It's not at all uncommon to downsize as time goes on, and one of the more daunting tasks in that process is finding a place for all of the 'stuff' in your kitchen. You just thought that when any kids moved out the nest was empty. Hah!! As rewarding as it can be to get rid of long forgotten kitchen items - pots, pans, casserole dishes, unused appliances, etc. - it is equally as rewarding to acquire new items in keeping with a fresh start in new surroundings, and to acquire items you 'need' as your newfound interest in cooking grows. The problem, of course, is that your new kitchen is most likely smaller than your old one, but also is laid out differently. Fear not. There are products and ideas out there to help
My kitchen is a square one measuring slightly over 10 feet on each side. Take out for a door off the entry, a door going into the dining room, a washer/dryer closet, refrigerator, oven, dishwasher, and the umbiquitous under-sink cabinet for cleaning supplies and a trash can (in the space left over after the disposal was installed), and you can already picture the lack of meaningfull storage space. And let's not forget that functionally worthless cabinet over the cooktop with the vent in it.
UNDER-COUNTER CABINETS
I have narrow under-counter cabinets on either side of my stove. Needless to say,
a baking sheet or muffin tin won't fit lying down - those items need to be on their
sides. Even so, the problem of easy access rears its head.
Rev-a-Shelf
to the rescue.
Rev-a-Shelf
makes a whole line of shelving designed to
make kitchen space more usable and functional. It's available at
Lowe's
and
of what you might want/need, as it will have the whole line on display. Odds are
You'll have to decide whether to order online or have your local retailer order it for you.
I used
Rev-a-Shelf
products to increase the functionality of the narrow cabinets on
either side of my oven. The units are easy to install - about 15-20 minutes per unit -
and you'll be hard-pressed to match their convenience and organizational
contributions to your surroundings. The double shelf products are sufficiently strong
that the upper shelf/basket is perfect for small electrics like a small food processor, hand mixer, or immersion blender - all three in my case - with room for a grater or other small device.
PANTRY
My kitchen has a pantry, and while that sounds glamorous to those of us who grew up
with all pantry items put away in cabinets in the kitchen, my pantry has the common
downside of being narrow and deep - great fun when you are putting things in it the
first time; hell when you're trying to get to them later, or forgetting you have them
altogether because they're out of sight and subsequently out of date.
I found a solution, again, in the
Rev-a-Shelf
line. It's a single shelf, or basket, that pulls
out to provide easy access to those items that would be otherwise far back and
difficult to get. I did find that when I put them in I had some seemingly dead space on either side (more on one than the other), but I have rearranged stuff enough to find good use for that space for items that truly are not accessed that often - bulk napkins, etc.