Small Kitchen Space-Saving Solutions
June 9, 2016
More Small Kitchen Ideas
I wrote about small kitchen storage a couple weeks ago, but here are some more tips and products to get the most out of your tiny kitchen. Getting organized almost always means letting go, so here are a few ideas for getting more efficient with less.
Sort and Donate Unused Pans
Survey your pan collection. If you don’t use them, ditch them. Consolidate the keepers using pan and lid racks. This behind the door flat bakeware rack has a narrow profile and keeps pans from toppling over and taking up lots of room in your cupboards. Over-door lid racks consolidate and organize lids, which tend to fall over and make a mess in your cupboards and drawers – not to mention the nerve-shattering noise they make when they topple.
Get Rid of Duplicate Cutlery
Get rid of any duplicate cutlery you have and keep what you need. A knife block keeps your favorites consolidated and protected on a counter. I have little counter space, so keep my favorite knives handy using this 10-inch long magnetic knife holder. This one is unique in that it is extra short – making it a perfect fit for my old, shallow, hand-built cupboards. More common long ones are also available on our website. We also carry an under-cupboard knife mount, if you have available cupboard space. This is a popular model as it mounts easily under the cupboard, utilizing often unused space beneath cabinets.
Cup Racks and Hooks Save Cupboard Space
Make a cup rack out of simple hooks to hang coffee mugs below your cupboard. As an alternative, you can use a coffee cup tree, provided you have counter or table space to display it. While you’re at it, you may want to donate those extra novelty cups you amassed over the years – you know, the bad joke ones and the giant Santa that came with petrified candy from the work party gift grab.
Small Appliances Maximize Counter Space
If you are single, or even if you’re not, the small Keurig coffeemaker takes up little space on your counter, while providing cup after cup of delicious coffee. Smaller appliances take up less real estate on your counter, making your small kitchen more efficient. It comes in stainless or red finishes, the latter of which adds a nice splash of color to your counter. Along with the red Keurig, I purchased a small red crock pot that I use frequently and so keep out on the counter for convenience.
Get Rid of Appliances and Gadgets You Don’t Use
If you haven’t used Aunt Martha’s vintage Mixmaster or the groovy Veg-O-matic still stored inside the cool retro box, unload them on eBay or donate them to Goodwill. They are cluttering your kitchen, and cool as they look, you could use that cabinet and drawer space for something you actually use. Add the cash to your mad money jar for a rainy day.
Stackable Storage Containers
Stackable food storage containers better utilize cupboard space, and are also more efficient for refrigeration and freezer storage. Anchor Hocking glass storage containers are safe for most cooking methods and come with either red or green lids, with clear tops for viewing food. Recycle the old cottage cheese containers and release the orphaned-lid pile to the recycle bin. It’s time.
Pull-Out Trash Bins Save Floor Space
A pull-out trash bin utilizes under-sink space, while saving floor space in your tiny kitchen. Installation is easy and smooth-gliding bearings make it a breeze to pull in and out – plus you’ll know longer have to see yucky trash. Yay!
Add Portable Work Surfaces
Instant counters add extra work surfaces to stovetops, counters, kitchen tables or more. Made from tempered glass with elevated feet, these attractive kitchen helpers store easily inside the cupboard when you don’t need them.
Hopefully these suggestions will help you in making your small kitchen into a more workable, efficient and pleasurable room for cooking.
Please check out Tiny Kitchen Storage Ideas if you missed it.
Tea Storage Ideas
May 31, 2016
Tea Storage Boxes Keep Tea Fresh and Accessible
Sipping tea is a simple and heavenly indulgence, whether done quietly on the veranda by oneself in the early warm hours of summer, or communally, while enjoying friends and catching up on each other’s lives. The subtle savor of tea is matched by no other beverage and, as indulgences go, tea is a compact and affordable one that’s less likely to induce guilt than, say, wine spectatorship. I like to stock a range of teas from simple, savory rice teas to rich, complex, healing, herbal mixes and, as my collection and tastes have grown, so have my storage needs, both at home and at work. Here are some tea storage ideas to organize and dispense your favorite teas.
Two attractive bamboo boxes make great storage for tea bags. Both have hinged lids and dividers. 
I first purchased the solid-top tea storage box, as my boxes of loose tea were cluttering my cabinet and hard to get at. Eight compartments store plenty of teabags upright or flat for easy accessibility. Attractive box joints add visual interest to the container, which I keep on a shelf for easy access.
A similar box is available with a clear lid for viewing the contents. While repurposing is generally something we do with old or used things, I found this brand new item to be better suited for small essential oil bottles than the commercially available products, as well as more attractive and affordable. 
This tea box fits the bill for my 10 milliliter bottles. I group by oil type and will be adding small round stickers for easier identification. Of course, you may use this for it’s intended purpose – tea – or for storing a variety of food items including sugar and other sweetener packets.
At work, my tea storage needs are smaller so this inexpensive little wire basket is great, as I usually just bring a few packets of tea to work. There’s also room for sweetener packets and it takes up little room on a desk or counter. It’s also a great little gift for the occasional tea drinker and makes an attractive addition to your decor, with it’s whimsical scrolled design.
Whatever your tea storage needs, you’re likely to find something on our site, along with infusers, tea cups and other supplies.
Dresser Drawer Decluttering
May 27, 2016
8 Dresser Drawer Decluttering Tips
Mornings can be stressful at times, even more so, if you have to rummage through your dressers to find the right combination of clothes. These dresser drawer decluttering tips will maximize space in your drawers and get you dressed faster and more efficiently in the mornings, leaving time for some leisurely waking-up activities, such as Facebook and a cuppa.
- Sort through your drawers for things you haven’t worn in a year or more, and seriously consider letting things go. Donate, toss, and give unused items to friends or relatives. It’s liberating and will make more space.
- Don’t be a panty hoarder! You’ll never wear all those panties – especially if you can’t find them in your overstuffed drawer. 100 pairs of panties, and 70 pairs of socks are too many to manage. You feel the Zen urge to simplify, so trust your higher self, take a deep breath and just do it. Limit your sock herd to say 10-15 pairs and your undies to 20, and make yourself a promise to throw out your garments as soon as they show signs of wear.
- Ensure your socks’ coupled status by investing in sock clips for washing. You won’t regret it and you can throw out that bag of lost socks once and for all. And you know what they say, when you release something, it makes room for new things, or, in this instance, just space in your sock drawers. It can be sad to let go, for sure, but you can do it and will be glad you did.
- Invest in some adjustable dresser drawer dividers to further organize your drawers. This is especially useful for sock and lingerie drawers. Honeycomb organizers have individual storage cells to hold underwear or pairs of socks, making them easy to find.
- Set an organizing methodology and obey your own rules. Examples: drawer A is for pants, drawer B for sweaters, and so forth. A consistent method for either folding or rolling your lingerie and socks keeps things uniform and maximizes drawer space.
- Organize by garment type or even by color for instant visual identification, which makes getting dressed easier.
- When you do laundry, immediately fold and put away clothes so they don’t get scattered around the house. And, again, obey your own dresser rules.
- Rotate your clothes for seasonal storage by storing out-of-season items in under-bed storage boxes or hanging garment bags, which you can hang in the basement or a vacant space in a closet. This way, you’ll always have the clothes you wear at your disposal. Remember that keeping drawers organized means keeping them spacious.
Follow these tips and you’ll be a dresser drawer decluttering expert in no time, while reducing your morning stress to start off each day on a happier note.
Also check out our blog post on folding shirts and read this efficient jean storage piece on Clutter Control Freak Blog.