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Photo by Brooke Lark on Stocksnap

If you live in in a small home, a studio apartment, or a big city where space is at a premium, and you love to cook, you may feel frustrated some days by the minuscule size of your kitchen. There is hope! Instead of allowing the size to discourage you, you could flip your perspective and enjoy the creative challenge of a small kitchen. Below are five ingenious ways you can kill it in the kitchen when the space is tight.

Don’t be Afraid to Hang Things

Get out the hammer, nails, and ruler and prepare yourself to hang everything you can. Get your knives up off the counter onto magnetic strips, capture potholders on wall grids, and scoop up your measuring spoons into little containers that you can string off of racks with hooks. When shelf space is a struggle, don’t be afraid to hang your cookware from your ceiling above your stove. Another way to save space and make cooking more convenient is to attach your most commonly used utensils on the wall above your stove.

Get Vertical

What can’t fit in drawers could go up! Vertical shelving could be your ticket to additional storage on your counters, above your appliances or in any open space. If you remove the doors, you can add an artistic flair to your kitchen as you thoughtfully decorate with pieces like mixing bowls and mugs. If you do incorporate open shelving, consider investing in either matching or purposefully mismatching jars to store your various flours, grains, and spices—your kitchen will look attractive, clean and organized!

Roll Whatever You Can

Your small kitchen most likely does not include a kitchen island, so consider purchasing a rolling island to create some additional counter space anywhere in the kitchen. Another option on wheels is a tiered storage or bar cart that you can seasonally decorate and scoot from place to place easily if company arrives. Finally, if you are feeling crafty, you could consider making your very own rolling pantry.

Enlarge your Cutting Board

If you are struggling for space to chop your vegetables or roll out your pie dough, you may want to invest in a cutting board that fits over the top of an open drawer, your sink or the stove. You will immediately gain counter space instead of your cutting board monopolizing precious real estate.

Fold Up Your Kitchen Table

Don’t worry, this is not where you go back to your early twenties and eat off a folding card table—instead, it is where you might consider adding a table that can fold up into your wall, similar to the functionality of a murphy bed. Instead of a typical kitchen table chair, you could use a soft bench to create a seamless flow to the room when the table is folded up and make the absence of the table less obvious.

If you enjoy cooking you are going to spend a great deal of time in your kitchen, so why not create something that captures your style while strategically allowing you to save space? When shelving is tight, don’t be afraid to add more and go vertical. Maximize your counter space by hanging whatever you can, finding a cutting board that fits over your sink and adding a rolling island or bar cart. You can even throw tradition to the wind and put in a kitchen table that folds up into the wall. Allow your small kitchen to morph from your nemesis to your most significant accomplishment.

This is a guest post…

The frugal lifestyle is about saving money and living on less. Some do it because they have to and others do it by choice. No matter what group you fall into, we’re all in the same boat. We all have the same goals.

The best way to promote frugal living is through the sharing of ideas. And that’s what we’re going to do here. We’re going to help you find out more about how to live a frugal lifestyle.

1. We Enjoy It…No Really

Most people who live a truly frugal lifestyle do it because they want to. It isn’t influenced by how much money you have in the bank.

The truth is a lot of frugal people live on less than someone who’s truly destitute. There are a lot of ways you can live on just a few dollars a day quite comfortably. All it takes is work.

2. Drying Your Clothes

You don’t need a dryer.

It’s hard to believe, but you can quite easily go back to drying clothes on a line. In the U.S., this is no longer the done thing. In many countries, such as the UK, it’s what practically everyone does.

You can easily save $100 annually on energy costs by letting your clothes air dry.

3. Detergent

For some extreme penny pinching, try making your own detergent. It’s easier than you think. All it takes is soap, washing soda, and borax. You can save hundreds of dollars over the course of a few years like this.

It also saves on all that running down to the store whenever you run out!

4. Public Transport

Public transport is so cheap it’s shocking why people don’t use it. Not every city has dirty buses with lots of weird people onboard. Leave the car at home and consider taking the bus.

Gas is expensive these days. You’ll be surprised at how much you save.

And if you really want to save money try walking or jogging to work. You’ll save on all travel costs and get in shape at the same time.

5. Make Gifts

Do you remember all those fake holidays dreamed up by retailers?

Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and Mother’s Day are just three of them. Instead of becoming a social outcast by not buying anything, make your own gifts.

Use your imagination and materials you find around the house. Gifts that were made by hand mean so much more than something you picked up for $20. It demonstrates you put some real thought into your gift.

6. Vacationing Closer to Home

For a vacation we always think of exotic countries and the wonders of other states. It’s amazing how little we know of the regions closest to us.

Instead of spending so much on travel and hotels, try taking the odd vacation closer to home. Within a few hundred miles of home you’ll find so much to do. It can just be as fun as flying to Europe or the other end of the country.

7. Coupon Masters

We’ve all seen news articles and TV shows about coupon nuts. These strange beasts collect coupons and save thousands of dollars every year by using their discount finding skills. You can do the same thing!

It doesn’t take any specialist knowledge. All you have to do is practice. Know where to find the best deals and how to maximize the power of every coupon.

Start by using a few coupons, and then try to transition as many of your purchases as possible over to coupons.

8. Repair Your Clothes

It’s disgusting just how many perfectly good garments we throw out every year. If a shirt has a small hole in it, don’t throw it out. Repair it instead.

You don’t need a sewing machine to do it. A good old-fashioned needle and thread is all you need. If you do want to perform complete rejuvenations, take a sewing class and invest in a machine.

Not only will you save money by doing all this, you’ll also help the environment. We as a nation need to use less and make do with what we have.

And here’s the true secret to frugal living: It’s laziness that holds us back. Anyone can do it if they really want to.