Affordable Ways We Organise Our Minimal Kitchen
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- Minimalist
- HDB (BTO)
- ~1,000 sqft
- 3 br
- Couple Living
Our kitchen is the only space where we did the most reno. It’s also the space that we spend most of our time at. Even though we renovated our kitchen, we kept a lot of the carpentry minimal to cut costs so that we were able to afford other aspects of our home that were more essential. Building our kitchen to a fully functioning one took awhile as we had to re-learn our habits in a new space and decide what works and what didn’t. We didn’t have a lot of built-in compartments for organisation like most people do. So, we had to diy a lot in this aspect. We went with opening shelvings not exactly by choice, but we just had to cut down on costs. So, no top carpentry for us! In hindsight, I think this worked out for the better since it’s an opportunity for us to not own so much stuff. Our IKEA KUNGSFORS shelf and dishrack was installed a few months after we moved in. So, for a while, we didn’t have a dishrack and it was quite bare. We only realistically use the first tier rack as we couldn’t really reach the top rack. So, the top rack functions more as a storage. Adding hooks to the rack helped to maximise our space better and gives us better access to most used kitchen tools we use regularly. Also, I do think it adds a bit more of a industrial chaos sort of vibe which I do quite enjoy! This rack came in about 6 months in as it was not planned out to be this way. Our microwave used to be on our pantry which didn’t really work out well with the flow of space. Now that we have freed up our pantry countertop, we’re able to utilise it more as a coffee/drinks station. This rack is not the most sturdiest but it works really well for my space. Although, I do think I may need to upgrade this in a year or two as the weight of my air fryer seems to be causing a dent. I may opt for a more sturdy rack that is enclosed to reduce the dusting chores. We lived with a very messy and hard to reach condiments cabinet for so long. One day, 8 months later, I’ve had enough of the mess and was frustrated with not being able to reach the sauces at back. So, I got this stainless steel diy pull out rack. It was a relatively easy fix. In the begining, we did plan to have those built-in pull out drawers with two tiers, but alas, you know how this ended - we had no budget for it then. But I do like how this turned out. We place most of our pots and pans on the top shelf. We used to stack them on top of each other but it was hard to access each individual pan. So, we used this pan holder which is really convenient to just grab by handles. Although, its true about what most people have said about such organisers. The movement of placing the pan in and out of the organiser would cause non-stick films to scratch off on the edge overtime. I don’t mind it since it’s only on the edge, but also, it creates an opportunity for us to replace our pans 😆 or to counteract the problem, we could switch to fully stainless steel pans. This is the cabinet of our coffee area where we call our dry pantry area. We store all of our food bits and bobs here. We did initially want to have lots of drawers, but then decided not to since it costed so much each. I do think that this works out better than a drawer would have. These were not the cheapest, but I knew I had to eventually buy these for my sanity. The last shelf I am still missing one more because the size I originally bought couldn’t fit in due to the cabinet hinges. So, take note of that when you’re buying this! These were not the easiest to install because it was not the full depth of my cabinet. So, I had to measure out to have the racks closer to the front so that I am able to access the back items easier since my cabinet shelf space is rather narrow. And lastly, I got these magnetic holders to store our instant coffees. It’s easy to just grab and go the sachets in these holders. The downside is that I can’t put too much otherwise it gets a bit heavy and would start to move down. Overall, I am pleased with how I have been able to organise my kitchen with a lower budget. There’s still a lot of plans to improve the space and organise further. We intend to have more shelves on the left side of our kitchen to disperse some of our kitchen tools/ingredients to have it more accesible and in sight. I know, out of sight, out of mind, but the problem for that with us is that it’s really out of our minds. If we don’t see it, we might never use it because we don’t remember having it. This plan may come in next year. So, keep a lookout on my ig @dynalivv 😁
- 23 September
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