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One Room Challenge - THE KITCHEN! - Come Join! - Page 6

post #101 of 368
2/4/07 at 2:27pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by anthasam View Post
HOWEVER, I hate the tower of ovens in the corner. We use the microwave to reheat leftovers and the toaster oven gets used a lot too. We would like to keep these out. I would like to make room in the pantry for the coffeemaker (it used to live there, not sure what happened.)

Anyone have ideas? Some thoughts we had: 1) a shelf in the open space next to the cabinet; or 2) buying an over the stove microwave and mounting it into that space, leaving just the toaster oven on the counter.
Yeah, I think I would put a shelf there from the bottom of the longer cabinets to the wall and put the microwave up there, it will give it more of a clean look and give you more counterspace. Then I'd probably clear out a home for the toaster oven in one of the cabinets there. I've found that I personally feel like my kitchen looks so much cleaner if I don't have appliances on the counter.
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post #102 of 368
2/4/07 at 2:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mightymoo View Post
MY KITCHEN PICTURE TOUR
- Do something about the gap between the stove and countertop
mightymoo:
Would a spice drawer work? We were visiting my parents' house yesterday and they have a pull-out spice drawer on one side of the stove and a pull-out towel hanger on the other side. (Personally, I hate the towel hanger because unless you remember to get the towel out first, you end up dripping on the floor and getting the cabinets wet!)
post #103 of 368
2/4/07 at 2:48pm
MY KITCHEN PICTURE TOUR - Sorry I don't have any pictures yet but I still want to play.

WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY KITCHEN (Include a picture!) - Wow this is tough because I really hate my kitchen. I do like the decor. Hubby collects CocaCola stuff and that is where we display it.

WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT MY KITCHEN - It is a storage nightmare. I was built in the EARLY 70's at a time when there were few widely used kitchen gadgets and mom was quarentined in the kitchen away from the rest of the house. I can not see my livingroom from my kitchen so it is hard to keep an eye on things and cook at the same time. The cabinets were also designed pre kitchen gadgets so I have no cabinet that is wide enough to store my kitchen aid mixer or bread maker on the counter. This actually is not a bad thing because I use them all the time but it would be nice when we entertain to be able to have a clean surface to lay things out,

MY PLAN OF ACTION -
1. I have been meaning to extend the shelf in my lower cabinets all the way to the front. Right now there is a tiny thin shelf in the back of the cabinets that you have to be on your hands and knees to get to and it is so thin that it barely holds a small pot. SO I want to knock them out and replace them with a deep shelf.

2. I never finished painting my bottom cabinets. Although I will guess that, since we just got a new dog, that I will not be crawling around on the floor with a paint brush in hand just yet. This my have to wait until the next One Room Challenge - Kitchen rolls around .

3. Put knobs on the drawers. None of my drawers have knobs. I have already bought them AND marked the spot to drill the whole but I haven't actually done it.

4. Come up with a dishwashing system. I am bad about not doing dishes right away and my kitchen always looks dirty. So I want to come up with a system that works for us.

5. I don't use the bottom drawer of my stove so I am oing to clean it out and move my muffin tins, etc. there since I have run out of space in my vretical storage cabinet next to the stove.

6. The feet on my butcher block are wobbly so I need to take them off. And all my cutting boards need to be oiled badly

7. Where there should be bar stools, we have shoes. I need to find a new place for them before the dog chews them up. I really want to get bar stools so my kids can come to the kitchen and work on school work while I am making lunch etc.

8. My new dog has discovered the recycling bin so I need to find a way to put it under the sink.

9. Find a new destination for dirty clothes. Since our washer is right outside the kitchen the dirty clothes tend to get dumped by the back door.

10. The back side of my cabinets that face the hall have bulletin boards hanging from them that we never use anymore so those need to come down and I want to put up a pot hanging system of some kind. Not sure what eyt though.

11. I need to strip the privacy film off our kitchen window so I can see the boys when they are outside so I need to finish the curtain I started for it.

12. I need to find a new home for the microwave. It is almsot never used so it needs to find a new home. Maybe the garage on top of the freezer?????

