Recently, I bought my husband an espresso/ cappuccino machine and the purchase made the two of us reevaluate what we have on our kitchen counter tops. Were we using the small appliances that were taking up space?

Are you using all of the small appliances on your counters, daily?

Our toaster, coffee maker and blender certainly have been earning their keep. But our food processor, juicer and waffle maker, which are used infrequently, were not worthy of our precious counter top real estate and had already been stored away. Since the new machine would not be used daily, we decided it, too, would grace a shelf on our kitchen island where it would be accessible yet out of the way – I get urges for frothy soy hot chocolates with cinnamon sticks!

Frothy hot chocolate - yum!

Do you feel you could use more counter space?

An appliance garage

Unless you have an appliance garage or a very big kitchen, why not take a minute to reevaluate which machines you use a lot and which might be put away? If you do, you may be surprised to find you can create more workroom and, at the same time, make your kitchen look a lot more spacious, too.

If you are in the market for a new sofa, dining table or bed, or any other big piece of furniture, it’s a good idea to measure your door frames and any narrow hallways leading to the room, before making the purchase, besides checking the dimensions of the room itself. All of this information is vital if you are buying something large that is on final sale.

Do you think your home might present delivery men with a challenge?

Staircases and elevators can be a problem for delivery people, so remember to take these measurements and angles into consideration, too, and advise your salesperson. If you have any doubts the piece will fit, ask the store to send someone to measure your space. This step can save you a lot of time, money and agita.

My dear pal, David Staskowski, shared this smart ‘use what you have’ pot rack idea. You remember David, don’t you? He was the clever ‘Ask David’ columnist from the late, great magazine, Metropolitan Home.

Plus, here’s a suggestion for storing your pot lids from my book, Downsizing Your Home With Style:

Hang your lids over the pot handles to keep them together and save space.

I love lists. I make a list every night before going to bed so I can sleep better. It really helps.

The List Producer blog has posted my 10 Most Common Decorating Mistakes, in case you need a reminder and want to fix up your home in hours, without spending any money. Check it out:

http://www.listproducer.com/2011/10/20/10-most-common-decorating-mistakes/