartment-friendly brushed aluminum one from Sur La Table.
Stack instead of spread. Look for canisters and containers that stack on top of each other vs. spreading out across the counter top in order to maximize valuable counter space. We love OXO Good Grips’ POP containers, but at around $99 for a 10-piece storage system we were happy to find this great 3-piece buy from Anchor Hocking at WalMart for less than $15.
Remember, enjoying your apartment kitchen is only a few easy space-saving tricks away!