My Kitchen: Using the Space You Have

 

Something you should know about me, I absolutely LOVE to cook, bake, and everything in between. I got this love of cooking from my mom. When I was little, my mom taught me everything I know about being in a kitchen and I realized early on how much I love making food. I grew up with homemade meals for dinner every night with freshly baked bread and peach cobbler for dessert. As the years went on, my love of food never ceased (especially after binge watching 3 season of the Great British Baking Show!). I’ve always been a bit of an adventurous chef and I’m here to tell you that cooking in my 40 square foot kitchen has not stopped me from conquering some pretty amazing recipes!

Making Macaroons all day every day.

One thing that has been a hurdle for me is limited counter space and storage for my utensils and cooking appliances. I recently got professional piping tools (for my macaroons…You’ll be amazed how may macaroons I like to make. Its almost embarassing) and an electric hand mixer for my birthday. It has been quite a challenge figuring out where everything is supposed to go, and I have no cabinet doors to hide the piles of dish towels and pot lids that I have sitting on top of my nesting bowls. A solid morning was all I needed to get everything organized.

This is the key to cooking in a small space. You don’t want to be searching for your measuring cups with wet dough dripping down your fingers and causing a massive pile up of dirty dish casualties. I really had to think: What do I use on a daily basis for my recipes? Zester? No. Mini tartlet pans? I wish! But no. 4 different size liquid measuring cups? No. I went through my recipe book and made a list of utensils that I needed for each one to maximize the use of my tools and the space I had to store them.
 

 Some tips I use for cooking in a tiny kitchen:

*Keep the specialized tools you use for your favorite recipes! Don't get rid of a utensil just because you don't use it every single day. If you are REALLY tight for space, see if a friend or family member that lives close by can store it for you.

We make room for the necessities.

*No-clutter-countertops: Maintain a sparse cooking environment by keeping your countertops as clear as possible at all times. This way, your kitchen has extra counter space and is easy to wipe down.

*Storing Baking Dishes: If you have a built in oven that works in your tiny kitchen, you can use the bottom drawer for storing baking sheets and pans. If you have an alternate oven like I do, you can purchase a small water tight storage container that you can keep your tins in so that you aren't constantly having to relocate them out of your way. (I kept everything stacked on my countertop for a long time and got so overwhelmed because the kitchen always looked messy. There were pans that I used maybe once a month and storing them outside of the kitchen has been a life saver and I actually find myself cooking more than I did before!)

100 year old cast iron stove top

Butcher block counter tops are great for kneading dough.

Now I’m not going to lie, sometimes I’ve had to expand my cooking into the rest of the house. Sam will find himself sitting on the couch watching a travel documentary with greased baking tins sitting next to him instead of me, and it’s something that I have to do now and again for really intricate recipes that call for so many ingredients.

Right now, we have open shelving above and below the counter which leaves everything exposed. It can make the kitchen look bigger than having regular cabinets but you have to keep them IMACULATE. I get anxious even thinking about looking over to my kitchen and seeing pots and pans in disarray, the cheese grater just barely holding to the oven mitt that’s askew from me shoving the food processor back on the shelf. People always tell me, “You live in a tiny house?? It must be so easy to keep clean!”


Yes it is easy to clean in general, but it’s just as easy to get it looking like a tornado just ran through, especially if I am cooking, which I always am!
 

*Because of the limited space in the kitchen, I like to purchase kitchen utensils that can either be stored like nesting bowls or can compact down to a smaller size. Check out Amazon to see some of my favorite space saving tools!

I hope these tips help you utilize and enjoy your tiny cooking spaces. Feel free to comment below or email me if you have questions about tiny living!
 

Check back soon to see some of my Go-To Recipes

For more pictures of the tiny kitchen and the tiny house click here

Thanks for reading!