Monday, January 24, 2011

Bane Of My Kitchen Existence

Internets, meet Thorn. Thorn In My Side!



This is one of our kitchen counter areas that's off to the side, next to our refrigerator. As you can see, it's a catch-all for various things all of which most of which belong to my husband. (I will take responsibility for the little prescription bottle and old browning bananas.)  I love my little cookbook stand (hubby made it for me) but I hate that this area is basically unusable for kitchen counter space because it's always full of stuff. Stuff that shouldn't be there. We do not have an abundance of counter space to begin with, so I feel like this is wasted space.

Whenever my husband comes in from work, he goes straight to this spot and starts emptying out his pockets and piling up papers and receipts, etc. It's where he plugs his cell phone charger. It's where I place his mail (even though it may sit there for days and days before he actually looks at it). There just isn't another spot that's convenient for him to put his things. I'm not sure if you can see it buried beneath the rubble, but, there is a basket in the corner. That was supposed to be the basket for his stuff. I'm sure you can see that his stuff has overflown the basket (is "overflown" a real word?).

Even when it's semi-straightened up, it's still a mess to look at. Someday in the near future, I am hoping to own a pretty, shiny, colorful KitchenAid mixer. And, I think this little corner would be the perfect home for said mixer. So, I have to figure out how and where to relocate my husband's stuff.




Just beyond this kitchen counter to the left, you enter our dining room. (I say dining room lightly because we don't actually own a dining room table and chairs. Which is a bummer. But someday we will). Right now, it houses my antique bow-front china cabinet and dishes (passed down to me by my grandmother). And, it's where we have our computer desk. So sometimes we call it our dining room. Sometimes we call it our computer room. Anyway, I'm rambling. Back to the subject. In this corner right now there's a little table that I use to display some magazines.


I'm thinking I could ditch the table and maybe find a really small secretary-type desk to put in the corner instead. It would have to be fairly compact and slender to fit this space. But, it might be a nice option for his stuff. He wouldn't have to walk any farther to drop things off and I could close up the desk to keep things looking more tidy. Maybe something similar to these....

Overstock

CSNStores

CSNStores


So, what do you think? Sounds like a plan to me. I think I'll start keeping any eye out for something whenever I'm at a thrift store or consignment shop. I'll let you know if I find anything.

Do you have a spot in your house that seems to be the catch-all for stuff?  How do you keep the clutter off of your kitchen counters?

2 comments:

Some Lucky Dog said...

I have a small shelf unit hanging by the door to the garage. Underneath are hooks with hanging baskets. That's where keys, incoming/outgoing mail,gloves, etc. are stashed. I think your idea of a folding secretary is a good one. I have one that was passed down to me and that's where we keep our phone, phonebook, stamps, etc. You'll have to train your hubby to put his stuff there! I had to smile when I saw the drill on the counter in your photo. My hubby would look at that as a decorative item :)

Tammy said...

Oh yes I do! The end of the kitchen counter. I thought of putting a catch all tray but it would just fill up so it's best not to do that. My dining room table is where I do most of my blogging and it tends to fill up with products waiting for review. Its a no-win around here.