William Morris and Week 2

Again, I'm focusing on the small changes/improvements necessary for each room in my house, keeping in mind Morris's advice for living.

This week, I'm working in the kitchen. Like the bedroom, it needs only a little work, since I did a lot of smart things when I moved in. For once, I really thought about where different things needed to be located relvant to the fridge/sink/stove triangle of use. I also focused on how to make good use of the counter space, which was much larger than in my old apartment, but still not as much as I'd like, or laid out as I would like.

And my landlord left/included the world's largest microwave, which takes up a solid 15"x15"x24" block of said counter. I'd store it somewhere, but that would mean giving up a solid chunk of a cabinet or closet space--and it is so huge! And unattractive, but that's another issue.

Tasks I'll take on this weekend:

• Buy or relocate a doormat for the back door, allowing me to double-wipe feet at both entries
• Place a draft-blocker at the back door, where a surprising amount of cold air swoops in (while warm air escapes)
• Hang simple handles on the wall by the stove in order to hang the utensil pails that are right now taking up space on the countertop
• Rethink the contents of the two lower cabinets where I store pots and pans, strainers, and larger electronics, so that I can more efficiently use them
• Check and record the content of my pantry cabinets (wth accompanying GPS)
• Buy a box of quart-size Ball jars and transfer pantry goods now stored in random jars into them for a better look and more helpful clear storage (this includes beans, pastas, and some cooking ingredients)
• Possibly relocate teapots to dining room hutch
• Find anything ripe for donation/discarding, like unused appliances or pots
• Hanging a bulletin board in the kitchen to post notes by phone and door
• Biggest task: lay down new shelf paper

These tasks can be completed over the weekend, with one efficient shopping trip and some time. The handles and shelfpaper I already have in hand; the draft-blocker, jars, and doormat can probably be found at Super Target (what can't?).

• Doormats, draftblocker, and lower cabinets: Friday
• Pantry tasks: Saturday
• Shelf paper and teapots: Sunday

The donations/discards will come naturally.

Update from Friday: My visit to Target did not yield the doorblock or Ball jars, so today it's SuperTarget and maybe WalMart, the only other place I can think would sell them in boxed quantity. I did get the dootmat at Target and re-think the four lower cabinets. Several things got relocated, most importantly the small crockpot, right under the outlet/countertop where I use it.

The fact is that I have a number of pots I no longer use, that need weeding out. On with the experiment!