With the integration of kitchens into our general living spaces through open plan living, keeping the kitchen neat and tidy has become a big priority. The minimalist look demands benches without clutter or mess. In itself that’s not an issue, as I’ve already gone through many ways to achieve that in previous blog posts.
The problem is that once you’ve hidden everything away, accessing it again is the next issue. And more importantly, we want to be efficient in our use of the kitchen space, not forever digging around in cupboards looking for things.
That’s where “pull outs” can be an enormous help.
Cutting Board
I love this idea – a pull out cutting board. Again, it should be situated in the heart of your cooking space. But why stop there? Add a 2nd layer underneath with knife storage, so you don’t need a knife rack on the bench.
And, if you really want gold standard, have a hole in one corner or end of the cutting board with a pull out bin for compostable scraps right underneath. Straight from the cutting board to the compost bin or worm farm!
Pantry
Recently, there’s been a move away from big cupboards for all your pantry goods. They have a bad habit of becoming chaotic very fast, making items hard to find. So pull out pantries are a brilliant development. They’re generally tall and narrow, so you can make use of smaller spaces in an efficient way. Plus every item is equally visible, so no more burrowing around in the darkness at the back of a shelf to find the jar you’re looking for.
A variation on this is smaller pull outs situated close to your preparation space. This type of storage is perfect for things like spices, oils and other items you use frequently when cooking. Saves multiple trips to the pantry, and no more spice racks on the bench – they’re all tucked away!
Cupboard Shelves
Pull out shelves inside cupboards are one of my favourite storage hacks. They achieve two purposes. First, you can reach stuff at the back of the cupboard. The small piece of equipment you need for your recipe always seems to work its way to the back where it’s impossible to reach, right? Second, pull out shelves inside large, vacuous cupboards make much better use of the space, often doubling or tripling it. Much more efficient!
With a little imagination, you can incorporate pull out ideas into your kitchen to help minimise chaos and improve efficiency today!