When you live in a small house, you suffer the plague of the small kitchen. It is surprising how small kitchens were built in the 1930s, considering women supposedly never left them and were usually, you know, shoeless and expecting.

I am a modern woman, but I like to be in my kitchen. Yes, I am usually barefoot. But after having triplets, I can guarantee that I will never ever be pregnant–in my kitchen or any other–ever again.

However, this does not solve the #1 problem of the small kitchen: counter space. My counter space is more valuable to me than beachfront property in Florida. (Okay, that may be a stretch… I’ve never owned beachfront property in Florida… I might have a hard time choosing between the two.) I guard it like a sentry. I am constantly trying to preserve it against the invasions of kid stuff, husband stuff, and let’s face it, my own stuff.

So today was a glorious day when I reclaimed some counter space without a fight. No tears were shed, no bloody battles raged (although, technically, weapons were involved). I did one simple thing: moved my knives from their clunky butcher’s block to a magnetic strip on the wall. (Okay, that’s not entirely true… Josh did this after I asked nicely. And after witnessing the tools and slight cursing involved, I wouldn’t classify this as “simple”, per se. Like all things, handiness is a learned skill and he is a good learner. Thank you, honey!)

After the cursing subsided and the strip was attached, I was amazed at how much cleaner and more open my counters felt!

Small changes can reap big rewards, especially when you are living in a small house. If you are suffering from lack of counter space, see what you could move to a wall. You might be surprised!