Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Tiny Kitchen

Our tiny kitchen
 Shaun and I live in a small-ish apartment in Minneapolis (we just measured and it's about 400 sq. ft.). One room that is particularly small relative to my idea is the kitchen. When we first moved in we were taken aback a bit the size. Obviously we cook a lot and the space has turned out to be more functional than I originally thought. I figured it would be good to share some of the things we have done to organize the space a bit better.
Peg board backsplash
DIY Pot Rack

 The first thing was to add peg board. We got the peg board at the hardware store and had them cut it for us. I don't remember exactly but I think the peg board and screws for attaching it to the wall were about $20. The hooks were about $10. We used dry wall hooks and haven't had a problem with the weight. You can also see our weird vertical wine rack that we found at a thrift store

Organized Spice Drawer (Finally!)
The most recent thing we did was organize the spice drawer. I am really excited about it. I didn't think to take a before and after picture, but I have been buying spices from the bulk section in little bags for YEARS! Prior to this the drawer (and prior to that a small box) were filled with little baggies of spices, many of them unlabeled (whoops). It was really difficult to find what you were looking for and looked very cluttered. We bought all of the little tins here for $.69 each. We got 20 and when you include shipping and handling the project was about $20. But having organized spices that are easy to sort through has been great. Plus I really like aesthetics of the spice drawer now. 
Shelves

Shelves that double as additional counter space
Cupboard with baking things and snacks
We were also able to fit one and a half book shelves in our tiny kitchen. Not only do they provide enough storage to make the kitchen functional, the small one is the perfect height for a counter. We got the plastic bins at target for around $1 each. We also found a bunch of mason jars at a thrift store for pretty cheap. I know the internet is full of the many many many used for mason jars, but I'll add my two cents. We use mason jars for glasses, food storage, and food transportation. I love that I can put my morning coffee in a jar, put a lid on it and through it in my bag, then microwave it when I get to work. But the thing I really love about mason jars is that they are STANDARDIZED. So I can go to pretty much any store and buy some lids and know that they will fit any of my jars. Or I can pick up a jar at any random thrift store and know that I have lids for it. I sometimes joke that maybe living in a communist country wouldn't be so bad if everything was like a mason jar.
Cupboard with dishes and glasses
Here are some pictures of our cupboards. They aren't too exciting, it is more to show how we have organized things. Not pictures is the cupboard under the sink which is where we store baking pans and plastic bags. It is not as pretty as these cupboards. Try as we might we still often end up with a lot of plastic bags. You also can't see our dish rack. It usually occupies a square of our tiny counter. But when not in use it lives on top of our refrigerator. 

So yeah, I still hope to have a bigger kitchen someday but I am pretty proud of how we have organized our kitchen and have been surprised at how functional such a small space can be.

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