Mark McNease

Organizing a Tiny Kitchen: Big Storage, Small Footprint

We looked at a house for sale today in a town nearby. Moving is something we’ve talked about for several years, but keep findings reasons not to do. On of the big motivators is simply how small our little house in the woods is. I see pictures of kitchens that look like we could both be in them without having to excuse ourselves for bumping into each other. It’s not tiny, but it’s not spacious. Here are some ways we can maximize the space we have no matter the size.

You don’t need a big kitchen to run out of room in it. A cook in a two-bedroom house and a cook in a four-hundred-square-foot studio hit the same wall eventually—not enough places to put things. The fixes cost less than a dinner out, and none of them require tearing out a single cabinet.

Start with pull-out shelving. A standard base cabinet wastes most of its own depth, since anything stored past the first foot disappears into the dark until you’re on your knees digging for it. Pull-out shelf kits slide into most existing cabinets with a screwdriver and about twenty minutes—no carpentry involved. Homeowners ready for a bigger project can go further with soft-close drawer conversions, but renters don’t need to: most of these kits mount to the shelf itself, not the cabinet frame, so the original woodwork stays untouched and the security deposit stays safe.

Spring Has Sprung — And So Should You: A Home Checkup for the Season

I waited a long time for the cold weather to finally makes its way out, but now that spring is here there are lots of things to do to and around the house. There’s also the semi-annual ‘spring cleaning’ (I don’t do this just once a year – it’s not an apartment!). There are eaves to clean out, porches to sweep, vines to trim, and vegetables to plant. And weather you live in house, an apartment, or you’re sharing a living space with someone, there are always things to do when the temperatures rise. Let’s take a tour …

Spring is the perfect time to do a walkthrough of your home — inside and out — and take care of the small stuff before it becomes the expensive stuff. You don’t have to do it all in one weekend. Think of it as a stroll through your space with fresh eyes.

Start Outside

Winter is hard on a house. Walk the perimeter and look up. Check your gutters for debris — leaves, twigs, and whatever else settled in over the cold months. A clogged gutter can send water right where you don’t want it, against your foundation or into your walls. While you’re up there (or hiring someone who is), check that downspouts are directing water away from the house.

Look at your roof if you can safely do so from the ground. Missing or curled shingles after a rough winter are worth a call to a roofer before spring rains do their worst.

Check your driveway and walkways for cracks that freeze-thaw cycles may have widened. A tube of concrete caulk or crack filler is cheap. A tripping hazard is not.

Windows and Doors

Open every window. Yes, all of them. Check the seals, look for cracks in the frames, and make sure screens are intact. Replace any that aren’t — screens are your first defense against the insects that would very much like to join you for dinner this summer.

While you’re at it, check weatherstripping on exterior doors. If you can see daylight around the edges, your air conditioning will work harder than it needs to all summer long.