The Kitchen is Open!

While I want to share my clean and organized kitchen with you, I also want to show you how some of my salvaged appliance parts have been put to use. The kitchen is a great place for re-use and repurposing, as anyone who has ever cleaned out an empty jar and then used it to mix up lemonade knows.

Despite a minor mishap this morning - knocking half a bucket of water over while mopping the floor - finishing up the kitchen clean-up and organization went fairly smoothly. For the first time since a friend helped me clean the place before we moved in, entire counters were cleared off and wiped clean. I'm trying to minimize the amount of clutter that stays on the counters, as well as take a few precautionary steps to keep them clean and dry.


If you don't remember how bad it was, here is what the kitchen looked like before.


Here is the after shot. Doesn't it look inviting now? There's plenty of room to work and eat.



Eating area. A tablecloth was necessary to cover the six-foot table due to the poor condition of the top. It was a yard sale purchase almost 15 years ago. Placing the microwave over here clears up counter space for food prep. The trash cans under the table are for the dogs' food. The chairs were freebies from a neighbor that I helped move.

We won't be buying water anymore since we have good well water now. However, I still have some filtered water left over from before so I had to set up the dispenser to use it up. I don't know whether we'll keep it. Probably, since we're keeping a few of the 5-gallon water bottles for emergency water storage and we'll need a way to dispense the water if there is an emergency.



The little space next to the refrigerator has been covered with clutter since we moved in (whether or not there was a refrigerator in place.)


Can you believe this is the same space? The peaches came from a small orchard one mile from our house. You may recognize the glass jar on the left from your doctor's office. It is the same type of container used to hold tongue depressors and cottonballs. In fact, that's what was in the two jars I bought at a thrift store over 20 years ago. Now they hold rags to be used in place of paper towels.



Large drainrack made from plastic tote and top drawer of defunct dishwasher. I wanted a much shallower tote but this was the only one I could find that was wide enough in both directions. I'll probably slide it under the table when empty. The other drawer from the dishwasher will live by the utility tub once I have my outdoor kitchen set up (probably next year).

Scroll back up to the clean kitchen photo (2nd photo from top) and note the top of the tote is on the counter. This is where I place dirty dishes to keep the crumbs, mess, and moisture contained.

And, yes, I did buy a huge jug of soy sauce just because it was so much cheaper (and it's the brand I like). Price tag on the jug says $19.95 for 1 gallon. My sweetie thinks he can come up with some use for the empty jug.



The produce bins from the defunct refrigerator fit perfectly on my steel shelves. I removed the two pieces of tempered glass from the part the drawers slid into in the fridge. They fit on top of the bins, which is handy to keep dust out. The top bin has all the lids to my remaining plastic storage containers as well as lids to my new Pyrex glass storage containers. The bottom bin contains all the dishtowels and dishrags.



The refrigerator's meat drawer bin makes a handy container for recycled plastic bags and one of the door bins holds bottle cleaners and gloves under the sink. I try to remember my own cloth bags at the store but forget once in a while. People also sometimes give me things in plastic bags so there are always a few around for re-use.



One of the smaller door bins works perfectly to hold ice, too.



Oh yeah, here is the recycling nook set up where the dishwasher used to be. The two totes hold different types of recycled material. The container on the right is for trash. After unsuccessfully checking several stores for trashcans that would fit in that space - with a lid to keep out bad dogs - I spotted a container designed for holding charcoal BBQ briquettes. It's absolutely the perfect size and even has a snap open section on one end of the lid.


I'm looking forward to preparing and cooking food in my clean and organized kitchen, and being able to easily find the spices to make it all tasty. In fact, I plan to peel some of those peaches and make a cobbler tonight. There's already some leftover homemade vanilla soy ice cream in the freezer waiting to go on top.