Organization Hacks for Older Kitchens

Prior to building our new house last year, my family lived in a home that was built in 1956. It was a cute ranch-style home with a walkout basement that we thought was HUGE when we purchased it. Well, in reality it wasn’t really that big at all, but felt that way mainly because we were coming from a one bedroom apartment. Having an older home with an smaller kitchen means that sometimes you have to get creative with how you store your food, small appliances, and other fun kitchen items.

If your kitchen is a little older, chances are that it doesn’t make the best use of the space either. Brand new and modern fitted kitchens are so well thought out and professionally executed that you don’t get this problem, but we’re not all fortunate enough to have one of these at home. Older kitchens also tend to be smaller because of the way our lifestyles have changed over time. But even if your kitchen is a little small and there are wasted areas, there’s still hope for some extra storage

Use the nooks and crannies

Things like pull out shelving that can be installed in gaps between appliances and the countertops are useful ways to keep common items handy without taking up much space. Bottle racks, shelves and baskets affixed to the inside of cabinet doors are another way to maximize small spaces to keep frequently used items within arms reach. These small areas can give you whole new spaces to organize your stuff, from bottles to herbs and spices to kitchen utensils which frees up room elsewhere. There are tons of ideas on Pinterest for creative storage solutions for small spaces and you can get tons of kitchen storage devices on eBay and Amazon that are a little different than what you’d find in stores which means it’s easier to customize your storage solutions.

Add shelving

Shelving is a great way to add more storage to a small kitchen as you’re able to utilize the wall space. Open shelving looks nice and makes it easy to grab things that you need. If you need to store items that you don’t use all the time, put them on higher shelves so you can get to them when you need them, but don’t need to struggle getting them down every day. Things like nice glass jars or vases, small appliances you don’t use daily, cookbooks and storage boxes are all great items to keep on the top shelf so they’re there when you need them and provide a bit of decoration.

Create a pantry

If you have room to create a pantry, this can save you so much space in your kitchen cabinets. If you have an empty cabinet in your kitchen for example, add plenty of shelves to use it to store tins, jars and dried food like pasta and rice. Having a stocked cabinet like this can save you money in the long-run as you always have meals you can prepare if you run out of fresh ingredients without having to hit up the drive thru. You can also buy things when they’re on sale and build it up over time. When a recipe calls for a pinch of this or a dash of that, you already have what you need stored away without having to buy lots of extra ingredients each time you cook. Be sure to transfer things into glass or plastic containers as this will keep them fresh and keep bugs out too. Any pest control company will tell you that often outbreaks will start in the kitchen where insects and rodents have access to food, so it’s important to store it away safely. A mouse can easily gnaw through a bag of flour or a box of cereal, but they have no chance when it comes to a glass jar. When you transfer your items to glass jars or other containers be sure to label everything with the expiration so you know what it is and when it needs to be replaced if it hasn’t all been used.

Getting the perfect storage solution in an older kitchen takes a little bit of a patience and a little bit of trial-and-error. You need to live with whatever organization system you decide on, so be sure it’s something that makes sense. Don’t put cereal on the highest shelf in the cabinet for example since you’ll likely need a step-stool to get it down on a daily basis (trust me, I learned this the hard way 🙂 ). In the seven years we lived in our old house, I think it wasn’t until year 5 that I finally felt like I had organized things in a way that made sense and maximized space, so don’t be afraid to start over if it’s not working!

What tips do you have to keep a small or older kitchen organized?