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One Room Challenge - THE KITCHEN! - Come Join! - Page 3

post #41 of 368
2/1/07 at 9:22am
MY KITCHEN PICTURE TOUR
Yikes, here we go:
Looking into the Kitchen
Another View
Hot Spot #1
Hot Spot #2
Example of what some of my cabinets look like
Example #2
Example #3
Example #4
The worst cabinet
SHOES!
WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY KITCHEN (Include a picture!)
The color
The cabinets and new appliances
This area

WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT MY KITCHEN
The messy cabinets(See above)
The messy drawers
The unfinished floor We put down the new floor before deciding to tear down the island separating the kitchen and dining room. We redid the cabinets and tore down the wall over a year ago, but have yet to finish the floor.
The messy fridge front

MY PLAN OF ACTION

Organize cabinets and get rid of things we never use
Organize the drawers and get rid of things we never use
Declutter front of fridge
Find a solution for the Hot Spots
Find another solution for the shoes

And, if I'm really ambitious:
Finish putting down the floor.

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post #42 of 368
2/1/07 at 1:27pm

I'll play!

MY KITCHEN PICTURE TOUR
I don't have many pictures of my kitchen up yet so I'll just post what I have so far and add more later.

This is the only counter space I have.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/146/3...668e26.jpg?v=0

Here is the sink.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/149/3...97e0b3.jpg?v=0

Under all of our Christmas cards is the ugly door I'd love to replace. It leads to the bathroom.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/161/3...2e6d94.jpg?v=0

WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY KITCHEN
It is very cozy/tiny and for being so incredibly small it is pretty well organized. I also love the new tile floors we put in.
Picture of my dog being a greedy little piggy but, it is a nice picture of the tile. I like how it is dark to contrast the light cabinets. (You can also see the ugly door leading to the basement on the left.)
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/139/3...3c2ca0.jpg?v=0

WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT MY KITCHEN
I really don't like the wallpaper, but it isn't terrible. I don't like how tall all of the cabinets are for a short girl like myself. The refrigerater is super short and old and on it's last leg... I hate how yucky it looks no matter how many times I scrub it out.

MY PLAN OF ACTION
Organize the Spice cabinet
Organize the food pantry
Organize the Junk drawer.
Create a binder for recipes
Make a new shade/cover for the front door.
Get two new rugs one for the sink and one for the front door.
Add two new doors to the basement and bathroom.(this may be wishful thinking at this point)
post #43 of 368
2/1/07 at 1:56pm
Is it to late to join :?
post #44 of 368
2/1/07 at 1:57pm
Yeah!
post #45 of 368
2/1/07 at 2:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mightymoo View Post
- Figure out a better solution for my little technlogoy corner. It's always a mess of wires and speakers and stuff, and even when the room is 'clean' it looks cluttered.
I saw something in a magazine my mom handed down to me last month. I will attampt to find it online, if not, you will have to try to decipher my awful descriptions

I'll be back later this afternoon with my suggetion for you and with my pictures and to-do for my kitchen!
post #46 of 368
2/1/07 at 2:10pm
MY KITCHEN PICTURE TOUR

http://www.flickr.com/gp/53011909@N00/C7s09i

WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY KITCHEN

The little reading nook under the window.

WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT MY KITCHEN

The garbage sorting system (sucks, as you can see from the pic. There actually IS a recycling bin in there!) And the "junk cupboard" full of stuff that doesn't need to be there.

