Instead, I was finally able to finish areas 6-8, which, by far, has been the most difficult and longest transformation.
Area 6: the kitchen.
Yes, this is my very messy kitchen. Before I started this project, this was very normal. Blame tiredness, health, busyness, laziness, whatever.
Things were just thrown into places without any kind of organizing.
Things we rarely used were put on top of the cabinets.
This cupboard was always a pain to find things. I eventually removed one of the doors so I could get in front of it to dig around. Leaning over the door wasn't good on the door. There just wasn't room between the open door and the fridge to get in and really use the cupboard.
I could never find what I needed in this cupboard. Tupperware and other containers along with measuring cups. No matter how I tried to organize it, it just wasn't working. It's above the microwave which isn't very reachable making it hard to put things away.
The oven drawer. Storage or heating? I guess I don't know any more. It doesn't matter because ours is broken.
Casserole dishes everywhere! Finding what I need in here is a battle.
This was taken about 3 years after these other pics were taken. As you can see, not much has changed!
I started working in the kitchen shortly after I finished the living room areas. I cleaned and I organized, but it's hard when everyone is always using it. In 2015, I started eating gluten-free. This required me to do some major organizing changes to separate food I could eat apart from food I could not. Still, the constant use just made it difficult to keep things clean and organized.
If you're like me, you have chores for your kids to do. The kids didn't always get things put back where I liked them. And, sometimes I didn't blame them. Some areas were just hard to put things away just right. I had to figure out a system that would look organized, but easy to put away. No one was going to work hard at making sure everything lined up perfectly.
I probably re-did my kitchen 4 times during this process. And now, finally, I think I have it where I want it. Items are nicely put away. Kids aren't too confused as to where things should go. (I guess we still need to test this theory as the school year starts). I have also started adjusting my diet some more, giving me a little more energy to actually take care of the kitchen better. Usually, I would be pretty much depleted of my energy by supper, so after supper clean up never happened. Now, I actually get up and put things away after meals.
I cleaned out every single cabinet and drawer. I wiped them down with my Norwex enviro cloth. In fact, the majority of my cleaning was done with Norwex products. I highly recommend them!
I cleaned the walls and the ceiling. I wanted it to be a fresh start.
These shelves sit on top of the fridge. They hold my cook books, recipes, candles, and other things.
Pots, pans, lids, mixing bowls, and other cooking items go here. This is the cupboard next to the fridge that is hard to get into. The one door is still off so I can easily reach my pots and pans.
This cabinet hasn't been too much of an issue. The bottom shelf is all of my medication that I take on a daily basis. The middle is all other medication. The top is extra gum and mints.
This cupboard, above the microwave, used to hold the Tupperware and similar things. Now, I refer to it as the baking cupboard.
On top of the cupboards, I have cups with lids. I later added a basket to hold lids and straws.
Fondue pots, a large vase, and some baskets sit on top in the corner. I also have a bucket with Little A's baking supplies since she is collecting her own things.
This cupboard has been difficult to maintain, so I've had to change it around a few times. Not sure if this will work, yet. It holds casserole dishes, measuring cups and spoons, other large utensils, among other things.
Tupperware! Lids on the shelf, containers on the bottom. I once had it even more organized, but it was too difficult to get things put away. So, as long as the lids stay on top, I'm happy.
Anything skinny goes in the cupboard.
My spice cupboard. I've tried organizing them so they're easier to find when I need them, but it just doesn't stay that way. So, yes I may have to dig around to find what I'm looking for, but everything goes back in this cupboard.
I'm still working on how to organize my food. The cupboard goes way back into the corner, so food often got shoved back there and I would never see it. Now, I have 3 buckets to fit in the corners. They hold the food for all of my planned meals that I've shopped for. The rest of the food either didn't fit in the buckets, or are leftover from something else.
This corner has always proved to be difficult to keep organized. We shall see if this works.
See that black and white bag hanging from the oven door? I LOVE it! It's from Thirty-One (of course) and it's basically my baking trash. As I'm cooking or baking, I simply toss things in there so I don't have to take extra steps to the main trash. Some meals require me to stay right there at the stove. I also get a serious case of brain fog if I leave my post. This way, I don't forget what I'm doing as I'm throwing things away.
The finished kitchen!
There are some maintenance things to take care of. There are 2 cupboards that do not have a door. One, I've already mentioned, for ease of access to that cupboard. The other, I kicked in a few years ago. We got a new one, but it needs to be stained. Then, the cupboard under the sink doesn't want to close. And the dishwasher doesn't work. It's just for decoration at this point. :)
Area 7: Dining area
Flat surfaces are dangerous in this house. Anything and everything will land on them. Including our dining room table. We found this breakfast nook shortly before K's 10th birthday. As you can see, it collects every dirty dish as well as some food.
This was a very bad place for the trash can. If something missed, it just got left on the floor because it was hidden in a corner. It was hard to get to. Sure, it was out of sight somewhat, but that was the problem. We need the trash can out and available.
The benches have storage inside and I was never quite sure what to keep in there.
There is also plenty of space underneath the benches. Since the dog space (area 8) is right next to the table, his stuff was stored under the bench. But it is difficult to get to and just wasn't convenient.
I didn't like the angle of the table. So I spent an afternoon a couple years ago and took it apart. I cleaned up the area, vacuumed, and put it back together the way I wanted it.
The benches hold aluminium foil, lunch bags from Thirty-One, Ziplock bags, towels for when Seth smokes meat, placemats, and other things. Underneath the benches are other Thirty-One bags used for carrying food around. Grocery shopping, picnics, potluck, etc.
This angle of the table fits much better in the space for dining.
Area 8: Dog area
Our dog, Rambo, is a small dog, but this was still a little small for all of his things. And with a table constantly collecting everything, it overflows into his area.
With the table turned, it left more room for his stuff. Having his things out from under the bench made it much more easily accessible. The Thirty-One square holds toys, his leash, and other random things. And it's easy to pack everything up when we leave with the dog on a trip.
This trash location works much better. Things get picked up if missed (usually), and it's easy to get to when it's full and needs taken out. The black Thirty-One hanging on the wall currently holds chore schedules. The calendar keeps track of what needs to be done as far as chores go and each person has their own list. Everyone knows to check this area for what chores need to be done.
The hardest and longest areas are completed. I'm hoping they last a while, with easy clean up as needed. With the school year starting up next week, I'm not sure what I'll have time to tackle next. This HTCI journey is slow and difficult, but I'm getting there. Not everything is staying clean, but it's easier to put things back for the most part. And it will be even easier once the entire house is converted to this system.
