If you'd like to be brought up to date, check out the archive in the sidebar for previous posts. I posted recently about the hatch door created for access to the basement, and now, how I've organized and made use of all the wonderful cabinetry.
Yes folks, there is a party happening in my drawers. My kitchen cabinet drawers that is. All TWENTY FIVE of them (27 but 2 under the sink are just drawer faces). I cannot begin to explain how exciting it was to organize this kitchen, especially those drawers. I have never had a kitchen that had adequate drawer space. This kitchen has so many that despite all the drawer-type kitchen stuff I have, I still have 2 that are essentially unused (I had to find things to put in them because the thought of empty drawers unnerved me). It's allowed me to be more organized than I have ever been in any of my former kitchens, and I enjoy cooking so much more than I ever have. I've even been taking photos of the meals I've prepared. This weekend I am having my family over for dinner for the first time since the reno has been completed. I am so stoked to show it off. And I know they're all dying to see it in person finally.
I thought for one of my last kitchen posts I would show you how much space these incredible Greentea cabinets have and the party that is going on in my drawers. Because let me tell you, having a drawer dedicated to spices is a party in itself!! Sorry if this is a little long-winded, but I felt compelled to document all of it (in the hopes of calming my level of excitement perhaps?)
Let's start with the pantry. I adore this unit so much. When I sell the house, I have to take the pantry with me. It's a stunning piece of furniture, I've got to say. And I must mention that since all the cabinets have sliding doors (except the uppers), they are SO easy to remove which allows you a clear view of everything inside. Great for cleaning/organizing binges.
Here is the top section of the pantry, which houses essentially ALL of my dishes (alot of which need replacing) and glassware.
This is a door to the left of the top section of the pantry. It is PERFECT for housing baking sheets and anything else flat, especially useful for me because my range (where I would typically put those items) does not have a drawer for storage. It also has a little secret drawer inside, which I figured I'd stash money in for pizza nights (Jo is laughing right now because she knows how much pizza I consume).
Below is the first row of drawers in the pantry. It houses knives, small kitchen gadgets, a drawer dedicated to the cats' food bowls and cans of wet food, chopsticks, and my growing collection of wooden spoons.
The second row of drawers is for more knives, scissors, more gadgets, and spatulas.
The bottom section of the pantry houses alot of items I didn't know where else to put - mostly things I don't use on a regular basis. It also holds my napkins and placemats, colanders and tupperware.
The last row of drawers in the pantry is where I keep the tupperware lids (LOVE that they have their own space). The other 2 drawers are the ones I didn't know what to do with, so one has extra baking ingredients I didn't use at Christmas and one has all the manuals for the appliances.
The upper cabinets are home to all of my food. I didn't want to bend and dig in the back of a cabinet so this seemed like the perfect solution. I bought a couple of shelf racks to allow easy stacking (the shelves inside aren't adjustable so this worked perfectly to help keep them in order).
The drawers in the cabinet below the uppers have one dedicated to spoons (when I make tea/coffee), one for my set of extra utensils I bring to work, one for spoon rests, one for extra spices and misc., and one for hot plates and cutting boards.
The space below is where I keep mixing and serving bowls, casserole dishes and my dutch oven.
I requested that when the sink be installed in it's cabinet, that it be placed to the left, using up 2 drawers so that I could have 1 usable drawer. That drawer is where I keep my utensils.
Below is where I used to keep my garbage can on the left, my coffee maker, soaps and garbage bags to the right, but the left side is now half empty because I found myself the coolest garbage can that is in the corner of the kitchen, not taking up valuable cabinet space.
The drawers to the right of the stove are home to my spices, tea towels and cloths, and boxes of foil, plastic wrap and baggies. The spice drawer gets me going every time I open it up. I drove all over the city trying to find a slanted drawer insert for the spices, and when I found it, I then looked all over for decent spice jars. It's now organized, and I am in heaven.
Below these drawers is where I keep small appliances - kettle, rice cooker, toaster, blender, jars of baking ingredients I displayed in my former kitchen, and all my pots and pans.
DINNER ANYONE?? :-)