We hope you love our recommendations! While every product is independently chosen by our editors, BuzzFeed and our publishing partners may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. You can read more about how our affiliate partnerships work in our Editorial Standards & Ethics Guide.

Even if you have a mere hint of counterspace.

Take it from someone who, essentially, lives with a kitchenette. You wanna talk about open floor plan? My living room and kitchen *are* the same room in my New York City apartment. So you could say that I know my way around a small kitchen! As a shopping editor, I've tried countless products and tricks because 1) product research and 2) I cook a lot at home! I'm here to help fellow small-kitchen folk with clever finds like a paper towel holder you can mount on the bottom of a kitchen cabinet and fill up some of that dead space in front of your backsplash without hogging counterspace. (Mine is in that setup and I'm thankful for it every day!) Or perhaps you've been on the prowl for a kitchen trash can that'll fit inside a cabinet. I've found that for you, too, AND also own it! Read on to make the most of your small kitchen, even if that just entails plating your takeout dinner and conveniently reaching for a paper towel. 

Check out Bella's matching line of compact, affordable kitchen appliances! 

Promising review: "The narrow width of this toaster helps free up real estate on my small countertop, plus it accommodates two slices of toast, English muffins or bagels as well as a regular width toaster. It comes in a beautiful teal color which I love. And the three toast levels ensure you don’t burn food and the quality of the toast is just right — from light to brown. I highly recommend it!" —Joyce Hill

Get it from Amazon for $21.99 (available in five styles). 

Promising review: "Absolutely the best coffee maker I've owned. Been through quite a few of that other pod brewing brand and this one is so much more reliable and makes a better cup of coffee with a very flexible cup size and the option to use pods or grounds. Best part is the small footprint in a very small kitchen with limited countertop space." —Cyndi

Get it from Amazon for $99.95+ (available in six colors).

Elypro is a small business in New York City making clever organization products for the home. 

Promising review: "I use these to organize my coffee mugs and my glasses in smaller cabinets. They not only look nicer, they save space without tilting when you try to stack mugs without support. I also use these to stack ramekins and that is also better now. These are adjustable to fit different sizes. I highly recommend these organizers!" —Amazon Customer

Get a set of six (to organize 12 mugs) from Amazon for $24.99 (available in three colors). 

Food Huggers is a woman-owned small biz that focuses on everyday sustainable solutions to cut down on single-use plastic.

Promising review (it's long but worth it!): "I don't write many product reviews but I have to say how impressed I am with this product. I first saw it on 'Innovation Nation' and was curious. I decided to order a couple of sets and these really work. Here are two experiences: 1) I cooked a dish requiring half an onion two days before going on vacation; I nearly threw out the remainder of the onion fully expecting that it would go bad before I got back. I decided it would be a great test for the food huggers. I put the appropriate-sized food hugger on the onion and simply sat it on the shelf in my fridge. Two days later I left town for 10 days. Another day went by before I checked the fridge to see what I had to get at the grocery store and still didn't look at the onion, what was noticeable at that point was that the entire refrigerator did NOT smell like onion. A day or so after that, I went to cook a meal requiring onion and fully expected that the onion I left behind would not be usable. Not only was it not rotten or moldy, but it still smelled fresh and was still juicy — not dried out or withered, perfectly fine to use. 2.) I skeptically used a food hugger on half a heirloom tomato planning to use the other half a day or two later. Life got busy, plans changed and a full week later, the tomato was still sitting there. The tomato was fine and only suffered a little from being in too cold of a section of my fridge. Very impressive. The only thing that requires some adjustment is cutting your vegetables in such a way that a circular cross-section is there for the food hugger to fit onto. I consider this to be only a minor inconvenience." —holiday shopper

Get them from Amazon for $16.99 (available in five styles).

(I have a similar one on my kitchen cabinets and love it.) Note that this ships with a $35+ order.

Promising review: "Great for anywhere you have a shelf. Works great for hanging my wineglasses." —Monika

Promising review: "Simple, modern, practical. Easy to attach anywhere, super stable." —Kathrin

The 20-piece set includes a 10-inch saute pan, 10-inch frying pan, 9-inch frying pan, 3-quart saucepan, 2-quart saucepan, 7-inch/8-inch/10-inch glass lids with silicone rims, 2 detachable handles, 3 utensils, 3 triverts, and 4 pan protectors.

