How big is too big?

How big is too big…….

On the weekend we took our brand new camper trailer out camping – so excited but overwhelmed with a 7 week old baby in tow we travelled to the coast. Now I am a very organised person and everything has to have its place so when dealing with a small space I thought that having a tiny amount of storage in the kitchen area of the camper would destroy me. When packing I was thinking of what I would really need in the kitchen and what would not take up too much space, so packing just 4 plates/knifes/forks/spoons etc. When going through the necessities I realised that I basically only ever use the same items at home in my quite large kitchen. So after a successful weekend away I wanted to get back into my kitchen to de-clutter, to see how many items I have that really never get used. It was very surprising, I basically only use a quarter of my kitchen. This got me thinking do we need all this room in a kitchen or do we just think bigger is better? I mean I have to walk around a large island bench all the time to go in and out of my kitchen to get to the sink but when I designed the space for just me and my husband the island bench did not exist, it was added as an extra to store more of the items that were overflowing from my cupboards. Also the children’s fun items like popsicles and popcorn maker and waffle maker and lunchboxes all add up. So my question is how big is too big? Here are some tips to help you sort your kitchen to be able to handle the now instead of building bigger and bigger.

1. If you are in design phase of a new kitchen think about what items you use, are you a cook and love your pots and pans? Are you a baker and need lots of containers and tins or are you a quick chef who prepares a meal without a fuss? Planning is the biggest step in the kitchen so that you do not run into problems in the future.

2. Have a clean out every year of items that are not longer used or that you have not used in the past twelve months. This includes getting rid of those containers that have lost their lids – yes we all have those. There are items that we use once a year for parties etc and they all need there place, however let’s organise them so that they are not taking up too much room and making us lose space for those items we use all the times.

3. Re-think where your items are in your kitchen – you may need to re-arrange items or get storage solutions like pull-out pantries or lazy susans in cupboards or add in more drawers (they hold more) so that you do not have to fully renovate to fit in with your lifestyle.

Getting more storage in your kitchen has never been more easier, there are so many storage solutions out there today to help. If you are stuck and need advice why not call and speak to our designer on (07) 54 641206