How to Organize a Kitchen With Less Counter Space

At one point, I had almost 100 cookbooks. I’m sure there were some I had literally never used. But for the last several years, I’ve been downsizing my life, so every so often, I go through them and donate the ones I can’t remember using since the last purge.

Back in 2017, I started to follow some minimalist accounts on Instagram to get ideas. Could I do this? Am I a minimalist? I wasn’t sure. But simplicity ended up being just what I needed. I found that losing clutter allows you to focus on the things you own that you really love. It’s like your brain is quieted. You can start by taking it slow — a shelf here, a cabinet or closet there, and each little bit makes a huge difference. Before you know it, you’re enjoying life with less.

I’m down to around 30 cookbooks now, and they all fit on one shelf. I have, of course, held onto the ones I use the most, as well as those focusing on cuisines I’ve been learning more about the last few years, like Madhur Jaffrey’s Quick & Easy Indian Cookery and Hsiao-Ching Chou’s Chinese Soul Food. Cookbooks by cooking experts like Ina Garten and Mark Bittman will always have a place on my shelf, too. These days, if I’m intrigued by a new cookbook, I try to find it at the neighborhood public library.

Last summer, my downsizing efforts turned to my kitchen. I had moved from a studio loft apartment to a larger two-bedroom condo. I love the wooden parquet floors and natural light that pours in most afternoons. Even though my new kitchen is roughly the same size as my old one, it’s configured differently so I have about 4 feet less counter space. Though I had galley-style kitchens in my last two living spaces, I also had basements to stow appliances and other larger items. Since I no longer had extra storage, it was time to think about what I actually needed in my kitchen, and what I was just hanging onto because it felt easier.

If you’re someone who loves to cook, dealing with a smaller kitchen isn’t as simple as getting rid of everything. For me, creating a kitchen that felt relaxed and simple was all about being strategic in the initial setup. Here’s what I learned.

Don’t rely on a kitchen island

When I first moved in, I was pretty set on getting some sort of kitchen island, small movable or foldable table as a solution for the lack of counter space. I wanted something with a butcher block, but they cost more than I could afford to spend. After about a month of searching on Facebook Marketplace without any luck, I decided to give up. Eventually, I realized that not having a piece of furniture in my small kitchen was actually a win.

Instead of creating more counter space by adding an island, I decided I needed to focus on clearing off the counter space I had. The end goal was to have only one cooking appliance on the counter so I had more room to work.

Toss unnecessary appliances, and embrace the ones that do double duty

I inherited a very weak, old microwave oven in this kitchen and I decided to get rid of it to clear off some counter space. In a previous home, I managed to live without a microwave for three years after it died, and while that often made me plan ahead, it wasn’t inconvenient enough to make me buy a new one. My trusty old slot toaster had served me well for nearly 10 years, but rather than keep a poorly functioning appliance that would take up space, I decided to replace it with one that does double duty: a Cuisinart air fryer/toaster oven combo.

For the longest time, I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of an air fryer. It felt like TikTok hype. I like the action of cooking — the stirring, flipping, roasting — and I worried it would make me feel like less of a real cook. But I’ve been extremely happy with my purchase. It makes cooking some dishes easier, faster, and, in a few cases, better. It cooks salmon perfectly, makes broccoli nice and crispy, and successfully reheats leftovers. I now use it several times a week.

Paring down pots and pans was easier. My mom, who managed to put dinner on the table every night for my five older brothers and me, always taught me to cook with the fewest pots possible. So, if a macaroni and cheese recipe uses three different vessels, it’s a no for me. Over the years, I’ve found that I can use my Dutch ovens for most recipes, so I decided to keep only one 5-quart Dutch oven, which fits nicely in my cabinet. I use it to make stock or a big pot of soup, brown meat, and cook corn on the cob, among other things.

I also weeded through my small kitchen tools and gadgets and hung onto the things I actually use. Goodbye, garlic press and food mill — I haven’t used you in years. (But I will never part with my Mad Hungry spurtle, Microplane grater, and bench scraper — they’re all multitaskers.) Once I figured out what I didn’t need, I dropped it off at my local Goodwill. That felt so good.

Organize everything

When it came to storing the appliances and other items I held onto, I considered how I cook and how often I use them. My food processor and blender are stowed in a nearby cabinet, purposefully easy to get to (front and center, not too high, not too low). Because I use them often, I wanted to be able to pull them out on the fly. My stand mixer, which I don’t use frequently, is stored way back in the pantry.

With the help of a friend, I took inventory of all my pantry items, then organized what I kept in clear bins. There’s a bin for the spices I don’t use regularly, a bin for quick meals like rice, sauces, and ramen, and another bin for snacks, nuts, and protein bars. In addition to bins, lazy Susans are extremely helpful. It’s important to see everything easily, especially when you’re in the middle of a cooking project. I also installed rechargeable lights inside my darker cabinets. Little adjustments like these make prep and cooking in a cramped space much easier.

If you don’t have enough storage, invest in a sideboard

After downsizing my wardrobe and creating a capsule system, I could fit all my clothes in my closet. My grandmother’s dresser, which I have owned for a million years, could then be moved from my bedroom to the dining room to be used as a sideboard. That’s where I keep my kitchen towels, dinner napkins, and vases, as well as smaller kitchen tools like an immersion blender and hand mixer. I appreciate that my grandmother is always with me, and now she’s helping me to be a happier cook.

If you want a similar piece that can pull double duty, I highly recommend visiting local thrift shops that sell furniture. I have found some great pieces at Habitat ReStore and Goodwill. You can also score excellent deals on Facebook Marketplace and online auction sites like CT Bids. In my quest to be a minimalist, I now only buy second-hand furniture. While it does take longer to find than a simple click on a website, it is much less expensive, more solidly made, will last longer, and best of all, won’t be in a landfill 10 years from now.

Mount what you can

I cannot stress how much a wall- or ceiling-mounted pot rack will upgrade your kitchen setup. I have three styles and sizes of saucepans, as well as my mom’s old cast-iron skillet (c. 1955), and they all hang on my pot rack, which came with the condo. Eater staffers recommend these Ikea rails for a solid wall-mounted option or a pegboard for something completely customizable. Grabbing a pot or pan from the rack instead of a cluttered cabinet not only saves space, but also time and patience. In addition to a wall-mounted pot rack, I now have a magnetic knife holder over my stove.

My last home wasn’t set up to allow either of these items, so I’m really enjoying these space savers. You could also use your wall space to hang a spice rack, mesh bags of onions, potatoes, or garlic, and baskets and bins to hold kitchen tools. By moving things up and completely out of my line of sight, my workspace feels open and organized.

Now that I have shifted things around, cooking is much more pleasurable. My counter can fit my big wooden cutting board, a cookbook (or my phone) to follow a recipe, ingredients, a chef’s knife, and prep bowls. It’s much easier to feel relaxed, and confident in the kitchen when you have more room to move. And, those feelings — more than any stuff — are really all you need.

Additional photo illustration credits: Dutch oven by Amazon; knife strip by Williams Sonoma; mixer by KitchenAid; kitchen counter by Getty Images; air fryer by Cuisnart; other photos by iStock

Amy Langrehr is a food and lifestyle writer based in Baltimore. She writes on her blog Charm City Cook, and for Baltimore Fishbowl, Thrillist, and other publications.
Andrea D’Aquino is an illustrator and author based in New York City.