Paralyzed by Indecision

Yesterday morning, I started out with the intention of unpacking the boxes and totes left in the kitchen. There are two totes with food transported from my kitchen shelves, one large box, and various stuff sitting around on counters. It didn't seem unreasonable to expect I could get that done. I keep forgetting that everything is taking much longer than I expect it to.

The first thing that slowed me down was deciding I really should clean the cabinets more thoroughly. When my friend and I did a quick cleaning of the house prior to the move, we didn't have hot water. Hot water hugely increases the effectiveness of low-chemical cleaning. So, I removed everything from one section of cabinets, got a bowl of hot water with some Simple Green, and cleaned every surface. By mid-day, I had to give up on doing the deep cleaning now as I was making so little progress overall.

The second thing that slowed me down was doing the shelf paper. I haven't used adhesive shelf paper in years - haven't had the need to nor the desire. Unfortunately, the top shelf in each kitchen cabinet does not have laminate on the surface. Other residents here have let oily stuff drip on the pressboard shelves and they are icky. Over the course of the day, I got all of the shelf paper installed but it was a long and tedious process. Making sure it fits properly and then putting it down without getting bubbles and wrinkles takes careful attention and time.

The main thing, though, that slowed me down was indecision. I don't like the layout of the kitchen or the shelves. In our last house, all of the food was on a big steel shelf unit that was four feet wide and six feet tall. A lot of the food was therefore right at a convenient height for short li'l ol' me. In this house, the cabinets are above and below the counters, meaning that a lot of space is too high for me to reach and lower than is convenient, especially for the deep shelves. Shoulder and neck issues currently in play result in a wave of dizziness every time I look up and/or reach up with either arm. Guess how thrilled that makes me about putting anything on a high shelf...

Armed with my step stool, however, which will have to permanently reside in or near the kitchen, I knew I had to use them; I have to use all of the cabinet space available. But how to use it is the hundred dollar question. Shelves that are 23" deep and fairly narrow mean food or small items will get lost in the back and to access anything bulky in the back will require moving the stuff in front of it. Cabinets that are tall waste a lot of storage space. The cabinet space over the sink corner is unreachable with my short arms; at least those have doors on the opposite side. Even though it's quite inconvenient, I can walk around to get things out of the cabinets.

I'd made very little progress by the time my sweetie came home from work yesterday. Several other things had gone wrong during the day so I was rather emotional while begging him for help figuring out the kitchen. He did help and I started putting some things away. Did I get my boxes and totes unpacked? Nope. Not a single one. All I accomplished was moving around those things I'd already unpacked when we first moved in.

Here are some pictures to reward you for sticking through all the whining above.


I decided to use some of the deep shelves for bulky appliances and some for food.


At this time, one tall cabinet is housing grains and beans. I need to see about adding a really stable shelf somehow - bricks and plywood?


Shelf organizers help a lot, as shown in this photo of the cabinet over the sink. (Picture taken from the living room side.) I got several of the metal organizers, even though they were not cheap, because it was the simplest and most effective solution for now.


Things that I don't use as often are going on top of the cabinets, waaaay up high. I did not squat or sit down to take this picture (and I am not unusually short). Anyone got a ladder?!

Will I get the box and totes in the kitchen unpacked today? Nope. Nor will I tackle the rest of the kitchen boxes in the utility room. It will have to wait until next week.

Today we have to take care of other homestead issues like cutting down all the dried weeds along the roads to reduce fire danger, fixing up the old barbed wire fencing to begin to mark our boundaries, establishing the permanent composting area, determining where to put the clothesline, and so on. I'd put out a call for help in return for a home-cooked meal but it's too hard to do much cooking in my kitchen right now. There's a nearby store, however. Wanna come help me for pizza and beer?