CurlXTCee

Calling all kitchen organizing gurus. Brainstorming session -- all suggestions welcomed!

Small kitchen with almost no counter space for a family of 3 who has recently had to downsize. Deep, single porcelain sink of a decent size. How best to handle doing dishes? Each person has been asked to wash their own dishes throughout the day whenever possible. The real problem comes in when it's time to cook a meal and clean up after. Dish drainers are all too big and inefficient. Usually dishes just dry on a towel next to the sink, but it seems that there are dishes on the counter all of the time, taking up valuable counter space. One option is for someone to dry the dishes either as they are washed or at some point during the day. If only everyone always had the time for that.

Other problem: Difficult to wash many dishes at once with only one sink. Literally no place to store a dishpan. Is there another solution that would make doing dishes in this situation easier? Part of the problem is that the sink is so hard, dishes and glasses may break. A dish mat will help with that, but storage again is an issue.

I guess what I'm looking for are space-efficient dish drying options and dishpan alternatives/storage suggestions. Let me reiterate: There is NO room to store a dishpan.

mrspoppers

If you are able to screw something into the wall, Ikea has a lot of wall storage options.

RedCatWaves

How about a small drainer that rests over half the sink? That's what I use in my teeny-weeny kitchen in my RV.

CurlXTCee

Both give me something new to consider! Ikea has something that actually hangs on a rail out of the way! Interesting! Thanks, ladies!

wild~hair

This is my advice as well. I had a very small studio in SF with about 2.5 square feet of counter space, on either side of the sink. I installed a wall-mounted system above the sink and counters. It included a dish rack that folded up when not in use, as well as shelves and other storage. Worked very well!