Milestone...

I quit a waitressing/catering job in the summer of 2003 and while I made a point to return every chafing dish and apron, I did walk away with the "lovely parting gift" of an industrial roll of sarah wrap that was forgotten in my trunk after a big busy weekend of off site jobs.

I loved that giant roll of cling wrap.

It was somehow much clearer and stickier than the boring old standard rolls, hardly the same substance at all. It was easier to manipulate because it had it's own weight, the roll never fell out or twisted on itself. You could use the cutter as a saw in a pinch. It was pure awesomeness.

That roll ran out today.
9 years later.
Wow.

A whole new nook

My 1940's house has the typical tiny kitchen, but it does have the benefit of this little bump out nook:



When it was for sale, the company staged the area with a little bistro set, but I just thought that looked crowded. For a while we had a small table and two benches in there, but all that did was give Norm a way to climb on top of the table and look out the window. And eat my curtains. During the last Halloween party we moved our "pantry" cupboard into that area, and we've found it fits perfectly and is very convenient:



It was clear that we would never sit in there to eat, and what I really needed was more STORAGE and ideally WORK SPACE. Trying to make 12 dozen + cookies for the yearly exchange is pretty hard with only 4 square feet of usable counter top. Solution? Craigslist!

I started looking at kitchen islands, and found a couple who were remodelling and getting rid of theirs. It actually appeared in fairly good shape, had an ugly but good condition laminate top - in much better shape than the rest of my ugly laminate counters - and they accepted my offer. So with the help of my parents and a station wagon, we loaded it up and took it home!



I love it! This sucker was HEAVY, which is good - solid wood, well constructed, and lots of work AND storage space. It actually goes really well with my existing cupboards too! I can replace all of the hardware with matching drawer pulls if I get ambitious, and some day I'll hope to get new counter tops, but for now - I'm just loving the functionality.



I filled it up right away. I was a little sad that my vintage Kitchen-Aid mixer wouldn't fit underneath (too tall) but even on top it is more out of the way than it has been. And I did fit lots of my GIANT Tupperware containers, a toaster, waffle maker, quesadilla maker, Foreman grill, TWO blenders (not sure how that happened), a malt machine, cupcake tins, and lots of serving pieces. AWESOME. I am so excited not to have to run upstairs every time I bake to retrieve pans, or have the giant unwieldy Tupperware sitting out. And boy, did I organize our utensils:



A whole drawer for spoons and ladles! Another one for spatulas and tongs! BE STILL MY HEART! The middle drawer is all the nicer serving utensils. All in one place. These were previously crammed in to 2 drawers which now hold BBQ & cutting tools (like the pizza cutter, apple corer) and one that has all the baking utensils like measuring cups and whisks.

It's like a totally new kitchen. Because it's counter height, Norm can't get up on top of it now. I feel so organized, which is inspiring. I can get at my pots and pans. Maybe I should actually start cooking now?

Pretty Pantry Project, or An Ode to Tupperware

I should point out that this is not the current state of my pantry, this was taken back in April when I completely cleaned and organized our tiny little kitchen and took this photo as proof that it was, at least at one point in time, beautiful.

I love Tupperware. I love the product, the idea, and the whole story of how a scientist with an idea and an outgoing divorcee with a penchant for parties came together to create an empire, and then when that divorcee started getting too much of the limelight, the scientist fired her and a significant section of the magic disappeared. The 1950's were a decade of wonder and automation and relative ease. All of the worst foods we cling to today were created in the 50's - sugar cereals, TV dinners, M&Ms, chex mix - if it was highly processed, it came from the 50's. Mmmmmm.

Suffice it to say I am enamored with Tupperware, a trait likely gained from my mother whose pantry I should also steal a pic of - she could be in Tupperware advertisements. While most teens fight with their parents about curfews and allowance, my mother and I were locked in an epic battle of "you'd better return this Tupperware!" and "This better not end up in your locker!"

But now I have my own Tupperware. And it is wonderful.

A small 1940's kitchen provides a few challenges as far as storage space, and Tupperware was my answer. We have two sets of cupboards, one full of dishes, and this one which must store all of our non-refrigerated food. The top shelves are fairly inaccessible except with a chair, so we needed most of our daily things on the first few levels. There is a reasonable depth available, so I started with the "Super Oval Pantry Set." These are the perfect depth, and stack so that various containers end up the same heights, perfect for a cupboard. They are partially transparent so you can tell what is in each one, and the Tupperware seal means they are air tight and everything stays fresh.

We also had picked up several "cereal storers" along the way, so I have a collection of the original clear, black, and red seals, but they all do the same thing - they store a whole box (or most of a giant costco bag) of cereal with an air-tight seal, so much better than a cardboard box. These are all lined up on the 3rd shelf with the pancake mix & other breakfast goodies.

On the high shelf I decided to store my baking staples - flour, sugars, chopped nuts, etc. Since I needed to hold a bigger volume but didn't have as much height on the top shelves I went with the "Modular Mates Rectangles" set. These are great because I don't use them very often, but know that the Tupperware seal keeps it all fresh in between.

Tupperware isn't cheap, so it was a little hard to make such an investment initially - but it lasts virtually forever. If your Tupperware breaks down or has a defect, the company will replace it for you - even years later, and believe me, my family has taken advantage of that policy and they really come through. Having everything in my pantry organized and accessible was well worth a few hundred dollars up front, now everything has its place and I'm not losing food to bad containers, forgetting it's mashed behind something else, or wasting time searching for stuff that's hard to find. It makes baking a lot more fun too.

Need to order some Tupperware? My current "Tupperware Lady" is Elda Hanson, I met her through some vendor fairs in the burbs and she's great - always makes it worthwhile to order through her, she never pressures me to have a party, and she sends out good deals every once in a while, which is how I bought my initial pantry set. elda@my2.tupperware.com

Swiss Army Knife Kitchen Caddy

How cute is this? It's a utensil holder that makes all your utensils look like PART of the art, rather than trying to hide them away. I saw it this morning on Swiss-Miss - link under my bloglist on the right.

Unfortunately, you'd need counter space (or maybe it's wall mount-able?) and my 1940's kitchen is ill equipped. Cute nonetheless!