Promising review: "Worth it! I love this set. This is my second set, I love to cook and have a big family so wanted to add additional pans. This brand is worth the money and cooks just as good as the more expensive ones." —Toni L Tobin

Get them from Amazon for $79.99+ (available in two set sizes and three colors).

Made from heavy-gauge steel and can store up to 36 cans of various sizes.

Promising review: "These units were easy to assemble. They felt sturdy. I love that they are made of metal and not cheap plastic. I'm considering buying two more, and going side by side and stocking up on canned goods!" —Amazon Customer

StoveShelf is a small business and these shelves are built to last a lifetime. 

Promising review: "This is an excellent buy. The shelf helped me declutter my cabinet, and it is an awesome storage space for my more often used spices. It is sturdy, easily installed, and attractive. I recommend this shelf." —Pamella R. 

Get it from Amazon for $44.99 (available in three types and three sizes).

Like I said earlier, I have this setup in my own tiny kitchen and wouldn't want it any other way. 

Promising review: "This is really working out well for me. I have a very tight, small space to work in as a kitchen, and I placed this on the side of my freezer, and it holds well, looks good. 💕couldn’t be more pleased!" —Renee

Get it from Amazon for $8.49+ (available in three finishes).

Promising review: "I bought this tiny air fryer to use while camping, but now it has a permanent space in my kitchen, too. I find myself throwing food into it instead of my expensive, gigantic one. So many times, I don't need the whistles and bells overkill of the big one. If you live alone or have a household of 1–2, and don't expect to cook a 5-pound anything in it, it's perfect and packed with the quality I expected from Cosori. (It also blew my camping buddies away when hot rolls hit the table on my night to make chili...lol)" —Cheri

Get it from Amazon for $59.99 (available in five colors). 

Promising review: "This is very useful, especially if you are new to using an air fryer. It's straightforward, easy to read, with many categories, including desserts. Has a nice-sized magnet on the back for fridge use, and a hook if you want to hang it up. I'd say they thought of everything, including being sturdy and well-made. Good price, good quality." —Thelma Johnson

Promising review: "I love this! I live in a tiny apartment with a tiny kitchen, and my fiancé has so many spices, being the cook that he is. All of his spices were taking up the only counter space we had. So, I bought this, and it fits all of our spices! It's even so slim that it fits in the space between the fridge and the wall, and oh my goodness, I am in love. I love the little hooks because we are able to hang our oven mitts and kitchen towels on there as well, and I just love!!!" —Kimberly

Get it from Amazon for $19.99 (available in five colors).

Promising review: "We got it at first to put the dishes somewhere until we got our dishwasher fixed. Welp, we loved it so much that we're going to turn our dishwasher space into a mini pull-out island. So, six months down, and lots of heavy glassware all the time later, this is my absolute favorite kitchen gadget." —Sparky

This is made from food-grade, flexible material that's easy to clean. Its dedicated utensil-drying section will help you easily eye a spoon when you realize all of yours are dirty or drying. AND it has a little water drain you can direct toward your sink. 

Promising review: "We have a super tiny kitchen, so we’re looking for something that wouldn’t take up more of the space that we don’t really have. This is so nice cause we can collapse it and set it in our sink or tuck it away when guests are over." —Em 

Get it from Amazon for $16.99+ (available in four styles).

Promising review: "I love this dish rack! It’s small but holds more dishes than you’d expect. It’s well-designed, so it accommodates a lot of shapes." —Elise

Check out a TikTok of the appliance sliders in action. 

Promising review: "These were easy to install right on top of the gripper feet already on the bottom of our coffee maker. With lower height upper cabinets, it's impossible to open the coffee filter and to refill the water tank on the back. Keeping it pulled out makes my tiny kitchen well... tinier. DON'T BUY THE WOOD SLIDER, these are cheaper, take up less space, can slide in any direction, and are one less to clean from coffee drips. These make a two-arm, loud, pull a one-finger push. These would be perfect for anyone with many appliances clogging their counters and individuals with decreased upper-body strength." —sara

Get a set of 24 from Amazon for $7.99+ (available in five sizes). 

I have VERY narrow kitchen drawers in my NYC one-bedroom apartment kitchen and buying one of these organizers has transformed my cutlery drawer. I'm able to safely reach in and grab whatever I need (like a manual can opener for tuna salad or a mini whisk for a hot chocolate) without having to sift tools around.