Okay that is all I can think of now. Of to make my list of supplies and get started.
post #104 of 368
2/4/07 at 5:13pm
My plan for next week:

Declutter at least one "area" each day, with the goal of:
-getting rid of everything we don't use (donating and/or tossing)
-finding a home outside of the kitchen for everything that doesn't really "go" in the kitchen
-packing up everything but the bare minimum in preparation for our mini-remodel

Areas
-Drawers 1, 2, 3, 4
-Upper cabinets 1, 2, 3
-Lower cabinets 1, 2, 3
-Windowsill
-Top of washer and dryer

I would love any thoughts anyone has on this area. The long-term goal is to move the w/d out of the kitchen, but that won't be for a few years. In the short term (in a few weeks), dh plans to build a counter over the w/d, with a bar for a curtain in front of the appliances. He will also build a couple shelves above (and obviously patch the wall, etc). Any thoughts on that, ideas on how to make it better?
post #105 of 368
2/4/07 at 9:30pm
Just wanted to update with some "after" pictures. I worked on a few of the cabinets this weekend.

Before
After

Before
After

Before
After
After
post #106 of 368
2/4/07 at 9:35pm
I didn't get anything done this weekend Our pipes froze solid so we spent alot of time fixing that lil problem... :

But I did go to Lowes and get some organizing things for my pantry (spice rack for the door and plastic bag holder thingie) so I'll be working on that this week.
post #107 of 368
2/4/07 at 9:46pm
I organized my food cabinets. I pulled out everything and sorted them into groups. I have a paper bag full of stuff that I am never going to use so I'm going to give it to someone who will.

My next task will be the area above the fridge. I have an unused cabinet up there. I think I will put DS playdough items and art supplies up there.

Tomorrow is the fridge and freezer. I am going to empty it and discard old stuff. Clean it and then try to organize it.
post #108 of 368
2/4/07 at 9:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammsma View Post
Just wanted to update with some "after" pictures. I worked on a few of the cabinets this weekend.
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Nice job, especially the last cabinet!

I have not done much tho DH tidied up the wine/liquor cabinet above the frig. I have thrown out a few damaged cooking spoons and other "tools", and won't replace most of them right away. Will wait to see if I miss them.

Still working on loading pics...
post #109 of 368
2/4/07 at 10:29pm
I think I'm going to join, although it makes me nervous. After six months of sitting on a chair and trying not to throw up, my kitchen is a mess. I'll take pictures tomorrow.
post #110 of 368
2/4/07 at 10:55pm
Ok! I got the tour and some before & after photos on my blog ('me" link). I am wiped out after all that work, and am not even 1/2 way done what I want to do.

Thanks for the info on the floor I showed Dh and he is sold. I know the colors look different on the computer... our kitchen looks much more yellow than it really is (the yellow walls are 3 toned IRL). Now all we have to do is agree on a color... he wants white, white, white. I am holding out against a white floor (he's not the one who will be cleaning it every three seconds!), and hoping for perhaps something tan/brown.
post #111 of 368
2/4/07 at 11:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sammsma View Post
Just wanted to update with some "after" pictures. I worked on a few of the cabinets this weekend.
Great work!
post #112 of 368
2/5/07 at 12:04am
I ditched 90% of sippy cups today and all bibs (we've been using our 3 aprons primarily). Couldn't get rid of much tupperware (did it 6 months ago, and have only accumulated a few random lids since then).
I have been bring meals to FIL, so I guess I need to keep what I have for that. It looks better, though.
Sippy cups are now in a pretty basket w/valves in place.
They were all yucky from dd taking them apart, then leaving them on the floor.
Glad that's done.
I tried to organize canning jars too, but they are also a PITA. So, they look better, but not "organized".

