Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Babysteps in one corner of the kitchen

I'd like to have a perfectly clean, nicely decorated home. Like every other person out there, I allocate my time to a variety of projects and people, plus I tend to spend too much time planning and too little time DOING. Today, I'm acknowledging the small steps, in an effort to encourage more doing, for it is "by small and simple things that great things are brought to pass."  Here is one kitchen corner, improved:




When we moved in, our desktop had to be connected to the phone jack for our internet to work. After a few months of awkward cord dodging (the cord hung across the entry into the living room), we got a wireless card for the computer.

Finally, last weekend, I moved the wireless router out of the black basket next to the sink into the closet in my bedroom, and I sorted out all the junk in the black basket. A lot of it went into quart-sized ziploc bags: 1 for used batteries waiting to get recycled, 1 for Box Tops for Education waiting to go to school, 1 for the remaining random bits of things that had to be saved. I traded out the drawer space with dish towels, put the bags in a drawer, and put the towels into the bottom of the black basket where the router had previously been. The top of the wire basket is the landing pad for keys, the camera, cell phones, and chargers.

I also detailed my blender. Using a wooden skewer and a rag, I cleaned in between all the buttons and on the top where drips fall down. The blender lives on the counter because I have smoothies/protein shakes every morning and every afternoon.

In a final fit of beautifying, I grabbed some black and white scrapbook paper and taped it around the #10 can we use for our kitchen scraps that will head to the compost. My husband laughed when he saw it and warned me that I should seal it, so I covered it with a thick layer of modge podge. I know it won't last forever, but it's pretty now.


BEFORE:

AFTER:


I'm linking up:

giveawaysHookingupwithHoH

9 comments:

The Autocrat: Haley said...

I love the black basket! Very fab!

Rosario said...

Great way of utilizing what you already have for something more useful, and that looks great.

Handy Man, Crafty Woman said...

great job! Thanks for linking this up to our Wicked Awesome wed. party.

Mom of 12 said...

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and deciding to stay for a while! This looks like my kind of decorating. When I look at the whole house it just seems pretty overwhelming. This I could actually do...
Sandy
www.twelvemakesadozen.blogspot.com

**Anne** said...

Gorgeous. Just one little area transformed can make such a difference. Thanks for sharing.
Anne xx

Tiffany Ford said...

Wow! Looks great!

Tiffany @ The Nest Effect

http://www.thenesteffect.com

Carrie said...

Would love a basket just like yours to organize my counter too! Lovely...

Jennifer said...

I am in the same boat at you! I enjoy your blog. We both started blogging about the same time! I wouldl love for you to come by and give your thoughts. I saw your post on Whipperberry.

-Jen
http://www.dishesandsocks.com/

Tiffiny said...

I'm inspired to clean up my kitchen landing pad now too. Thank you!