MY PLAN OF ACTION

Get rid of all of the "extra" dishes. We don't really need 87 cups.
Get rid of a good amount of the pots and pans. We never simplified that particular collection when DH and I moved in together.
Get rid of all of the "convenience appliances" that we don't use.
Figure out a new system for garbage/recycling.
post #47 of 368
2/1/07 at 2:21pm
Oh, this is exactly what I was going to do this month anyhow I am so glad there is a thread for it to help me stay on track. I wll be back when I get home from work to post more & add photos. Thanks Mightymoo for setting this up!
post #48 of 368
2/1/07 at 3:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelBee View Post
Yeah!
Was this for me?
post #49 of 368
2/1/07 at 3:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by camotyka View Post
Was this for me?
I don't think so. Of course it isn't too late! We just started yesterday!
post #50 of 368
2/1/07 at 3:21pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kreyno4 View Post
First a confession. I didn't vote for the kitchen in the poll because I thought it would be too much this month. But the more I think about it, this works perfectly. We have already scheduled a mini-remodel of our kitchen for 1 week this month--dd and I are going to my parents (in MI) for the week so dh can take off work and work uninterrupted on the kitchen all week. Basically we have realized that it will be a long time before we can afford the kitchen we want, so we need to make it more livable in the short-term. So, I will do my best to complete the challenge while realizing that I may not "finish" everything I need to do!
I hear you on the making what you have livable. I'd love to replace my cabinets with some new ones, but its just too big a project at the moment and it would cost too much to have someone else do it.

I think it sounds like this is the perfect challenge for you. Don't worry if the kitchen isn't "finished" at the end, its just all about making progress - and I am thinking the most fun will be seeing the before and after at the end!
post #51 of 368
2/1/07 at 3:42pm
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!

Quote:
Originally Posted by kreyno4 View Post
- Drawers are installed wrong so they shed wood shavings onto the cupboards below when opening. Yup, for real.
I always thought this was pretty normal. My mom's drawers do that, my grandma's do, and so do mine.


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 (Include a picture!)
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.
post #52 of 368
2/1/07 at 4:16pm
Can I join? We're having a new kitchen fitted halfway through the month (it'll be delivered on the 14th) so I'm kind of cheating, but hopefully it'll keep me motivated.
post #53 of 368
2/1/07 at 4:39pm
MY KITCHEN PICTURE TOUR
Well, I kinda ignored the "clean and tidy your kitchen" part of the rules because if I want to post pictures, I had to take them NOW. Dh had to go to work, taking his phone with him, and who knows when he'll be home again. Plus, you get to see my kids eating lunch!

This is the right side of the kitchen, as you're looking in from the living room.

The middle of the kitchen, as seen from living room.

Left side of kitchen.

What you see when you're standing on the opposite side of kitchen, leading to equally messy playroom. I swear, I have been good about keeping it picked up, but the little ones went on a rampage this morning. You can see the living room off to the side.

General view of kitchen, including my Counter of Shame (tm). I've been keeping it mostly cleared off; there are a few things on there now, but often it has been piled several feet high.

Closeup of pantry, my most embarrassing part of kitchen. Those cookbooks are two layers deep. Yes, I know I have a problem!

WHAT I LIKE BEST ABOUT MY KITCHEN
The size. It's large, but not too large. I love that I have tons of storage space and a huge pantry.

WHAT I LIKE LEAST ABOUT MY KITCHEN
I hate the floor, which is ceramic tile that is made with nooks and crannies, to give it a natural feel. What it really does is make it difficult to mop. That can't be changed now, though, so I won't worry about it. : Also, for such a large kitchen, there really isn't much usable counter space. The island is great, but most of the counters are taken by appliances and cooktop. I need to figure out how to better utilize it.

MY PLAN OF ACTION
1. Declutter cabinets and drawers.
2. Organize pantry better, including (sob!) getting rid of cookbooks I rarely use.
3. Thoroughly clean blinds and walls.
4. Clean behind refrigerator (6.5 years here and we've NEVER done it!)
5. Thoroughly clean refrigerator and freezer.
6. Weed through my overwhelming amount of Tupperware. I guess that's part of decluttering, but it's a big job, so I wanted it to have its own number.

I will add to this as I think of more.
post #54 of 368
2/1/07 at 4:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mightymoo View Post
I hear you on the making what you have livable. I'd love to replace my cabinets with some new ones, but its just too big a project at the moment and it would cost too much to have someone else do it.

