apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

my kitchen needs ridiculous help. the pluming under the sink leaks, so we have a dishpan under there to catch the water. it's so dumb, but i guess since we have a "temporary" solution in place, fixing the plumbing has been low on the priority list. [it has to be replaced, not just resealed.] i'm not willing to admit how long we've been doing this.

the kitchen is also just not really "done". we have one wall to paint and the outlet covers to put back on. we also ripped up the carpet in the adjoining dining room, which left a raw edge on the kitchen's vinyl floor. over time, the vinyl has started to peel up along that edge and little bits have gotten ripped off (mostly from my kids pulling a chair into the kitchen to "help" me cook). it's pretty bad. those are the major problems - the minor problems would be another long post all to themselves!

Things are well organized, with most things near the point of use, but the plumbing is old and the hot water runs only at a trickle so I have to heat water on the stove to give the dishes a good rinse. The fume hood needs to be fixed or replaced. Our window is too sunny since the old tree had to be taken down, so I’d like an awning or at least better curtains; summer’s over, so the tin foil can come down. We also have too much food—we need a system to use up the food we have or get rid of it when it becomes obvious we’re not going to use it.

Other long-term plans I have: move the clothes washer out and install more cabinets in its place. Remove a small cabinet from next to the sink and put a dishwasher in its place, scootching the fridge over to make room. Replace the double sink with a single large sink when we get the dishwasher to free up more space for counters. Replace the orange counter with a black one, maybe in Corian or maybe just more laminate. Paint the cabinets red. Rip out the old scratched vinyl flooring and put in black-and-white vinyl tiles in the classic checkered pattern.

(I already got rid of the dark orange curtains, replaced the brown oven with a white one when it broke, made a pot rack for over the stove, added shelves to the pantry, and added darkening film to the windows.)

The most important greening problems are the sunny windows and heating dishwater when the water heater is already heating plenty of water. I could also use a better compost system than taking it out only when I happen to collect a lot during one cooking session.

Oh, I am looking forward to tackling the kitchen...

Under the sink is SO unorganized. This is where all of our cleaning products are stored, along with everything else we just don't use on a daily basis: Place mats, toaster oven, cleaning supplies, candles, plastic bags... I need to purge what we don't use and efficiently store what we do.

Our cupboards are so scattered, too. Aside from the cups/plates cupboard, we've got pots and containers and food jammed pretty much anywhere it'll fit. My cupboards need The Cure ;)

oddly, my kitchen is one of the most organized rooms in my apartment. when I moved in (four months ago), the kitchen was the first room I unpacked, and with all my fresh energy, I put a lot of time into organizing and cleaning.

Oddly enough, though I am a 'warm' person, my home and my kitchen in particular are both presently quite 'cold.' I think it's because I've moved to a new city and a new, much larger space, and I'm (a) holding back from committing to the new apartment, unwilling to acknowledge that I no longer live in New York, and (b) afraid that by spilling over my entire 'warm' life from its boxes, I will be messy again.

So I don't need a ton of cleaning. But I do need to buy dishes and silverware.

We just moved into our home about a month ago so our kitchen isn't completely "lived in" yet. We have been so busy we haven't completely unpacked let alone cooked anything. So depressing. There is still a... smell... in our fridge (from the previous tenants) that I can't get rid of to my satisfaction with so I haven't been too enthused about grocery shopping for fear the smell will get into our food.

Hey, lifeinthefortress, I can relate. Luckily no fridge smell but I don't completely feel at home yet.

Have you tried baking soda?

Due to the lack of cupboard space, I use a freestanding metal shelf unit that has pans on the top shelves, cleaning cloths and washing bowls (including a couple of repurposed storage boxes - no machine so, plenty of handwashing!) in the middle and two boxes (DIY, Gardening tools etc.) and a small bin that is practically emaceated thanks to my rigorous recycling regime! Actually, I've no idea why I'm boring you with this... I'm just reminding myself that, aside from the usual worksurface and floor-cleaning, those shelves could benefit from a thorough wipe over too! Oh, and, thanks to lifeinthefortress' comment, I am now mindful of the state of my fridge too! ;)

My kitchen needs cleaning. Under the sink needs some purging. And I need to work on eating food that's been in the cupboards forever!

I'm a week behind, but I JUST unclogged my bathroom sink. Vinegar and baking soda did the trick! So easy, I'm trying to figure out what took me so long to do it.