Promising review: "Honestly, way better than I thought it was going to be! Perfect size for my tiny kitchen drawer space, and organized very conveniently. It’s sturdier than expected and holds more than I thought it would. Just make sure you don’t have abnormally large/long cutlery and this’ll be great!" —Kaylie

I've been in my apartment for years and had all but resigned to having extremely disorganized cleaning supplies...that is 'til a whole bunch of them tumbled in an avalanche on top of me one day when I opened the closet. There's something about a broom handle smacking you square in the nose to serve as a wakeup call. I easily mounted both of these to a closet wall, where they now hold my broom and Swiffer. They do a good job *keeping* the grip on the handles when I inevitably bump into them. The cleaning tools may sway a little bit when bumped, but just a teensy bit. I cannot believe I waited so long to make the (v small) investment in these, but I'm glad that I finally did. 

Promising review: "These adhere so well to my old walls and keep my mops and brooms up off of the floor and out of the way. The use of vertical space in a tiny kitchen is of utmost importance, and these do the trick. To my absolute amazement, these were able to hold up a completely full, large Swiffer mopping solution container in a Swiffer mop with no difficulty. I fully expected the mop to fall to the floor while I was sleeping, but it's still hanging up high. When I redo my kitchen, I will be painting them the same color as my wall to make them fade away, but as is, they still don't stick out like a sore thumb. I can't believe I waited years to buy these and months to install them!" —ChrisT

I bought this compact beaut after including it in many stories like this. I have a teeny tiny NYC kitchen and try to cook a lot of meals at home. That means I create a lot of trash, even though I compost food scraps. I use this as my main trash can and repurpose plastic grocery bags as garbage bin liners. It's the perfect amount of garbage to accumulate before things really start to stink up my place. (Psst, I keep my compost in the freezer.)

Promising review: "Fits great in my tiny NYC kitchen. My dog, aka garbage dog, cannot get to it either.'" —Caitlyn

Get it from Amazon for $20.99+ (available in five colors). 

Promising review: "I have a tiny little galley kitchen, and all of my spices were jammed into one crowded shelf of a top cabinet. Whenever I needed to pull something out, it required a lengthy round of hide and seek, and it was generally a safe bet that several random jars were going to land on the counter, sometimes resulting in a shower of broken glass sprinkled all over whatever I was preparing. It was worth every penny. I installed it easily in just a few minutes, and it solved my problem and is a joy to use. It's sturdy as heck and extremely well made. I'm looking around for where else I can use one of their drawers, but sadly nothing else seems to lend itself to this simple, elegant solution." —LMc

Promising review: "I have a small kitchen, and these shelves have created a ton of space for my apples, potatoes, and other fresh produce that would otherwise have been taking up valuable space on my countertop or in my refrigerator. I was able to store about 5 pounds of apples, 5 pounds of potatoes, and seven bananas on one shelf, and there was not even the slightest sign of movement. The magnet is very strong, and the shelf can easily be moved if necessary once put together. The hooks are great for bananas!" —Micah T.

"We have a tiny kitchen in our condo with not nearly enough storage space. I wish I had ordered this sooner! I put it together in about 3 minutes, and it holds even more than I’d expected. Great price, great solution." —Heather

Get it from Amazon for $25.63+ (available in six colors and packs of two)

Promising review: "I love these! I have a tiny kitchen in my apartment and only have 1.5 upper cabinets, and 2 lower cabinets. So space is very limited. I bought these hoping they’d give me some extra storage space, and they did not disappoint. The magnet is super strong, they’re not going anywhere. They seem to hold a lot of weight. I feel like I have a decent amount of spices, and they hold them all. They also come with hooks, which is nice, but I haven’t put them to use yet." —Jasmine Borden

Get a two-pack from Amazon for $21.99 (available in 11 colors and in larger packs). 

Like I said up there, I have one of these in my spice cabinet and use it for my most-used seasoning. Being able to quickly grab garlic powder while I'm cooking something on the stove is incredibly helpful. The non-skid liner really keeps stuff in place, so spices don't go flying when spinning. I feel like I get a lot more use out of that spice shelf (and the seasonings on it) than I would otherwise. 

Check out a TikTok of the rectangular lazy Susan in action. 

