{Clutter-Free Challenge} Day 22
Purge and Organize Small Appliances and Bakeware
Time Needed: 15 -25 minutes
Physical Rating: Light Duty
Emotional Rating: Possible Attachment Anxiety
This is our small appliance cabinet which is located to the right of our stove. This is another cabinet I never really cared for. We raised the shelf up really high to store our grill tools and to leave space at the bottom for our appliances. I wanted to create shelving for the appliances as well, but no matter how I configured the space something was always going to be tucked behind something else anyway, so why bother?
Here's where we keep our bakeware - cookie sheets, muffin tins, cake pans, etc. Seems logical, but it's not really convenient. If you haven't noticed, digging for things is my least favorite thing to do, and by the end of this challenge I have hope that my house will be a dig-free zone!
Drum roll please...
After moving all of my food items to the pantry, the cabinet over the microwave was left blissfully vacant. It now houses our Ninja food processor/blender, (which I'm totally in love with and use CONSTANTLY), Hello Kitty waffle maker (Of course we love that!), mini pie maker, and our hot sandwich grill. I didn't purge any of my appliances, because I truly use them all the time, but if you have some "as seen on TV" stuff collecting dust- TOSS IT! You'll notice that a mixer is not pictured. My stand mixer AND my hand mixer kicked the bucket on Thanksgiving and I still haven't replaced them - my right bicep, tricep, and forearm are totally beach-ready!
Once the appliances were moved, we had plenty of space in the cabinet for our bakeware. I lowered the shelf to a height that would allow for the griddle to fit, but still leave space at the top for muffin tins and cake pans. To separate the space below, Hubs created a divider with some square trim and dowels that we had on hand.
Here's a close up of the divider. As you can see he cut two identical lengths of the square trim, carefully drilled holes into both pieces, and inserted the dowels with a dab of Gorilla Wood Glue. Then he secured it into place with a brad nailer. So easy!
I'm super excited about this little project. Before, with the cabinet storage being so cluttered and the fact that we make pancakes and waffles almost daily, the griddle basically just came to live on our counter top. I'm so glad that part of my life is over!!! I'm really starting to feel this overhaul come together. Maybe it's this amazing weather. Maybe it's the de-cluttering. Maybe it's both. Whatever it is, I feel FANTASTIC!
Happy de-cluttering!