Making my shitty kitchen a little less shitty.

I just wanted to do one last update of some space saving things we did to the kitchen.  I would have done this myself this morning, but I like it better when Tyler does the drilling and leveling of our projects.  I don't read directions nor do I have much patience for these types of projects.

Here is what our kitchen counter looked like before.  Please take note that I cleaned the countertops off before I took the photo.  Usually there is shit galore piled up on there.

I thought of this idea the other day at Ikea when we went to look at bathroom stuff for upstairs.  Well, I guess I didn't come up with the idea, some Ikea person did...but I thought of using it in our kitchen.  

We were able to get the stupid gigantic dish rack off the counter (which was not pictured) and make room for things like cutting, peeling and cooking.  I also used those hooks to hang up some frequently used items in our kitchen.  Since the drawers are original to the house they are really annoying to open and shut, and whomever did the spacial planning was an idiot.  We can't open more than 1 drawer at a at because they block one another.  Argh.  Now everything has it's own spot.

Here are a couple other things we have done to maximize the small amount of space in the kitchen.

We put a butcher's block over half the stove so we have some more counter space.  The fridge is right across from the stove so it's nice to be able to set a glass near it to pour juice or milk or whatever.  I have a basket with all the kitchen utensils and oven mitts.  There are some more oven mitts on magnets hanging on the side of the stove.  We got a magnetic bar and installed it above the stove for our sharp knives.

For a long time our garbage and recycling sat on the floor in a big ass mess.  We found these recycling containers and installed them on the wall next to the back door.  It really opened up a lot of space and looks much less cluttered.

This is the same type of bar we hung on the wall over the countertops.  It was left over from our last place and we screwed it into the ceiling to hang the pots and pans we use most.  That green basket will soon have a new home over the microwave.

We found this double shelf at a garage sale, we actually got 2 of them for a dollar.  I use one of them in my bedroom to hang my earrings on and this one stores our vitamins and fruit and such.  I love the color of our bread box, and there is space behind it for other things like onions and potatoes (although I tend to forget about the stuff I put back there until I see it sprouting from behind the box).  That green shelf I just mentioned will go here so there is a spot for that food I forget about.

Incidentally all the stuff we used in the kitchen is from Ikea except for the green basket (thrift store) and double shelf on the microwave.  I still don't love my kitchen, but I can handle it for a while now.

Damnit, I just forgot to watch Modern Family.