Step 1 Cookbooks

divideAfter I posted the part 1 of my series on Life Plans, that I promise to finish before the month is over, I realized I had better put my hands and sweat where my mouth is and I got to work. The latest thing that was bugging me was the cupboard with the cookbooks. I have about had it with getting out the ladder to reach a cookbook. I suppose most of my family would ask why I bother since I rarely ever follow a recipe completely, but hey creativity is good sometimes. So here is where my cookbooks ended up.

Cookbooks in the bookshelf

If you can’t tell, I am a sucker for cookbooks at fundraisers or craft shows or in the teachers area where those Books are Fun displays are always set up. Another one of those things that I need to be more aware of what I am spending for what I am getting. I don’t want this to all be a pain in the drain for the daughters to divide or sell or yikes even throw out once we are gone. I have put names in a couple as to who should have them, but after I am gone, what do I know. Of course they might be afraid that I will haunt them. Ha!

So let me take you through the process of how this all worked. I even took pictures of what I cleared out. I am thinking that I will be taking pictures of these cupboards open then posting them on the outside so people know what is inside as I change arrangements so often. Lucky I don’t have anyone in the house at this time who would be unable to function with this constant rearranging.

Cookbooks in the cupboard above the stove. See the junk on the top shelf.

The kitchen table was a mess while I was trying to decide what would go where. I put all of those paper products in the box with similar items. We actually used up some of it at the track meet on Thursday. Ya, I plan to use more at the next home meet. No sense buying those plates and cups and napkins when you have plenty cluttering up your house.

Table all a clutter.

Cupboard empty, shelves cleaned and readjusted.

For no other reason than to clean out the dust, it was a good idea to move everything out of here. It really hasn’t been so many years since I cleaned this out, but it was awful. Now here is what currently lives in this area. I think it will be so handy come canning season, not to mention when we are cooking steaks. We still need to put a hood and light in that area, but we just never seem to get around to picking one out.

Large stock pots on top with a few odds and ends and the steak plates on the bottom so easy to reach.

So where were those stock pots to begin with? They were in a very convenient area, but I began to think that I could do better and so here is the next step of before and after in the cupboard just to the left of the one above.

Original area for stock pots and plenty of other items.

I moved the fry pan from the top shelf to another area that I will feature later. The bottom shelf was the issue here. Nothing fit quite right, and something are used lots, but others are not so much, but each time we take out anything, it is a major puzzle to get it back together. Here is what it looks like now.

Left cupboard

The bottom shelf now has the mixer and blender and waffle maker. The noodle maker, which I desperately needed and hardly use is on the top shelf with the food processor that needs to be replaced because the shredder part is broken, but the rest works, so of course I won’t toss it yet. The middle is the “I hope” area. I moved all of my pie plates into this area. The white three tier item is a pie plate holder, and I have about seven glass plates stacked in there between the cloths. I could open a stinking bakery here. James is most excited about the strainers being closer to the sink and stove. It used to be a pain to go and find them. So, just a few ideas of how to arrange life to make things easier. Besides by moving the glass pie plates, I took quite a strain off one of my pull out drawers. The bottom cupboards are on the list for the near future. Hope it doesn’t take until 2019 before I get to them.

So what does all of this have to do with my earlier post on Life Plans? This is an example of how rearranging, cleaning out and clearing up clutter gives you an opportunity to access what you have so you know what you might need or not need. I know that I don’t need all those pie plates unless I start using them every now and again. Perhaps I should use one for a real apple pie and I can use up some of the apple pie filling I still have in the basement. Maybe next week, right now I have lots of commitments, so catch you soon.