It has begun! Project: Kitchen is under way here at our place! And we are loving it! Who would have thought an overhaul in the kitchen could have such impact, but it does!
Over the last little while, around the usual activities of weekly and daily life here in our household, I have been revising various areas of our kitchen.
What a task! What an undertaking! Some tasks have been less involved time-wise, energy-wise, than others. However, we are SO enjoying the transformation that is gradually occurring in our kitchen!
Simply taking time to re-think what needs to be stored where and how, and then implementing any necessary changes.... the results have been positive for everyone!
Simplicity really does create such a positive outcome, positive energy/feel in and for a space!
To finally feel like there is a place for everything to go: to have de-cluttered, simplified, really determined the purpose and function of each area... has all been so beneficial.
For those contemplating a little overhauling in your kitchen area - I highly recommend getting on and getting it done. You really will feel so much better on the organizational front for doing it.
Being such a significant, high-use area in the home, it really does make such a positive difference having a simplified, more functional kitchen set up.
It creates a greater willingness to be in the space and use the space. A little revamp goes along way, to help refresh attitude and outlook about the space, and what is accomplished regularly in it.
So first up, via this post, I can share with you what has been occurring with the area under the kitchen sink.
Okay, so what DOES go under one's kitchen sink area and in the cupboard space that is there?
Well, this will vary from household to household. It will be great to see some of what YOU out there in the wider internet community choose to store in the area under your kitchen sink, should you wish to share also at some point, via a reader's comment.
However for now, here's what our revised under-the-kitchen-sink-area is now looking like. I will also share a little about the whys and where forths of this area and the choices made along the way.
So.....
The overview:
Ta da! The overall picture of the transformation in the under the kitchen sink cupboard! All looking ship-shape and sparkly!
It is such a delight now to open the cupboard doors and see this every time we need to access something from this area of our kitchen.
I know, who would have thought even the cupboard under your kitchen sink can make you feel calmer, more positive, more delighted about dealing with meals preparation, clearing dishes, etc! But some how this little space, with it's simplified set up, helps to do just that!
As you can see, I have really pared down the contents of this cupboard. It is cleaner, feels visually lighter, less-cluttered, all because it was simplified.
My approach to re-thinking, and therefore re-organizing this area of our kitchen first, went along some guidelines like these:
What essentially do we need in this area?
- It had to be child-proofed
- It needed to only house the essentials.
- It needed to have the most often used items most accessible
The details:
This cupboard under the kitchen sink, like many in our home, needed to be child-proofed.
When you have little ones in your household it is important to help keep them safe and help keep your own sanity with regard to their safety, potential inquisitiveness, etc in check also!
Hence, kiddy-locks on cupboard doors, and other such child safety things, are just mandatory requirements in our home.
So this cupboard does have some child-proofing attached to each door to help hinder any inquisitive little one who might just take a liking to investigating the cupboard's contents. (Kitchen Compost Bin contents on the tiles.... no, thank you!).
On the left hand cupboard door, I have attached large Command Hooks. Each hook holds some dish-washing brush, or some such other brush tool.
I found the Command Hooks were the best option I could source, for holding the brushes in place. These particular hooks allowed the actual brushes to lie flat against the door itself, rather than poking out at some odd angle.
The other options available, such as more permanent hooks, didn't look they would do the job, or look as aesthetically pleasing. (Yes, I was keen to even have the Under-the-Kitchen-Sink Cupboard Area looking kind of pretty. My home, my personal domestic bliss added to.)
The great thing about Command Hooks also, is that you can remove them at a later date should you wish to do so. No damage. No unpleasant potential patching having to be done later. Command Hooks. A sure winner.
On the top shelf of this particular cupboard at present, there is just this one small Sterilite basket container. It holds our preferred pot scrubbers.
Budget Brand scrubbers. They do a variety of jobs. That is, they are great for helping with any jobs that require a little more elbow grease to be applied. Work great. Fantastic.
I really do like the Sterilite Brand of basket containers. The one seen here, is one of the smaller ones available in this particular style.
Having tried several types of plastic storage baskets over the years, these particular Sterilite containers have proved to be sturdy and pretty child friendly also.
I have used Sterilite containers, in various sizes, through out our home for corralling things. (You will no doubt see more of this particular brand of container appearing in future blog posts.)
The opaque white plastic is sturdy and this counts in my books. It has so far been robust enough to cope with a few 'child interactions' when they have occurred in our house.
This particular small Sterilite container I acquired, along with several others, through Trade Me (A New Zealand online auction site). It is so good to get what you prefer, and at a good second-hand price also.
This compost bin was such a great find! So much nicer than the previous plastic one we had. The lid also has some kind of filter in the top of it, so it helps curb the escaping odours.
I thought the bin looked super cute, plus as we do compost as much kitchen scraps as we can, it was an essential component needed in this particular kitchen area.
Great to have some thing functional, and aesthetically pleasing, for just such a job!
Another under-the-kitchen-sink area essential for our household are chopping boards. These get used for several purposes - chopping food of course, plus they are also some times used as a trivet under hot dishes.
Having seen this bracket storage system previously, I knew it would be just the thing for storing the chopping boards.
I choose to anchor the actual storage bracket using some metal anchors, which are probably usually used for anchoring plumbing pipes. These I simply screwed in to position, anchoring them into the actual cupboard's base.
By using this storage bracket, it means the chopping boards are kept tidy and easily accessible. It also allows you to get a board or two out as you need them, without all the other boards slipping and falling over on the slippery cupboard base.
On the right hand cupboard door as you can see in the above photograph, I have mounted a small towel rack for holding a hand towel. Plus, there is also a wire storage basket attached below this.
The wire basket is attached permanently using metal pipe anchors again. The metal anchors were a great means of securing the wire basket. They allow for the basket to be easily manoeuvred, should the door surface behind the basket require wiping down.
Just so love the happy colour of the kitchen hand towels - doesn't it look so cheery?
The Conclusion:
So that is the new layout and set up for this particular kitchen cupboard.
It really is fantastic to have easy access to everything allocated to this area.
The criteria that it had to be child safe, and contain the essentials have been met also.
How it is now set up, is working well for all household members that use this area of the home. A winning resolution.
How is your under the kitchen sink cupboard area looking?
Have you revised and overhauled it lately?
What do you prefer to store in this area?
Feel free to leave a comment to share the results of your Project:Kitchen.
Blog Posts coming soon....
A Blog Post about an area in our kitchen that required a heavy duty deep clean.
Plus also....
The revised pantry cupboard's big reveal!
