Makeover Monday – Kitchen Cabinets
As I mentioned last week, I did some work in the kitchen recently.
We purchased our house halfway through construction, so we I was able to make a lot of design decisions. The kitchen was my primary area of concern, and one of the things I changed was eliminating the dust-collecting space on top in favor of extending our cabinets to the ceiling. It’s a great use of otherwise wasted space and it makes the ceilings look higher.
However, it’s also a pain in the tush to access. Meaning whatever I put up there, I forget about. This allows a saver like me to hang on to my mom’s old punch bowl (used once in the 10+ years I’ve had it), my Grama’s baked bean crock (never used) and plastic luau dishes that I swear I’ve never even seen before. Someone else must have put them there.
It was time to purge.
I was able to clear out 3 large boxes of junk really great stuff to donate to Goodwill, and I cleaned out all of the cabinets in the process. I also decided to re-arrange, thanks to this cool article in the February issue of Family Fun. The idea of putting the dishes in the bottom cabinets intrigued me, so we’re giving it a trial run.
Here is a lower corner cabinet before:
And after the switch to kid-friendly dishes:
(I’m using storage containers from the dollar store to hold lids, cups, straws, etc. I didn’t buy enough, hence the mis-matched collection. Hoping to find a couple more of the green baskets when I go back.)
The upper cabinet that used to house the kids’ dishes now holds canned goods:
The upper corner cabinet that used to hold canned goods now holds baking dishes and grown-up dishes:
Newly organized medicine cabinet:
Another lower corner cabinet, before (I know, I know – a shameful disaster. It’s actually birthday party supplies though, not the norm):
That cabinet now holds all of the crockpots and mixing bowls, lids, etc, and the pans were relocated to an upper cabinet:
I should have taken before and after pictures of all the cabinets, to show how much I purged and organized, but I was mainly focused on the non-traditional relocation of stuff. It’s only been a couple of weeks, but so far I’m really liking this setup. It’s much easier for the girls to help unload the dishwasher now, and they are able to set the table themselves too.
The only thing I didn’t organize is the roll-out pantry. I’d love to have a separate room pantry, but alas mine has roll-out shelves instead. I thought I would love this but as it turns out, not so much. Lesson learned – when designing a kitchen, don’t assume there is a standard size for anything. My shelves are fixed, and they are not tall enough to allow cereal boxes to stand up. A constant source of frustration for me. 
So there it is, my kitchen re-do. It’s nothing fancy really, but it’s turned out to be a more functional setup with 3 little kids, and as Martha would say, that is a very good thing!
Tags: Family Fun, kitchen cabinets, Makeover Monday, organization, rearranging
Makeover Monday | Heather February 8, 2010
Facebook comments:
By Kim Berry, February 8, 2010 @ 9:38 am
Hmmmmm, is that a jadeite bowl I see in that cabinet? My ebay trained eye spotted that right away! Being that it is still in there, you must actually use it! It is really hard for me to accept you donating to the goodwill rather than putting it in your store LOL! Alas, I am probably as big of a pack rat as you and always tell myself either I will come up with a use for it or it will sell on ebay. When you showed the tin spice cans I thought, “I really hope she doesn’t get rid of them because eventually someone on ebay will want them, they don’t make them anymore”. Great job Heather, you certainly are motivating me in more ways than one!
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By Joseph, February 8, 2010 @ 2:03 pm
As a cabinetmaker, I personally prefer fixed shelving because it makes for a much stronger cabinet. But the one thing people ought to do if they are going to make that choice is to make sure that the cabinets they design will accommodate the items they mean to put into them. With custom cabinetry, which is the only way to fly, it’s easy enough to get that accomplished.
You’re right about cleaning things out from time to time, though. When my wife and I first moved into our home 17 years ago, we first cleaned out a garage in our previous rental. Half of the stuff in it went in the trash. Then because of cabinetwork I was making for our home, we ended up having boxes in the living room for almost the entire first year we were in our home. Interestingly enough, when we finally had the spaces finished and ready for that stuff, half of what had been in that living room also went in the trash. It is amazing how we all seem to cling to items that have long since outlived their usefulness.
Joseph´s last blog ..Calanc Mobile Kitchen On Wheels
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By Darcie - Such The Spot, February 8, 2010 @ 3:56 pm
I’m glad you posted this. I saw that same FamilyFun article and thought about doing it here, to make the dishwasher chore easier for Kennedy (who happens to be vertically challenged). I think I might go ahead with it now.
Darcie – Such The Spot´s last blog ..A Little Bit of Bliss and That
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By Elizabeth @ Confessions From A Working Mom, February 8, 2010 @ 4:30 pm
What I wouldn’t give for more cabinet space! When we first moved into our home, I was in love with the idea of having that little space above our cabinets for “chochkes”. Now, I hate it and wish I had taller cabinets instead!
I have to ask– is it just the lighting in the picture, or do you actually have a purple refrigerator??
~Elizabeth
Confessions From A Working Mom
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