Welcome to My Kitchen!

Have you ever heard of a food blog event that doesn't ask you to cook at all? Wait till you read this. This week Nupur of One Hot Stove is hosting a real fun event which asks the participants to write about their own kitchens, how they organize it and post some snaps of their spaces.

The event is just for this week. I was out of town and wasn't sure until today if I would be able to participate. But now that I can, I am so glad. Every cook longs for a great looking, clutter free and well organized kitchen, and I am no exception. I just cannot work in a kitchen that is full of clutter and my biggest necessity is to have everything organized. But apartment living hardly offers you any options. I am not unhappy with my kitchen, I only wish it had more storage space.

(Left side of kitchen)

Mine is a 9x11 rectangular kitchen. On left side are cooking range, 2 counters, sink and a dishwasher. This side has a total of 4 overhead cabinets. 2 small square ones, and a full and a half cabinet. It also has a half cabinet under the first counter. The counter next to the stove is used the most, and drawer under it holds all the cooking tools.


The next counter has a corner rack for dinner plates, a caddy for forks & spoons, and a dish drainer. This counter is not used very often for prep purposes, and whenever I need it, I simply keep aside the dish drainer. Simple rods, a couple baskets and s-hooks from Ikea really helped organize things.

At the very end of left side is a small pantry that houses my groceries. The recycled pasta sauce and Bournvita bottles carry all dals, dried beans, and other items. They have really optimized the use of pantry. I also have some groceries in simple Rubbermaid take along containers just because of the fact that they are stackable.

(Pantry)

On the other side of the kitchen is the fridge and next to it is a counter. However, this counter is of no use since microwave takes almost the entire space. It also has a full overhead cabinet that holds extra spices and snacks.

(Right side of kitchen)

Next to this counter is some free space, where I have a bookshelf. Sounds odd... isn't it? I was looking for something which I could use for appliances and other stuff. I have spent a lot of time looking for storage solutions. I looked for baker's racks and kitchen cabinets, but they were too expensive. Then I bought a simple folding table, but had to return it as it was too big for the space. Then I had this thought of using a bookshelf and it worked just perfectly. Thankfully, it doesn't look that odd (or may be I am used to seeing it there).


The drawers under the microwave counter are full of steel bowls, knives, strainers, peelers and some other stuff.


I am very fond of storage bins as they prevent clutter. On the topmost shelves of overhead cabinets (which are accessible only with the use of a footstool) I have packets of snacks (like parle-G, granola bars), spices and the like put up in plastic baskets. I would hate to dump food packets on the shelves and then rummage through them to find what I need, so I bought these baskets from dollar shop - a simple and cheap solution. So far I am happy with my kitchen. It is totally functional, plus there is nothing more I can do to it even if I want to as there is no more space.

If you too want to share your kitchen spaces, join the "Kitchen Link Party" here.