Goodbye?

Our household was hit by a stomach bug Hubster brought home from work. Yesterday was the first time I'd felt almost normal in a week, and I took full advantage of the improvement. Scooter is feeling better this morning, and her coloring is a bit better, so hopefully she's on the mend as well. 

Even though I still need to finish Hopper's birthday gift, I worked in the kitchen/dining room yesterday. I'm hoping to finish up in there today, and I'm encouraged at the changes in there. 

Awhile back, I put a shelf in the baker's rack, because we're so limited for storage in the kitchen. The shelf allows for double decker storage, and it's made a big difference in how things are working out in the kitchen. It's helped tremendously. And we did put the credenzas down int he laundry room, so we had the extra storage down there for the overflow from the kitchen as well. I just hadn't gotten around to taking the cake pans and baking dishes down there until yesterday. So I washed the dust out of them and took them downstairs.

1 10x14 glass cake pan, 

1 11x15 ceramic baking dish

1 6" round ceramic baking dish

1 glass pie dish 

1 silicone heart cupcake pan

1 silicone heart cake pan

1 2-piece set silicone birthday cake pans

1 tin of Christmas cookie cutters

It's amazing how much more room there is on the kitchen counters and table without all that stuff in there. There has never been enough storage room for the stuff that we use regularly in the kitchen, let alone all the extras that we don't use as often. I have been known to store the extras in the oven, but as soon as I get used to using the oven for storage, something is left in there that that melts when I turn the oven on without checking it. If I left them in sight, at least I wouldn't have smoke billowing out of the oven. Now it won't be an issue. Yay!

I didn't get out of the house very often when we first moved to Colorado 18 years ago. Between Scooter's constant hospitalizations and my own health problems, I was fairly busy and just didn't have the time. On one of those rare occasions when everyone was well enough, we went for a walk as a family. There was yard sale on the street over from where we lived, and we decided to browse. 

A black iron plant stand, shaped to fit in a corner, caught my eye. It was about 5ft tall and had some pretty scrolled iron on it. I've always had a thing for wrought iron and things that look like it, so in spite of the fact we didn't have a lot of extra money at the time, Hubster told me to splurge and spend the $5 they were asking for it. I have used it in the kitchen ever since. It has been such a big part of my life for so long that it came as a slight shock for me a couple of weeks ago when I realized it was no longer working for me. I needed something more functional than decorative.

I window shop on Craigslist from time to time in the off chance I can find a solution for a specific need, and a couple of weeks ago was no different. I came across a tall narrow cabinet that was just what we needed. It wasn't intended to be used in the kitchen, as it's more of a tall skinny desk thing, but thankfully, the kitchen police haven't come around and told me that I'll be cited for using it in the wrong room.

There is a cabinet area with a door at the top with 2 adjustable shelves. Just under it is a docking station where one can hide a power strip and the power cords for cell phones, etc., so they are conveniently available to charge small electronics at any given time. Directly under the docking station is an open area for storage. One one side of the upper cabinet is a section of 4 mail slots and the other side has a place to hang keys that will be perfect for hanging the aprons.

The bottom portion of the cupboard is deeper than the top. Toward the top of the lower section is a small board that pulls out for a writing surface followed by a shallow drawer. There is an open space that follows with holes for adjustable shelves, but there wasn't a shelf included, which is fine. I don't know that we'll need one there anyway, and if we do, I think I have something that will work.

The bottom of the tower ends in a rather large drawer. I'm not sure, if it's supposed to be a file cabinet or what. There aren't any supports in it to hang files on, but it doesn't really matter. I'm not going to be using it for a filing cabinet anyway. I haven't decided exactly what I'm going to store in it just yet. I may store lids to the plastic containers, aprons, cake decorating supplies, or kitchen towels. I haven't made up my mind just yet. It will come to me, but I know I will not be using it for files.

The flash or regret over not having the beloved iron shelf in the corner of the kitchen holding plants has been quickly replaced by delight at having something so practical. 

For years, I've struggled with having a place to put the weekly pill boxes where they are out of sight, but where we will still remember to use them. I've also never quite figured out what to do with the large bottles of vitamins that I used to fill the boxes. I've carted them around in boxes or baskets from one room to another never knowing exactly where to store them. They now have a permanent home in the cabinet at the top of the tower stored neatly with the weekly pill boxes. 

I'm not sure what I'll do with the plant stand. I'll figure it out eventually. In the meantime, I'm the closest I've ever been to a completely organized kitchen, and I can't express the relief this small change has given me. 

It's taking awhile, but I am slowly but surely getting there.

Wherever 'there' is.