Well you might be wondering how I managed to fit 14 cupboards, 9 drawers, and a pantry's worth of kitchen into a trailer kitchen comprised of 2 tiny drawers (not wide enough for a silverware tray) and 4 small cupoards, and 2 medium drawers in the entryway.
Here's how...
I have 3 rubbermaid storage totes in my moms garage.1 for baking supplies, 1 for misc. such as snacks, cereals, rice, pasta, ect. And a 3rd for my canned and bottled items, sauces, tea and spices. We also have a large chest freezer in the garage full of meat and our early summer bounty of berries.
We utilized entry way space for our tupperware (side note: I invested in the square pyrex "tupperware" from costco. All glass and all straight edges so they fit more efficiently), water bottles, and Seth installed a sliding drawer inside our lowest cupboard so we could pull it out to display everything. There I keep a weeks worth of food staples such as chicken broth, spaghetti sauce, olives, beans, chips, ect. The plan is to eventually be rid of the rubbermaid totes and only plan my meals about 1-2 weeks at a time to minimize waste.
I had a tiny double shelf under the sink and decided to make that my towel/kleenex/wet wipe station. (See my assistant rolling washcloths for me?)
I also have a great fruit basket that sits on top of the counter. Fruit, avocados, tomatoes, napkins, and of course my tea :D
The fridge and freezer in the trailer are fairly small but I find that to be a blessing. Things don't get "lost". We end up with less waste and leftovers since it's all very clear what I have available.
We have learned that clothespins are super handy for many needs. Hanging my kitchen gloves to dry, holding up my tea selection for easy access (attached to my fruit basket.) Utilizing space has become a game for me. We have magnets on the fan/light panel about the stove for which to store all of the knives. Silverware, measuring spoons, small utensils are kept in little buckets on the counter. We have Command hooks hanging inside the cupboard foods for large utensils, such as spatulas and whisks.
Out of all of my treasured kitchen appliances you'll notice which one made the cut. My Vitamix blender. It's multi-purpose. I can cook soup in it (yeah it cools!)- make smoothies and shakes, blend berries for jam, nuts into almond butter, oats into oat flour, ect. It's a little bit magical really. We decided to make the left sink our "drying rack" and the small right sink the dirty dishes. This helps keep me from piling up tons of dirty dishes. I hate dirty dishes. If there were such thin as disposable pots and pans I would use them. This way, my dishes take me 5 minutes to do.
I've yet to use the oven, it's easy to just run to my moms house next door. The stove top is gas and works well. We have a small microwave which takes 284 minutes to make popcorn, which discourages us from even buying that garbage.
A little side feature of our kitchen tour is this little round ottoman. Talk about maximizing space. Seth picked it up at Fred Meyer and it was a good fit. Storage compartment for my current book, journal, Bible, planner, pens, papers, ect. Footrest. Stool for chef Luke to assist in the kitchen, and secret hiding spot. Where did luke go?
