Of all the improvements we?ve made to our humble abode, I am most excited about the upgrades in the kitchen! ?I guess that?s a bit obvious, though, since I naturally spend most of my day in there.
First up, counter space. ?My stellar Barbie kitchen came with exactly 19 1/2? of usable counter space. ?I have another 13 1/2?, but it?s in the corner and therefore only good for making piles.
Doc Sci and I figured out that the height of the counter and the height of the washing machine were only 1/2? different. ?We bought a particle board shelf at the local hardware store for 6 euro and voila! ?I now have a whopping extra 34? of usable counter space. ?Incredible.
Added countertop (right) and new shelf (left).
We purchased a utility shelf from IKEA that fits exactly around our washing machine. ?This allowed us to take advantage of a lot of previously wasted space and get the microwave off the top of the washer. ?The unit shakes like crazy when it spins a load, and I was always afraid I?d find the microwave on the floor one day smashed to bits!
Organized "pantry."
Also at IKEA, I bought storage boxes for my shelf that supposed to serve as a pantry. ?Now, I can group like items and find things with ease. ?I also no longer have to battle cascading piles of bagged pasta that do not stay put. ?Unfortunately, I wish I would?ve stocked up on these boxes. ?I ended up wanting a few more for the shelf above the washing machine, but IKEA discontinued the style only a few weeks later.
Since counter space is at such a premium, I couldn?t waste any room storing cooking utensils. ?I only have three drawers in the entire kitchen, so I can?t exactly fill them up with bulky soup?ladles.
Tension rods above the stove.
One day, I got the genius idea to use the walls for storage. ?I searched the hardware store to see what kind of curtain rods could be found. ?I was able to put up two tension rods above the stove, and one adhesive rod on the wall to the left of the sink.
Adhesive curtain rod and shelf in the corner.
Lidl offered an adhesive holder on special one week that was originally meant for the shower but works brilliantly affixed to the tile in the corner. ?I also found some dish brushes at IKEA that suction cup to the wall.
Kitchen command central: weekly meal plans, grocery lists, recipes, etc.
I saw the idea to add?cork boards?to kitchen cabinets on Pinterest. ?I knew this would help with clutter on that 19 1/2? of counter space, but I wanted my cork boards on the outside of the cabinets. ?I can?t remember my own name if it?s not written down and shoved constantly in front of my face. ?So, I went for functional instead of pretty.
Though I still have washing machine hoses running across the floor and no place to store my glass recycling, I?m stoked and thankful for how the kitchen is shaping up.
Do you have any suggestions for improving my eensy weensy kitchen? ?Leave a comment below. ?I?d love to hear it!
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Tags: home improvement, household, pinterest
Source: http://thriftytravelmama.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/home-improvement-kitchen/
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