We are moving in 12 short days and I'm feeling pressure to be organized. I've packed the spare bedroom (camping gear, books, computer stuff) and most of the kitchen. A fraction of our dishes, spices, canned food, and baking items is left. It feels good to have bare cabinets. Clean and simple. Usually I have to move multiple items to get to the flour or sugar.
Our new kitchen will be smaller than the current one. But it will have a pantry, which we don't have right now. So maybe it will even out? I would love to have completely bare countertops. I think that would look so nice. But I use the blender almost every day to make fruit smoothies for breakfast. The toaster oven is used once or twice a week. A utensil holder sits next to the stove, holding everyday spatulas, spoons, and such. Then there's the salt, pepper, jar of clothspins (used for keeping opened packages tightly closed), multi vitamin (that I won't take unless I SEE it everyday), coffee maker (used everyday), and two colorful fire king mugs (holding the silverware).
I use these things all the time. So how can I avoid keeping them on the countertop? I love pictures of Ikea kitchens; sparse with lots of flat shiny surfaces. Lately I've been reading quite a bit of the magazine, Real Simple. I like the photography in the publication; it puts a fire in me to have clean and simple rooms.
There is one thing on the kitchen counter that I love... that's my cobalt blue Kitchen Aid mixer. It's one of my favorite possessions. Chad surprised me with it for my birthday about a year ago. I like having it out in the open, because it reminds me that Chad loves me. Also, because it's so pretty.
Does anyone have any kitchen tips for me?
8 comments:
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It is an ongoing struggle at my house as well. I try to keep as much as I can in the pantry but certain things will always be on the counter. My biggest problem is stacks of paper, notes, flyers that end up on the counter. BTW, I would love to hear a description or see a photo of your new house. I just can't imagine what it would be like to move into a BRAND new home!! You are lucky!
Yeah, that's frustrating too. The beautifully bare countertops just dont make sense to use every day, but they make great catalog and magazine photos. The flip side of it is that if you were to have all that stuff put away, you would have less shelf-space too. I've seen those countertop nook type things have the little roll-up door, so that you can hide away your blender and toaster. That sounds neat, so i suppose that's an option.
I went around hiding things away one day and found a spot for most of the little items. But a few days later that were back out again. I haven't tried again since.
Well you know I have a small kitchen. A pantry is a huge help. Get small wire shelves to hang inside the pantry door to help with little stuff, makes it really easy to grab. We actually keep some things like platters and vases in a cabinet in the garage. The mixer, breadmaker, jar with utensils, and toaster live on the counter permanently. We had to get another separate cabinet to put other appliances in, we put it next to the kitchen table. My biggest struggle in my small kitchen is keeping the table clean. It serves as our dumping place when we come in through the garage.
You could always keep a picture of a kitchen you like on the fridge but that might be more depressing than inspiring!!
Sheryll,
I already planned to get a hanging wire shelf thing for the inside door of the pantry. Also, don't feel bad about the table dump station. We have a large kitchen right now and we do the exact same thing. Countertops too!
Just stop cooking, like I have. har har
You move SOO soon!! Wow. I want to visit! :)
And you KNOW how my kitchen stays. Definite dump station on the table (I read the suggestion of a 24 hour rule: whatever is still there in 24 hours gets tossed--but we'd just keep making exceptions if we tried that--haha!). Counters can be tidied, but it seems more work to keep pulling out appliances, so for me it's about effectively organizing which ones I keep out (toaster oven, Foreman, utensil jar, COFFEE MAKER).
Stay relaxed and savor the new area as each thing finds a home in your kitchen. And this time, YOU unpack it, okay??
In lieu of the kitchen table being a dumping station, we have a small box where we put things (many paper things). It doesn't always work but definitely helps.
I love the PICTURES of the sparse kitchensas well, but you know - nobody actually lives in kitchens like that! At least not people with kids... or people who actually cook. You can try to make it less cluttered but I think there will always be some clutter. Not to be pessimistic. :)
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