Is it hard to put in your own cabinets? I've found a few styles I like that aren't super expensive but of course the price doesn't include installation! DH is fairly handy but seems a little hesitant about doing it-especially the upper cabinets.
post #55 of 368
2/1/07 at 4:58pm

nak

Quote:
Originally Posted by lisalulu View Post
Is it hard to put in your own cabinets? I've found a few styles I like that aren't super expensive but of course the price doesn't include installation! DH is fairly handy but seems a little hesitant about doing it-especially the upper cabinets.
My DH has done it twice, but he says he won't do it again. It's not hard, but it's very time-consuming (esp if he works many hours out of the home). Our new kitche is much larger than our old, which is another reason he said no this time

p.s. Lots of leveling, measuring, etc. With the upper cabinets, someone has to hold while another person drills.
post #56 of 368
2/1/07 at 5:12pm

still nak, now sleeping on my arm :(

Quote:
Originally Posted by anthasam View Post
I saw something in a magazine my mom handed down to me last month. I will attampt to find it online, if not, you will have to try to decipher my awful descriptions
MightyMoo
I can't find the article, so here goes on my description:

Basically, you would need to repurpose (or put together) a wooden (or metal, I guess) box that opens either on top or in the front. Inside the box, you place the items that need charging (cell phone, ipod, whatever). On the back of the box, drill or cut holes large enough for plugs/wires to fit through.

You can either bundle up the cords and run them out of the back of the box OR you can make the box large enough for a power strip to fit inside and just have the power strip wire run out (this might also depend on how many things you have to plug in).

In your case, maybe you could make the box large enough to store the speakers when not in use too?

I hope this makes sense. For some reason, I need two hands typing for complete thoughts

Oh, and they had some examples: an old drop-front, metal breadbox and a wooden box with flowered wallpaper. That's all I remember.
post #57 of 368
2/1/07 at 5:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by anthasam View Post
My DH has done it twice, but he says he won't do it again. It's not hard, but it's very time-consuming (esp if he works many hours out of the home). Our new kitche is much larger than our old, which is another reason he said no this time

p.s. Lots of leveling, measuring, etc. With the upper cabinets, someone has to hold while another person drills.
Thanks! I think it was the levelling that he mentioned-concern about getting them all level. But time is something we hadn't thought about.
post #58 of 368
2/1/07 at 6:40pm
Wow! Everyone else's "before" kitchen looks like I can only dream my "after" kitchen will look!

I have a long way to go but I am determined to try!
post #59 of 368
2/1/07 at 7:56pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by lisalulu View Post
Is it hard to put in your own cabinets? I've found a few styles I like that aren't super expensive but of course the price doesn't include installation! DH is fairly handy but seems a little hesitant about doing it-especially the upper cabinets.
I've never done it, but I'm sure we could, its the amount of work like the other poster mentioned that makes me nervous. And some of the details like the countertop and the flooring. My cabinets aren't great ,but they aren't so bad I can really justify changing them over at this point. Our bathroom upstairs is in much greater need of replacing. I also kinda have the philosophy that we only want to go so far towards spending money on the house because with the kids little whatever we put in may be destroyed - so we figure we'll just make do with what we have and replace after the kids are a little older.

Quote:
Originally Posted by anthasam View Post
MightyMoo
I can't find the article, so here goes on my description:

Basically, you would need to repurpose (or put together) a wooden (or metal, I guess) box that opens either on top or in the front. Inside the box, you place the items that need charging (cell phone, ipod, whatever). On the back of the box, drill or cut holes large enough for plugs/wires to fit through.
....
In your case, maybe you could make the box large enough to store the speakers when not in use too?
I've seen them for sale, so I know what you are talking about. I'll have to be on the lookout for something that seems like it could be used that way.
post #60 of 368
2/1/07 at 7:59pm
Quote:
Wow! Everyone else's "before" kitchen looks like I can only dream my "after" kitchen will look!
I know. I'm sort of embarrassed about how my kitchen looks. I rent and it's definitely not my style.

You may also like:

Sitting or Squatting: What's Really Best in the Bathroom?
There Is Not Always a "Fix" For the Difficult Child
10 Things You Don't Need For a New Baby
Mothering › Mothering Discussion Forums › Natural Family Living › The Mindful Home › Decluttering, Organizing, & Simplifying › One Room Challenge - THE KITCHEN! - Come Join!