Progress Report: The Kitchen

It's time for Spring Cleaning!



This week, the focus is on the kitchen. My plan of attack is here.

I decided to start with cleaning inside my lower corner cabinet.

Left side:



Right side:



I don't believe I did these last year--so it has been fully two years since I scrubbed them down.

It shows!

One of my challenges with this darn L shaped cupboard is that I really cannot reach into the corner. Even lying down on the floor, I can't do it.

I tried to think of a way I could: the dust pan brush? Not long enough. But then I had a brilliant idea:



The swiffer!



--with a dishcloth on it.

My only problem was that I couldn't get any pressure on it: I put a scotch pad rinsed in hot water underneath it and just went back and forth counting on friction and heat to do the job.

During the great basement clean up, I came across my rolls of shelf paper: this one is my favourite hands down, still, after 10+ years. I've been saving it, of course. Not sure why. For what possible occasion would I want to make sure I have my favourite shelf paper on hand to line my cabinets with?



Really.

I did all that on Saturday, I confess. I wanted to get a jump start because Monday I knew I'd be knocked out with Novocaine after my dentist's appointment.

I'm really glad I did, too. My upper thighs were killing me all day Sunday. Cleaning that cabinet was quite the workout!





Next up was the stove wall.

First, the shelves on the right hand side of the stove:



I decided I needed to paint it.


(I bought the gallon to paint all my trim last fall).

Ta da!

(Still working on organizing the spices, as you can see.)

I ant to share a little trick with you. The metal tins I have scratch my painted surfaces something awful. So, when I put the tins back, I turned them over and put those self-sticky protective pads on them.



To the left of the stove is a wooden cart. Extraordinarily useful.

Front view:



Side view: (You can see this from the dining room)

I kept my cleaners on the bottom shelf of this unit--so I wouldn't forget to use them. That sounds bizarre, I know, but until I developed the habit of cleaning, I cleaned whenever the "urge" came over me--and I noticed--once the kids were old enough--that if I left them out in the open, the urge hit more frequently--and bonus--everyone used them!

I don't like the look of them there, though.

I as browsing Pinterest and saw cleaning bottles perched on a towel rack.

Brilliant!

So, I took one look at the towel bar on the door to my under the sink cabinet and realised it would do.

Ta da!

(I put the bar up for towels. Whenever I put a towel here to use again, I invariably forget about it and just get a new one from the drawer.)

The Cart's beauty shot:

Front:



Side:


(much better.)

Next on the list was washing the floor under the stove. