I’m still in the kitchen, bound and determined to complete one room–any room!–by the end of October. I never gave much thought to the cabinet above the oven. It worked, I knew what was in there, and I’m too short to see the mess. Working on the skinny cabinets that flank it inspired me to clean up the interior.
Which was a lot messier at eye level.
I pulled out a few platters (I knew where to put those!) a knife block I no longer need, a roasting pan, a broiler pan, a cake plate, a chip and dip plate, and some racks.
I used the top shelf to hold large platters. This is much better than my previous arrangement, where I ran the risk of breaking them as I slid the roasting pan in and out. This project went fast, especially since I knew where to put what.
Not so with the cabinet to the right of the sink.
I never established the purpose of this cabinet, so for the last 7 years I’ve used it to store candles/matches/lighters, empty vases, air freshener, and a packet to keep receipts for taxes. (And palms from Palm Sunday? Oops.)
I asked on Facebook and Instagram for some ideas on how to use the cabinet and received a bunch of great answers. I already have a spice cabinet, a cookie sheet cabinet, and a place to store cutting boards, but since it’s by the sink, I think I’ll store dish soap and something else on the bottom shelf. Maybe a grocery list? On the second shelf, I might buy baskets (Annabel brilliantly suggested loaf pans) and use them to corral all of Buddy’s medications, which currently sit on the counter in an overflowing basket. (The basket doesn’t fit–I tried.)
I did clean it up a bit, though I forgot to take a picture of it until night time.
A few people suggested I turn it into a wine rack. It’s a great idea, but I’m allergic to wine! One sip makes my face flush and my jaw tighten and tingle painfully, like when your foot “falls asleep.” It’s most likely an allergy to the sulfides, but don’t feel sorry for me because I hate the taste of wine. I can use a little when I make pasta sauce, but that’s about as close as I’ll get to crushed grapes.
Whatever great ideas I don’t put into play in the cabinet near the sink, I can always use somewhere else. I have 7-8 skinny cabinets in my kitchen. They aren’t fun.
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Hmm certainly not an easy fix, but could you turn them into open shelves? You could use those for decoration – candles, pretty spice jars, or even plants. They’d love the light by the window.
I love organizing kitchen cabinets! (I’m sure it’s some form of sickness.) As for the skinny cabinets, I really like your idea of storing medicines and such in one. I have some skinnies, too, and I use them pretty much the way you are. What were the builders thinking?
Oh, they weren’t thinking anything. We did this during our kitchen remodel! Our house is an older home, and we couldn’t afford to add space to the kitchen floor plan–it would have required an addition because we couldn’t steal from anywhere. Truth be told, we didn’t want a monstrous kitchen; we like the look of small kitchens in older homes. But, having said that, we used a space planner to make it as efficient and functional as we could. Certain things, like the double oven with the pullout cabinets, took up enough space to eliminate the possibility of standard size cabinets elsewhere…but left behind enough space that doing nothing would look weird. Hence, 8 skinny cabinets. I would do it again because I looove my pullout spice and grain cabinets. The only thing I would do differently is to add a bank of cabinets under the window. I didn’t, thinking I would place a small seating area there. I’m not sure that was a wise move.
I have three skinny cabinets, though one is a spice rack. The other two are upper cabinets. One is above the coffee machine, and stores all the coffee and tea paraphernalia. The other holds our oft-used collection of ramekins and small pitchers. Its top shelf holds the fire extinguisher. We used to have it in the cabinet above the stove, but then realized that’s the last place you’d want to reach for it if something is flaming on the stovetop. I’m pretty happy with where things are in my kitchen, but these posts remind me that most of cabinets could be tidied up again. And why are my drawers all full of crumbs?
Mine are so skinny I couldn’t dream of making a coffee maker fit! I do have ramekins, though, and you’ve given me an idea of where to store them.
Funny you mention the fire extinguisher. I was just thinking about ours this morning. I need to move it somewhere else (it’s in the laundry room) and I’m pretty sure it needs to be replaced.
FYI on the extinguisher: You don’t need to replace it, just refilled. At least where I used to live – that option was available and cheaper.
Thanks for the shout out!
I can’t believe the crazy amount of skinny cabinets you have…
Hah. Please see my reply comment to Rita in re skinny cabinets. :)
You’re doing such an excellent job, but i just have to laugh out loud… I’ve never seen so many skinny cabinets!! We only have one in our house – and as you can imagine, its a mess. We use it to hold the giant roll of garbage bags from Costco and then we stuff re-usable shoppers & plastic bags (for dog poop pick up) in there.. everytime you open the cabinet everything comes spilling out. Which really, considering how often we replace the garbage bags – I should probably do something about!
Thanks for the inspiration.
I have been working on my kitchen as well, but mostly because we plan on replacing our cabinetry and instead of moving everything in and out, I will just have less to move. Can I ask if you went custom for your cabinets, stock or did you do a ready to assemble? I am at such a loss as to what to do with our kitchen to be able to save some money.
They are Kraftmaid, not at all custom–hence the need for 299483 skinny cabinets. I bought them online (and trembled while I did it!) at a very reduced price. So reduced the company later filed bankruptcy and went out of business…
Oh, Thank you for letting me know. We have been looking at all different options … even IKEA … but have yet to make a decision. I keep telling my DH that we could tackle this by ourselves but he is not so sure. I feel more confident, than him, in our skills ;-) We need to make a decision soon so we can refinance! Thanks again for letting me know :-)
My mom has a lower skinny cabinet, right next to her sink. It has some kind of pull-out dealy-bob on the top for holding towels. She uses it for her dish towels – it’s the perfect place for them to dry after cleaning up the kitchen each night. And she likes having them tucked away, not stuck through the drawer pulls or hanging on the oven door, etc.
I know the pull-out dealy-bob you’re talking about. They look cool.
We have those pull-out dealy-bobs in one of our lower cabinets too! We drape the silicone mats over them since that’s also where we decided to store the baking sheets.
*RANDOM* Great organizing, but I’m dying to know what the “Caution” sticker on the right door reads. Never seen a caution sticker on a cabinet door . . . ;)
I will look at it in the morning and report back.
When I saw the vase in your sink cabinet I immediately thought “are those palms from Palm Sunday?” :)
Yup. Sinner.
Love the font you’re using for this series.
Quicksand.
I’m over from The Nester and I love what I’m reading. I’m making my way through all your “31 Days” posts.
I just had to comment on your wine allergy. I am also allergic to it! Very similar reaction, but that tightness goes all the way down my neck and into my shoulders. Oddly, I have never heard of anyone else allergic to wine and people always give me strange looks when I tell them why I’m not drinking. Even my doctor thought is was strange. We must be kindred spirits!
I’m lost! Just discovers this site and what brought me was the yellow floral wallpaper in BR! What happened? What kind of shower curtain to use? I’m thinking Victorian look.