Archive for March 28th, 2010

March 28, 2010

Get Your Filthy Paws off my Silky Drawers!

by Katie

Since remodeling our kitchen, I have decided that drawer bases (aka. base cabinets with drawers instead of doors and/or pull-outs) are the best. thing. ever.

I can now store my empty food storage containers with the lids on.

Kitchen Drawer Tupperware Organization

Now that I’m embracing this whole domesticity thing, you have no idea how much pleasure this gives me.  It gives me the kind of pleasure that used to require a battery.  And I’m not talking about a dust buster.

I no longer have to pull heavy plates down from the wall cabinets over my head.

Kitchen Drawer Dinnerware Organization

My utensils, plastic wrap and storage bags?  All conveniently near the food storage containers, dinnerware, and refrigerator.

Kitchen Drawer Utensil Organization

And I no longer need to crawl inside my cabinets to reach my baking dishes, pots, pans or their matching lids!

Kitchen Drawer Bakeware Organization

Kitchen Drawer Pots and Pans Organization

Kitchen Drawer Pots and Pans Organization

Finally… finally… no need to lift the spices one-by-one to read the labels.

Kitchen Drawer Spice Organization

And the cooking utensils aren’t collecting dust in a container on the counter!

Kitchen Drawer Cooking Utensil Organization

There’s an added bonus, you say?  Maybe one of the best parts I’ve discovered about these huge storage drawers is that they really don’t require expensive interior dividers.  All it took was some cheap cabinet liner from the dollar store, and viola!  Instant organization.  The plates don’t slide around, and the spices don’t roll and spill throughout the drawer.

Who knew this could make me so happy?

Looks like I might need a little travel adventure to put things back into perspective…

March 28, 2010

Truth.

by Katie

The truth is, there are three different types of people in the world of domesticity:

1.  Those who do;

2.  those who can’t do;

3.  and those who think they can do but really can’t do and end up getting themselves into a crapload of trouble more times than not.

Wait… what?

If you were able to follow that, I will tell you that Justin and I have thus far fallen closer into that third realm.  We’re wannabes.  Misfits.  Naive.  We often walk into our home and don’t even see the ripped, worn carpets, unfinished trim, or paint splotches on the walls.

We only see what it could be… what we want it to be… not what it actually is.  We’re blinded by our own enthusiasm.  And then we wonder why our neighbors give us questioning looks when they walk into our house.

Case-in-point:

Kitchen Color Options

Think this is the latest in modern art? Unfortunately, no.  We’re not that trendy. This is evidence of us trying to lock down a paint color for the kitchen.  It’s been like this for two years.

And don’t worry…  NONE of these will be the winner.

And how embarrassing is this?

Old Carpet

Do you think the carpet looks like this in some obscure corner of a back bedroom no one ever sees?  No dice.  Welcome to our main hallway.  You know… the one people have to walk through to get to every other room in our house!

And umm…. wait… what is that?!

Fandelier

A talked a little about the fandelier here. It was painful.

But that is one nightmare we have put behind us.  All will be revealed soon enough.

In all fairness, we truly did buy a “fixer-upper” for our first home, thinking our vast HGTV-watching experience would make us experts at updating a house.  It was only built in ’94, but years of negligent owners and uncaring renters had let the place fall into major cosmetic disrepair by the time we bought it in April of 2007.

Nothing in here that is dirty, worn or broken (besides some of our old furniture) is a mess of our own making.  We bought it like this, I promise.  But the incomplete projects?  The disorganization?  The gnaw marks on our table and sofa legs from when we first took home our pups?

Oh yes, that’s all ours.  And we’ll be addressing those issues as well.