Tomorrow- top of fridge, the rest is to be announced!
post #113 of 368
2/5/07 at 1:13am
So far I have-
-bought new silverware! I'm so excited, what we had was fromt he 99 cent store and bent in half if oyu looked at it wrong
-bought a new set of bakeware. old stuff was, again, just cheap crap htat was all rusty. I bake enough that quality cookie sheets and stuff are more than worth it
-removed everything that isn't ours from the kitchen. Huge bag of stuff ready to take to the IL's new house
-dumped all the icky food int he fridge. Not a fun job, but it needed to be done
-today my husband did ALL the dishes (including the gross pans I've been procrastinating about) and cleared off/wiped down about half the counters and the stove
-picked a paint color
-found pretty fabric I might use ot make a curtain for the window


Tonight or tomorrow (or this week ) I'm going ot clear off the rest of the counters and tryt o figure out what it is that keeps collecting htere and find solutions for them so that doesn't happen so much. Wipe down the inside fo the fridge and wipe off the pantry shelves.
post #114 of 368
2/5/07 at 2:01am
I didn't get too much done this weekend. I pulled the fridge out and cleaned under and behind it. I hadn't done that in a year. I also cleared off the top of the fridge and made a new spot for the tall liquor bottles since ds found their old spot. I think I got 4 drawers done too-I found an old coffee grinder I didn't even know I had.

Lisa
post #115 of 368
2/5/07 at 2:33am
I got all my entertaining stuff organized, moved all my food storage containers into their new home, relocated my dish clothes and reorganized part of my pantry.

I am still totally stumped on the microwave.:
post #116 of 368
2/5/07 at 3:31am
I cleaned out my fridge today, that's about all the progress I've made so far. I have family visiting so I won't get too much done until next week.
post #117 of 368
2/5/07 at 3:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sincitymama View Post
So far I have-


Tonight or tomorrow (or this week ) I'm going ot clear off the rest of the counters and tryt o figure out what it is that keeps collecting htere and find solutions for them so that doesn't happen so much. Wipe down the inside fo the fridge and wipe off the pantry shelves.

I realized that everything that is piled up on my counters is stuff that really should be in a different room, but it doesn't have a home/place to be there either. For me it would have been better to start with other rooms in the house vs. the kitchen so that places would have been created for them or they may just join all the other crap in the basement in some random cardboard box... Lord help me when this group gets around to basements.

A few of the things got put on the counter to be out of the reach of DS who is too tall for his own good! So I view most of that as temporary and I won't spend time finding it a new home.
post #118 of 368
2/5/07 at 5:04am
I was only able to give the kitchen a good surface scrubdown today, as we have social services coming over tomorrow (ei, actually) and I was in a panic trying to get my whole house in order (this after a wild night of karaoke). Anyway, I also had to quarantine my dishwasher...we are having a roach infestation in there for some reason. And I cleared off all my hotspots/ random items on the countertops.

Tomorrow I plan to go through and declutter everything. We don't have much in there so it won't take me long. Then I'm planning on replacing all the kidsware with a few small japanese teacups and glass or wooden dishes/bowls. I was thinking about it this evening and here is my gameplan:

Week 1: Surface clean, clear and organize countertops, declutter cabinets.
Weekend: Replace random tupperware with pyrex or jars, inventory, itemize and replace foodstock/foodstorage in cabinets. Set up recycling center!

Week 2: Deep clean. Under sink, stove, fridge, baseboards ect. See what needs to be done with dishwasher after two weeks of quarantine. Clean out our toxic wasteland under the sink. If I'm feeling especially frisky I'll clean under the washer and dryer in the attached bathroom as well.
Weekend: Possible visit with exterminator or get new dishwasher

Week 3: Touch ups. Hang fruit baskets, any new (or old) artwork, and touch up paint. New throw rugs or lauhala mats, and hang bamboo curtain that we've had in the closet for five years.

Week 4: Get new pots (we really need these!!) new knife set, and food processor...and anything else we really need.

Done! Celebrate our wonderful beautiful kitchen!!

Obviously I don't have to stick to this, but it helps for me to break it down week by week so I don't get overwhelmed.
post #119 of 368
2/5/07 at 11:21am
so I got the hallway pantry closet done~~~ it took much of friday afternoon , and now the kidlets have their own shelf with all their craft/artwork/ clay and playdough etc within reach. Today I'm working on the buffet and broom closet. The buffet should be brutal .

I'll try to get some pics up but I've never done it before .

keep it up everyone!! the progress of others is always so motivating!!! AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
post #120 of 368
2/5/07 at 4:07pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rikki Jean View Post
I am so excited about this! I really really need to to do this. Whoohoo! I have to say- it's really encouraging to see that I'm not the only one with a cluttered kitchen!


