As a small home dweller, I know firsthand just how cluttered these cosier homes can get. And no matter how much you tidy, the house is always a mess, and everything is always in the way. This is particularly annoying in small kitchens, as it’s impossible to cook a meal without wanting to pull your hair out.
But while it’s important to make the most of small kitchen storage ideas, the reality is that they’re often not enough to curb the clutter that can build up in this multi-purpose space. After all, the kitchen is the heart of the home - serving as a cooking area, pantry, washing area, hosting hotspot, and sometimes even a dining space, too.
As a result, small kitchens become dumping grounds for anything and everything - creating a buildup of clutter that doesn’t accurately reflect how you actually live and cook. That’s why I asked professional declutterers and organisers for their take on the things your small kitchen really doesn’t need - and what you should declutter for a more streamlined cooking space.
1. Non-kitchen items
According to Kate Dufton, Professional Organiser and Declutter at Ace Your Space, one of the biggest small kitchen storage mistakes you can make is using it to store non-kitchen items. And I’m guilty of doing that myself, as my small kitchen is even home to my dreaded junk drawer.
She explains, ‘When you've got a small kitchen, every single cabinet and drawer is prime retail space. There's no room for items that don't belong in a kitchen, such as medication, the junk drawer(s) and arts and crafts. These belongings need to be decluttered and then re-homed elsewhere in the house.’
In fact, freeing up a single drawer in a small kitchen can make a huge difference, giving you space to rehome items from a cluttered countertop and follow in the footsteps of people with tidy kitchen worktops. And when you have tidy worktops, you create the illusion that your kitchen is bigger than it actually is.
I'm a huge fan of 'clutter buckets' that let you store the ugly-but-practical items you need around the house. And these work perfectly.
A drawer organiser set like this can work wonders in small houses - as you can use some in your small kitchen, and others elsewhere to store non-kitchen items.
This is the stair basket our Senior Digital Editor swears by, as it reminds her to take non-kitchen and non-downstairs items back upstairs.
2. Old pots and pans
If you take all of the pots and pans out of your kitchen cupboards, there’s a high chance that you’ll unearth many that you haven’t used in years, hidden at the back. And as pots and pans are large in size, they can clutter up a small kitchen without you even realising.
Kate says, ‘These large, bulky items can take up huge amounts of space in a kitchen, and we often have more than we need. Strip out any duplicates, worn-out non-stick pans and aim for a capsule collection of good-quality pans.’ Then, you can focus on organising the pots and pans you have left, which can also free up space when done correctly.
There are many pots and pans organisers out there that will keep your cupboards and drawers tidy, but if your small kitchen is really short on space, Kate suggests using a ‘ceiling-mounted hanging pot rail or a pegboard pot rack on a spare slice of wall to create a stylish and practical solution.’
Once you've decluttered your pots and pans, you can then use this drawer organiser to keep them tidy - and keep track of what you've got.
If you want to mount your pots and pans on the wall, this affordable rack will suit you perfectly.
The lids often make storing pots and pans difficult, but these holders can help - and be tucked away on the doors of your cupboards.
3. Shopping bags
Does anyone else have an entire shopping bag filled with other shopping bags? I certainly do, and it makes my small kitchen look both ugly and cluttered. Especially as mine lives on a door handle in my kitchen cupboard, so the door doesn’t shut properly, and it regularly pushes the contents inside the cupboard onto the kitchen floor.
However, the reality is that I have never (and probably will never) use the sheer number of reusable shopping bags I have at my disposal. And they’re taking up much-needed space in my small kitchen that could be used to house items I do actually use, with the help of clever space-saving clutter busters that keep them organised.
Shannon Murphy, Professional Organiser and Founder of Simpl Living Co. has a solution, though. She advises, ‘Rather than storing an overflowing collection in a cupboard, consider returning excess bags to the supermarket and offering them to people who may otherwise need to buy one. It keeps them in circulation and frees up valuable space at home.’
If you want to get rid of your reusable bags completely, this trolley tote set can be kept in the car and fits perfectly in a shopping trolley.
If you have a lot of plastic carrier bags, an organiser like this can keep things tidy in a small kitchen.
Swapping your supermarket-branded shopping bags for universal bags like this is a great idea, as they can be used in so many different ways around the house.
4. Duplicates
I’m a huge fan of bulk buying, as it’s often a great way to stock up on essentials at a lower price. However, I’m also guilty of bulk-buying non-essential items, and the pros say this is one of the biggest contributors to clutter in a small kitchen. Then, you lose track of what you have… so you buy even more.
Kate explains, ‘I see this so often with my clients, and all that happens is the cupboards are so tightly packed that often food is lost at the back of the cupboards and goes out of date. As well as your cupboards causing you stress on a daily basis, the money you save is often negated by the amount of food that goes out of date.’
This doesn’t just apply to food, either. This also applies to your collection of messy food containers, cooking utensils, mugs, and more. So, it’s well worth taking your time to declutter and organise your kitchen cupboards so you’re only filling them with the items you actually need - and to stop them overflowing with duplicates.
When you've decided which storage containers you want to keep, a peg board like this can keep them (and the lids) safe and tidy.
As well as making a statement on your kitchen worktop, this utensil organiser can also keep yours to-hand so you don't buy any duplicates.
The beauty of this spice rack is that it can be kept on a worktop or in a cupboard, and it'll keep all of your spices together so you always know what you have.
5. Gadgets and appliances
Small or not, no kitchen would be complete without at least one gadget or appliance - whether that’s one of the best air fryers or coffee machines. But often we get swept up in crazes and trends and impulse-buy large items that clutter a small space. These are the items we need to declutter and dispose of safely.
It’s important to ask yourself if you actually use the gadget or appliance before donating or selling on a resale site, and Hester Van Hien, a Home Decluttering and Organising Consultant from Tidylicious, says we need to be especially ruthless with single-purpose gadgets - especially when buying new ones.
She says, ‘Before purchasing kitchen gadgets, consider if you can get the job done with another kitchen tool that is fit for multiple purposes. For example, herb scissors. Do you really need them, or could you use your standard kitchen scissors or a sharp knife instead?’ If you do need new appliances in the future, try to opt for multi-purpose ones that take up less space in a small kitchen.
If you have no choice but to keep your appliances on your worktop in a small kitchen, castor wheels like this can help you push out of the way when they're not in use.
This Instant Pot is the ultimate multi-purpose gadget for a small kitchen. It's a 10-in-1 product, serving as a rice cooker, pressure cooker, slow cooker, and more.
The electrical cords of your appliances and gadgets can also make your small kitchen look cluttered, but these cord organisers can keep things tidy.
After decluttering these items, your small kitchen will feel so much more organised!
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