It's been 4 days....

...and my kitchen has been transformed!

Okay, so, I didn't get to paint.  But I did discover Con-tact paper.  I almost went nuts with it.

And I decided that I MUST, absolutely MUST, own a laminator someday.  I have to.  I won't be able to live without dry-erasable labels.  I'm convinced.  You cannot change my mind.  I need one.  Period.

Huh?  OH, right.  MY KITCHEN!

Here's a layout for you to have a better idea of what you're looking at.  It is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO not to scale.

Now, be kind, this is a room "in progress".  I have painting and a back splash and lighting and...You get the idea.

 

This is on the right when you walk into my kitchen.  Yes: this is how my kitchen normally looks.  What a wreck.  And completely covered.  See all that junk on top of the cabinets?  *blech*

Ugh!  Look at those pots and pans and the mugs... And my coffee cabinet above the microwave.  How did I live with this?!

This is embarrassing.  Oi.

And this is AFTER I cleared off the top of the counter a bit.  Wow.

My mats are a wreck. My floor is filthy.  Who would put ANYTHING under that sink?!

The empty space above the dishwasher is where my coffee maker was... with my coffee above the stove several pictures before?!  This doesn't make sense.

The dump corner directly across from the pantry.  Wonderful built in shelves that were poorly painted (with spray paint by the previous owner) that I sadly abused.

*hangs head in shame*

So, since we have no car and are slowly running out of money and kinda' driving each other insane (married couples were not meant to spend every waking moment together trapped in a house with a 3 year old, in my opinion), I had to give myself a project.  Every time I would enter my kitchen, which was frequently, I'd cringe at something (or lots of somethings).

This is the room where I feed my family.  Where we entertain guests.  Where I wash, dry and fold my laundry.  This is where my dog eats.  And where I store my cleaning supplies.  It's also where I get away from the family at night to talk on the phone with Sassy Mama.

I had to fix this room!

But before I fixed it, I had to trash it.

UGH!  I had a mini-panic attack at this point worrying about whether or not I could fit it all back into cabinets.

But, I'm an organizing miracle worker I guess.

I scrubbed down everything from the top to the floor (although, the floor was left until everything was put away... today, four days later from when this project started).

I met Con-Tact paper and lined a few shelves and my drawers.  Even the two Ramen boxes below was wrapped up.

My magnetic, locker pen holder that I have stuck to the side of the fridge got a bit of Con-Tact love.

I nearly became obsessed.  That could have been bad!

So, I put it all back together over the next few days.  Day one lasted over 8 hours alone.

Before:

• Coffee, drink mixes and tea were above the microwave.
• Recipes and misc items in the cabinet between fridge and microwave.
• Baking dishes, sheets, strainers and steamer in the cabinet by the stove.
• Top of fridge cluttered and cabinet above not utilized at all.
• Top of cabinets OVER utilized.

After:

• Recipes above the microwave.
• Measuring, mixing and mixing bowls along with food processor/hand mixer attachments and Pam between fridge and microwave.
• Tupperware cabinet between stove and fridge.
• Top of fridge currently houses this years Halloween stash and extra fruit bowl (empty) and cabinets utilized for things only used occasionally such as special shape ice cube trays, sun tea dispenser, etc.
• Top of cabinets CLEAR!

 Before:

• Top of cabinets cluttered... again.
• Top cabinets left to right: mix mash of drink things; serving/baking/slicing/dicing, etc. in the corner; plates and bowls and cups and mugs... blech.
• Bottom cabinets left to right: tupperware, Lazy Susan full of snacks that would catch every time it was spun (SOOOO ANNOYING), pots (the one you can't see inside of... sorry) where the lids would constantly fall and the pots had to be very specifically stacked.

After:

• Top of cabinets CLEAR!
• Top cabinets left to right: drink cups and mugs; serving/entertaining with a COUPLE odds and ends I couldn't fit anywhere else (I seriously need like 2 more cabinets and 2 more drawers and a bigger pantry); plates, bowls, plates and bowls.  :-D
• Bottom cabinets left to right: Kids cabinet with all their plates, bowls and cups within reach; pots that don't fall off shelves or need to be "insanely" stacked; my primary cooking ware including my mega huge wok and grill pan, my favorite baking dish and cheese graters, strainers and steamer.  Just the handful of things I use constantly.

Oh, look!  You can see a place where the tin foil, saran wrap and what not sit nicely next to extra towels, my cleaning caddy and the extra small pieces container thingamajig under my sink!

Look!  I have a cabinet with baking goods and then all my coffee and tea and what not... ABOVE the coffee maker!  Who would've thought that would be efficient!

See the Ramen boxes?  Ha!  I covered them with matching Con-Tact paper.  And nice neat containers I found on super sale at Target for all our munchies.  SOOOO much prettier.

Wow.  Really?  Do I need to explain?

In the end, my back hurts and my feet are throbbing.  But when I walk into my pretty, clean, and organized kitchen, I feel inspired to cook rather than puke.

Okay.  I don't always want to cook.  But at least I don't want to run out of the room in terror.  It's getting there.