Today was a great day! My lovely daughter was happy to let me work this morning and after her nap until lunch. DH brought over a friend and his son who is just a few weeks younger. They played together and so when they left, she was content to let me work on the kitchen both before AND AFTER her nap!! I’m sure it helped that I had moved on to lower cabinets and she could help AND that I let her play outside on the patio :).
Anyway, today I wiped out the cabinets & drawers, cleaned the doors, cleaned the small appliances, trimmed liners that were too big, decluttered the junk, & moved a few things to a better home.
I hesitated about keeping the food processor. I’ve only used it about 5 times in the 8 years we’ve had it. But I plan on canning and preserving more. And DH would be livid if I sold it and then later decided I needed one. So I’m defering to him and keeping it. It has a home, I don’t think much about it and if I don’t use it before we move across country, it can go then.
Here are pics of my work.
The Silverware Drawer.
BEFORE:
I won’t gross you out with a close up of all the crumbs that were under the tray.
AFTER:
It doesn’t look much different but I did get rid of a bunch of weird utensils I never use and put all the forks and all the spoons together to give the serving utensils their own spot.
Dining Side Cabinets.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
I got rid of a bunch of stuff that was stashed when we had the house cleaned to show it. Otherwise, it was just clean and put back.
Patio Side Cabinets.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Left of Sink Cabinets.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
It’s fuller because I put away some pots I had washed :).
The pan cabinet.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
I had more clean pots to put away :).
These didn’t really have before pics–I washed them out and put them back like they were.
Apparently I didn’t wipe them out when we moved in because some of them had sawdust still in them–especially the one above the microwave! Since that usually just holds stuff that will eventually end up in a china cabinet (if I ever get one), I’m not too grossed out by that.
Small Appliances:
The stove drawers.
Stove cabinet.
Microwave cabinets.
Have you gathered that I have a big kitchen yet? And I still have several places to go:
- baggie/paper drawer
- junk drawer
- towel drawer
- utensil drawer
- baking drawer
- and under sink cabinet (cleaners, etc.)
I did end up putting some stuff in the previously mostly empty spice cabinet–cooler freezer thingies, candles and some pantry items (sumatran coffee) from our friend that he has to come get.
I also cleaned the microwave. I did not take pics. Lets just say that there was an oatmeal explosion and a baked bean bomb to clean. I also cleaned the stove top.
Here are the items that I decluttered while cleaning:
And here is my kitchen after all my mid-cleaning mess is put away:
Ahhhh. I’m pooped, but the kitchen is cleaner than it’s been in a while. And DH’s parents are coming home tomorrow, so he’s really glad it’s clean :).