My ‘new’ rig is still far from perfectly functional. I’ve been making notes of things that irk me as I go about my days and then picking up solutions whenever I do some shopping.
Spice storage was becoming a surprising issue. I’ve been using a combination of places, but the items are so small that no space was used properly. What I came up with is a perfect use of dead space:
the spice rack fills in the dead space at the top of the bottom cabinet, the front of the upper cabinet, and even clears the shelf
Note that in the bottom cabinet, in the left-hand corner, I added a shelf for the dinner plates. That cabinet has taken a lot of work to make functional and this is it!
these are my savoury spices; the ones for desserts are in my baking basket in the pantry
Another thing that bugged me was the storage of plastic wrap and baggies. I had them on a shelf in the pantry, but that door is hard to open and the jarring motion would always send the boxes tumbling into the entrance stairwell.
I reorganized the under sink cabinet and voila:
home for the taller boxes of wrap and baggies; smaller boxes go in a drawer previously occupied by spices
Unrelated to organizing, I bought a new kettle this week. Back in 2007 I bought a very cheap one since I didn’t boil water very often. Now, I boil water at least once a day and the old kettle was flaking, impossible to clean, and imparting a bad taste. I began researching stove top kettles at least six months ago and discovered that you can get a cheap one under ten bucks or a decent one for $20 up to $50. I set my budget at $20 and decided I didn’t want stainless steel. That left enamel. I found the odd one for $20, but for some reason the kettles were always red.
So when I found this beauty, all alone amongst red kettles, at Fred Meyer this week, and for $19, I jumped! Doesn’t it look pretty next to my new-to-me cast iron pan? And note in the background that I put up a hook for my stove lighter.
I got SO lucky with that pan. It came perfectly seasoned and in great shape. I priced cast iron at Walmart the other day and it was the same price as this pan, but would have required a lot of work to get it seasoned properly. I did do a salt scrub and a new layer of oil so I’d feel that it’s clean. I’ve made yummy grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken, and toast in it.