Promising review: "This is perfect for short people with big refrigerators! I could never reach anything on the top shelf and had to grab a step stool, now everything fits perfectly on this, and I can reach them all! It glides great and is very sturdy." —Tara Mann

Get it from Amazon for $18.99+ (available in two sizes). 

Promising review: "Super helpful! Our kitchen feels much more organized, gave us more space in our drawers, and looks so cute!" —Emma

Get it from Ikea for $12.95 (available in three colors; works with a 5-pack of S-hooks, a paper towel holder, and a mesh container).

Promising review: "Perfect fit for my kitchen! I have a tiny kitchen, and I felt like everything was just scattered on the one shelf. This organizer helps put everything in its place and makes it easier to pull out what I need." —Nicole

Get it from Amazon for $15.97 (available in two colors).

Promising review: "The expandable shelves I got doubled the area so usefully in my tiny kitchen cabinets! Love them...and will enjoy them for years to come!" —Diane G-B

Get it from Amazon for $15.87 (available in bronze and silver).

Yes, this is my kitchen cabinet, and this trick helps me find the correct measuring cup so much faster than back when I used to stack them in a drawer! Just be sure to account for the cups' depth while arranging the cabinet's contents. Since I took this pic my 1/2-cup met its doom in a tub of sugar so I swapped in some measuring cups with *engraved* measurements on the cups, which makes my setup even better!

Get a 10-pack of hooks from Amazon for $11.52.

I have a three-set of similar baskets that I use on top of my kitchen cabinets to contain extra toiletries, but they'd also be great for storing surplus shelf-stable goods! When you're in a small space, "hidden" storage out in the open can make all the difference. These look pretty nice on top of my cabinets and contain SO MUCH mess. Just be sure to measure your space before adding to cart. There are so many similar, smaller baskets on Amazon that may work if this size doesn't. 

Each of these holds up to 36 standard-sized K-Cups.

Promising review: "I have a tiny kitchen, so I needed something easily accessible; this is it, folks. It holds my Keurig on top and holds a lot of K-Cups, which is nice. I got the black." —E Peck

Get it from Amazon for $17.99+ (available in three colors).

Check out a TikTok of the collapsible whisk in action. 

Promising review: "Absolutely perfect. Easy to clean, easy to use, very sturdy. The whisk stays in the positions quite well, it stows away quite flat. The perfect solution for a kitchen with limited storage!" —CMA01

"Rv fulltimer, this works perfectly in my tiny kitchen space." —Mersedes

This comes in a pack of four with two pockets each so everyone can get one! And because they're clear, you'll be able to see what's inside so you can actually use it.

Promising review: "I used the product to clear up space that was used for condiment packets, but they also worked out great to hold my mom’s insulin pens so they don’t get lost in the fridge." —GuVal

Check out a TikTok of the egg storage roller in action. 

Promising review: "Here it is! The best egg container on Amazon! How can I say that? Easy! Engineering! The slight tilt angle on the bottom of the container that the egg drawer sits on forces eggs to lightly roll forward, keeping all your eggs in the front, and never in the back, where you don't need them. It's super easy to use, so easy to clean, comes apart and can hold a full can organizer on top without issue, so no issues with sturdiness. It can easily hold 14 large size eggs. Easily one of my favorite purchases." —Karingen

Check out a TikTok of the yogurt storage rack in action. 

Storage Theory is a small business that specializes in home and office organizational products. 

Promising review: "Works great, wish I would have gotten more!! So very handy to have and see how many yogurts we have. Comes with two super-strong 3M adhesive stripes. Highly recommend product!!" —Amanda Adams

Get it from Amazon for $10.99+ (available in packs of one or two).

McMaster 3D is a Langhorne, Pennsylvania-based Etsy shop that sells a variety of ingenious 3D-printed items. 

Get it from McMaster 3D on Etsy for $11+ (available in 12 colors).

It has a safety lock and a weight limit of 330 pounds

Promising review: "I recently moved into my first solo apartment and I knew I needed a step ladder to reach things because your girl is 5'2. This ladder is very sturdy, and I love that it folds up easily so I can hide it in my storage room. Would definitely recommend." —kmill

Promising review: "Bought the two-pack. Wanted my mother to be able to reach rarely used items in the topmost cupboard without getting on a step stool if my sisters and I weren’t available. I’m using the other one to pick up trash when out mudlarking. Sturdy and convenient that it folds up." —Kristen

Get it from Amazon for $23.95+ (available in several sizes).

