Small Apartment Kitchen Storage Ideas

If there is one room where you really compromise on space when renting versus owning, its your apartment kitchen. Unless you go the luxury route, you’re not likely to have modern—or spacious—kitchen. Being creative and resourceful when it comes to storing items in your small apartment kitchen becomes a necessity. Here are some storage ideas that are inexpensive and easy to implement that will give you a little more room to breath as you prepare your meals.

Hang a Pot Rack

In a small kitchen with limited cabinet or drawer space, your best option is to look to the ceiling or walls for additional storage space. Hanging a pot rack on the mall or ceiling allows you to free up cabinet space that would have otherwise been used for pots and pans. Additionally, you can purchase small metal hooks to hang your measuring cups and spoons. These work best on a wall rack—trying to reach a small set of measuring spoons from the ceiling is difficult unless you’re very tall! Not only are items on pot racks easier to access, they’re also not cluttering up drawer space for other kitchen essentials. Pot racks are standard fixtures in kitchens of all kinds, so it won’t look out of place in your small apartment kitchen.

Consolidate Electronics

It’s amazing how much space various kitchen appliances take up. By the time you have your toaster, coffee maker and blender, you’ve taken up virtually all of the counter space in a small kitchen. One way to alleviate this problem is to purchase a 3-in-1 breakfast maker. By doing so, you’ll combine your toaster with your egg cooker and your coffee maker. Even if counter storage space is limited, storing a 3-in-1 appliance is much less work than storing three separate appliances. You’ll be able to set everything up much faster with one appliance than three.

Use All Pockets of Space

Ideally, a kitchen looks pristine and open. Everything has a place and that place is out of plain sight (like in a cabinet, drawer or pantry). Unfortunately, in a small kitchen the “pristine and open” look is virtually impossible to attain. You’re going to be forced to make use of any open spaces you can find—including those very visible spaces above the fridge and next to the stove. The area above the fridge is ideal for light weight appliances. If you want a cleaner look, you can purchase a wicker basket to place items in before setting it on the fridge. It’ll give the kitchen a more organized look.

Use Cool Tools

Anything you can hang on the wall or on a cabinet door will create more counter space to actually prepare your meals. A magnetic spice rack can be hung virtually anywhere in your kitchen. You can also purchase collapsible kitchen tools, graters and strainers, that will fold up and fit nicely in drawers or in narrow cabinet spaces.

Storing all of your kitchen tools in a small apartment kitchen isn’t impossible. Be creative and resourceful and you can make a space for everything.

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Rachael Weiner: I’m a communications professional for a non-profit, which financially necessitates my status as an apartment dweller. Constantly “on-the-go,” I’ve resided in five different apartments across the United States over the past five years. Roommate issues, budgeting, organizing and handling problem neighbors are my specialty.