Space saving solutions

When we purchased our home in 2012, we knew that we were going to lose about 800 square feet of space, mostly in the storage and kitchen areas. We were both okay with that considering the significant location and home quality upgrade we were getting. I knew in order to keep up my hoarding of kitchen items/gadgets that I had to invest in some creative solutions.

 

I searched around for many inexpensive organization solutions and this is what I came up with:

 

Item #1: Pantry

 

We went from a walk-in 6-foot pantry to this. Yup.

 

BEFORE

 

If you're asking yourself, "Is that the smallest pantry I've ever seen?" Yes. It is, my friend.

 

My solution was to put in pantry shelving that was custom-cut at Lowe's so that we could have ample storage. We also ended up repainting in there since it was gross and hey, why not.

 

As you can also see, we put in a trash bag holder and a command hook to hold my aprons. HUGE space savers right there!

 

AFTER

 

 

Item # 2: Cabinet storage

 

We cut the number of cabinets that we had in our kitchen in half. Literally. I did the math, cried, and then put on my big girl panties and went to Wal-Mart.

 

BEFORE

 

When I found these organizers for less than $5 a piece, my heart (and wallet) were overjoyed. I secured them to the bottom of the cabinet and voila!

 

AFTER

 

Those are probably my favorite addition to the kitchen organization. I remember the old days when pans were stacked on more pans and the one you needed was on the bottom. Clanging and banging around to get one dang cookie sheet? No more!

 

I also installed something similar in the cabinet where we organize our pots & pans so that the lids are separate and easy to access as well as the pans, too.