Kitchen Redo!

Next to our fridge, there's this awkward space. It's about 3' deep and 2' wide (so very deep and narrow).

The previous owners stuck this rack in there:

A resounding GROAN, especially considering that the rack had many problems:

• It was not stable-- it has about a 2" wobble side to side.
• It was DEEP. You could only see about the first 6" of things you put on it, and then everything the rest of the 2.5' was lost to darkness and clutter.
• It blocked the light. There's a light above the fridge that illuminates the entire alcove, but because of this tall rack that filled the entire nook next to the fridge, no light got down to the shelves. 

So, needless to say, the rack was useless. We used it for two things: A dog food bin that we slid in and out under the rack, and a microwave on the third shelf. The other shelves had things on them, but neither Bob nor I could give you an inventory. It was a black hole of clutter. We'd tried to organize it, but with the problems listed above, nothing worked.

So, I took the rack out. 

Then this happened:

And then this.....(!!!!)

Yes, the shelves, instead of being 3' deep, are only 15" deep. Yes, we lose the other 21 inches, but not really. Having shelves THAT DEEP isn't practical. So really, we're instead gaining 7 feet of storage that's 15" deep. We're not losing anything.

Plus, there's a HUGE area above the fridge. It's all a shelf! Previously, we hadn't been able to use much of it because things would get lost back there. Now? We can use ALL of it by just standing on a stepstool. So, all of our lesser-used appliances and such  (waffle makers, dehydrator, egg cartons, etc) are all up there and organized.

The bins are great too-- they'll be used for bulk food and dog food. 

And so, I got to fill this sucker up this weekend: 

ALL (not just some) of our canned goods fit here! The top shelf is full of things we need, but not regularly (such as coconut oil and rye flour).  We'll post an inventory on a piece of paper up there so we can easily see what's there. All of our jams, salsa, fruit, and marinara fits easily on these shelves. It also allows us to see what we have left and what we use regularly. 

Previously, all this was in our other pantry and on top of it (eyesore). Now, that pantry has nothing on top of it, AND it's half empty. This allowed us to really organize the pantry and even put some of our commonly-used appliances in there (thus clearing up cabinet/counter space). More on that in another post.

It was a productive weekend, but OH, what an improvement and good utilization of space!

Clearly, I nest through organizing? :)