I really wanted to update my kitchen, but we were already doing other remodeling, I had to keep the lid on my budget. I decided to us what I already had, which helped a lot. I have two Stainless steel shelves that I employed to house our dry goods and larger things like coffee, cooking oil, and larger canned goods. I use them along one wall of the kitchen that has cupboards and countertops right next to it.
I have to keep the tidy, because they are visible from other rooms, but I like keeping a tidy home anyway. I can figure out what is needed to be added to my grocery list, just by glancing at those shelves. I don’t know how I lived without them before!
I also had a kitchen cart with a bread/pie rack, which is now being used for the microwave and toaster oven, giving me gobs more countertop space for the other small appliances and kitchen utensils I use so frequently. It sure is nice to have the added space, without us having to have paid more money to get the job done.
I also bought a 5ft. utility table that I’ve used for many things. I use it in the kitchen when we bake goodies for the holidays, or are doing some craft projects with the kids. It’s also nice having a utility table to put out on the deck to enjoy summer dinners with our family. They are great in the laundry room too, folding and sorting clothes is much easier.
I’ve also employed a dish rack as a plastic lid organizer. Wow, did that help! I got so tired of going through the cupboards and drawers just to find the right lid that fits the correct container. I made room for that under the counter that I keep my other plastic ware in. It just excites me to know that I’ve finally got that darn mess organized. Thing best part about the dish rack, is it’s size. It will hold a lot more lids than my drawer or cupboard could without it.
My mom always told me that necessity is the mother of invention, I guess she’s right, I sure needed the extra space without having to pay any extra money. I’m glad it worked out this way. Our really big, important stuff got taken care of, and the kitchen got organized, I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. That’s a good thing in life sometimes, when we really have to make do with what we have, it turns out to be even better than we ever thought it could.