MY KITCHEN PICTURE TOUR
I'll have to take pictures when I get home from work. I'll post them tomorrow.

WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY KITCHEN
I love the rack we have hanging above our sink that holds our spices, oils and vinegars, and some of our cooking utensils. I also love the kitchen cart we added recently; I have very little counter space, and this has made a WORLD of difference!

WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT MY KITCHEN
-How small it is. We have a galley kitchen, and two people can not really be in there to comfortably cook together, and we don't have a lot of counter space.
-With a tiny kitchen comes limited storage space as well, which is rough, because I have A LOT of cooking stuff. Our cabinets are very shallow, so some things don't even fit in a cabinet!
-No diswasher. I always feel like my life would be a whole lot easier if I had one.
-No natural light. We live in an apartment, and we only have windows on one side (bedroom and family room). It would be really nice to have a window in my kitchen.
-Our desk and computer are right next to our kitchen table. We don't have another place to put the desk, so it's stuck there for now, but I hate having people over for a nice dinner with the computer and all of my papers there.

MY PLAN OF ACTION
-Get rid of things I don't use. I know that I have too much stuff.
-Clean off/reorganize the top of my fridge. I know there are things up there that are....well, quite old. I'd like to better utilize the space for storage.
-Fix my kitchen cart. Yes, I love it, but I never actually finished putting it together. I got 3/4 of the way through, but something didn't fit right, so I just put the butcher block on top, but it's not secure yet since it's not 100%.
-Find homes for all Tupperware/Gladware/other plastics. I don't have enough cabinet space for it all, so it's taken over part of my counter.

Okay, I finally got to the pictures this morning! I didn't get everything, because my camera batteries died, but I think what I did get will do the job:
  • Here's the dinette from the family room. You can see how bare my walls are, something I really want to change. I love the clock we have up, but I think it looks a little akward in that wide open space. That pile of boxes next to the desk is my recycling that DH keeps neglecting to take out (we don't have anything for recycling at our apartments, so he has to drive it all to his work to dump in their recycling bins). http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q...t=100_2857.jpg
  • Kitchen from the table. There are a lot of things out right now that need to put away, but they really don't have a home (like the Le Presse sitting on the counter next to the sink, which I received on Freecycle without having a clue where I would put it, and the plastic container mountain on the other side of the sink).

You can also kind of see the space between the cabinets and the ceiling (I forgot what the actual name is for this spot). That's where we have a lot of our bulky appliances (George Forman, electric skillet, waffle maker, etc.), so that's a nice storage space. On the side above the sink, I have all of my random pitchers and vases, along with mugs from our nice dish set that don't fit in the cabinets, and a nice set of cups and saucers that we use for Greek coffee when company comes over. I'm just waiting for an earthquake to send it all crashing down!

http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q...t=100_2858.jpg
  • This is my messy office that's crammed into my kitchen. I would really like to make some changes to keep it cleaner and less intruding, or move it out all together (but moving it out won't happen until there is a bedroom challenge, because that's where it will have to go!). Maybe it wouldn't bother me so much if we didn't have that behemoth printer! http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q...t=100_2859.jpg
  • Here is the wall that seperates the kitchen from the family room/entryway. It's probably the tidiest spot in the whole place (except for that random armless Ninja Turtle sitting on top of the keybox. Whoops! ). BTW, my mom wrote "Have a Nice Day" on the chalkboard, not me. I think she also drew the smiley faces with DS's hand. http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q...t=100_2860.jpg
  • Cabinet full of spices and other random things. This realllly needs to be changed. There is another one on the other side of the stove, full of baking spices and the like, and other miscellaneous, but my camera died before I could take a picture. http://s136.photobucket.com/albums/q...t=100_2869.jpg
Since the camera died, I didn't get pictures of any of the drawers or the other cabinets, but I think this post is long enough already! If you got this far, you surely deserve a medal!


My goals for this week (I'll keep it short, I promise!):
-Sort through plastics; Freecycle whatever I don't need or don't use.
-Find homes for all misc. plastics (only the ones I'm keeping of course!), appliances and gadgets.
-Finish kitchen cart .
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