Dear Kathi,

I live in a small cottage and don’t have enough drawer space for my silverware and knives. I need more storage space in my kitchen. What strategies can you suggest to optimize my small kitchen?

Liana,

Liana,

Try to use whatever wall space you might have available. Most kitchen walls are not optimized to their full potential and are a great place to create more storage space.

Consider using a magnetic strip attached to the wall to hold your knife collection. These strips are available at IKEA and other kitchen stores. They are easy to hang and will easily hold over 10 knives. Additionally, they are very functional and keep your knives at hands reach. Mount this magnetic strip above the area where you typically cut your food.

You could also use a knife block if you have ample counter space. Knife blocks often take up too much real estate in small kitchens with limited counter area.

For your everyday silverware, there are containers with sections that will mount on your wall or sit on your counter. Try to find one that has five sections so your soupspoons, coffee spoons, salad forks, dinner forks and knives have their own respective homes.

More often than not, these containers are metal or plastic. I use a stainless steel basket that sits on the counter. It takes only 2×7 inches of counter space. After a lifetime of using an entire drawer for flatware it is amazing to see what little space is really necessary to contain my everyday silver!

If there is a large wall by your stove or your ceilings are high enough, hang a grid with hooks for your pots and pans. Having your pots and pans at arms reach is really convenient and you benefit with extra space to store the items that can’t be hung; blenders, crock pots etc.

Please submit your questions to: [email protected]. San Diego Professional Organizer