Promising review: "I bought this for my daughter for her dorm at college. She loves making flavored rice and warming up soups and things. She likes it so well that she brings it home from college with her on breaks. It is especially nice that it has a removable pot, which makes it so much easier to clean or keep leftovers in. Would definitely buy again, don't waste your money on a slightly cheaper one that does not have a removable pot." —midohtree

Get it from Amazon for $20.77+ (available in six colors).

Promising review: "Works exactly as it says it does. I have small hands and trouble gripping things. This makes opening jars extremely easy and it opens in seconds just by twisting the jar counterclockwise. I'm so glad I ordered two so I can give 1 to a family member who has trouble with opening jars as well. I would definitely buy this again!" —H.T.

Promising review: "The towel kept falling from the handlebar on the dishwasher. I got sick and tired of constantly picking it up from the floor. Saw this clip on Amazon — it is absolutely perfect. The towel stays in place, and I just love it." —Dee

Get a three-pack from Amazon for $12.99.

SnapPower is a small biz that specializes in unique and innovative lighting products. 

Promising review: "I ordered this after seeing it on TikTok. I’m very happy with this product!" —Miss. Harris 

"Game changer. When I get up, I don’t want to wake everyone up with flipping on lights and all. These provide plenty of walking through the house light. Super easy installation, too." —Monica Martinez 

Get it from Amazon for $22.98 (available in three outlet styles and four colors). 

Promising review: "I like this so much that I actually just ordered another one for under the bathroom sink. Not only did it tidy the clutter and make items easier to find at first glance, but also made it possible for me to store another few items below the sink, including the spray cleaners I use for my countertops. I didn't configure it around pipes (as I see can be done), but actually used the flexible shelving options to place taller or larger items directly on the floor of my under-sink storage — rather than on the lowest shelf (see last photo) — to maximize my storage possibilities and keep regularly used items accessible. I also didn't fully extend the shelving, just as suggested by the manufacturer for stability purposes ... and still found it offered ample storage. Easy to assemble, with some flexibility for shelf height and placement — highly recommend!" —Amazon Customer

Get it from Amazon for $24.87+ (available in three finishes).

macraYAYmacrame is an Indianapolis, Indiana-based shop that makes a variety of cool macrame accessories. 

My colleague Jenae Sitzes owns and loves this: 

"I recently picked up this macrame basket (in the Cactus shade) and *highly* recommend it if you're looking to add a cozy touch to your kitchen. As someone with a relatively small NYC kitchen, I need every bit of counter space I can get, and this lets me keep produce out without having to take up space with a fruit basket or banana stand. I'm a big fan of utilizing vertical space as storage, and this does just that; plus, it allows for ventilation to help your fruit stay fresh for longer. I'm constantly cooking with onions or grabbing an apple as a mid-day snack, and having them right there at an arm's reach is sooo nice. BTW, these come with hooks that screw directly into a cabinet, but if you (like me) want to avoid that damage, I recommend using Command hooks — I'm using four of these small toggle hooks and they've held up the basket *with* produce in it wonderfully."

Get it from macraYAYmacrame on Etsy for $35.

Promising review: "I have a weird skinny window in my house where no normal window covering works. People walking on our community trail can see up into our upstairs bathroom when the light is on and it's dark outside. Not a good plan at all. So I used this window film and cut different-sized circles and placed then on this window to interrupt the view into the house. Worked perfectly! Very easy to use." —Marsgard

Get it from Amazon for $7.99+ (available in 14 sizes).

BuzzFeed Shopping is service journalism first: our writers and editors spend all day shopping so you don’t have to, vetting products, fact-checking brand claims, and surfacing what actually helps in real life. We center readers over revenue, recommend products with authenticity (using real experiences, not ad-speak), and reflect our diverse audience, inclusive of a variety of price points, people, and needs. We cut through fake deals, favor useful info over glossy fluff, and recommend both budget and splurge options with context so you can decide what’s right for you — and still have a little fun along the way.

Elizabeth Lilly is a deputy editorial director with more than a decade of lifestyle journalism spanning a range of subjects under her (tool) belt that includes four and a half years at a home improvement magazine. 

Reviews have been edited for length and/or clarity.