9 Items You Should Never Keep in a Narrow Kitchen (and 7 to Use Instead)

Narrow spaces can make organizing difficult, but they also present opportunities to get creative and be intentional about which items are most important to hold onto. Case in point? Narrow or small kitchens, where vertical storage space and smart organizing solutions can make all the difference.

It might not feel as if you have enough room for everything you need in your small kitchen, but that may be due to organizing systems that aren’t designed for your space. I asked expert organizers what the worst storage solutions are for narrow kitchens, and here’s what they said — plus, the smart alternatives they recommend instead.  

In a narrow kitchen you’re always looking to avoid overcrowding, as you’re short on space. Ashley Bailey, professional organizer and owner of Everything Orderly, says that over-the-cabinet organizers can easily crowd cabinetry. 

Ebony Deloatch, founder of Humble Enhancement Holistic Home Organizer, doesn’t love utensil holders, canisters, or crocks out on the countertop in narrow kitchens, as they can make counters look cluttered because they “take up a lot of counter space.”

“In a narrow kitchen, trash cans are obstacles and always get in the way,” says Jennifer Moore, professional organizer and founder of Organized Boutique. She says that alternative options include storing the trash can in a nearby utility closet or using a pull-out trash (or combined trash and recycling) unit that’s mounted inside a cabinet near the sink, keeping the trash out of sight and out of the way. 

Bailey emphasizes the importance of avoiding anything that sticks out into the walkway of a narrow kitchen, which can create visual clutter and make getting around a pain. “Use storage that is flush and creates a clean flow,” she says. “Containers with right angles versus curved edges work best.”

Another item that can block narrow kitchen walking paths is a rolling cart, which Moore says can create “large visual clutter” and “makes the kitchen feel smaller and even more cramped.” She recommends clearing the counters to make space available for food or baking prep, as opposed to using a rolling cart for such activities. 

Bailey says that it’s key to avoid deep bins when organizing a smaller kitchen. “If you have to ‘unpack’ a container just to get to something, it leads to the space becoming unorganized,” she says. “Deep bins also encourage overbuying, which doesn’t work well in a narrow kitchen.”

Deloatch is continually avoiding visual clutter, and she says magnetic spice jars (or any magnetic strip products, for that matter) only add to that visual clutter in a narrow kitchen. She calls them “visual distractions.” 

Moore says that tall, open shelving units can take up quite a bit of the already-limited floor space in a narrow kitchen, making the space feel more like a storage room. 

You probably own more appliances than you use on a daily basis, and the bulky ones take up a lot of precious countertop space. Moore says that appliances that are used just once or twice a year don’t deserve prime real estate in a narrow kitchen. “Only the most frequently-used items earn space on the counter,” she says.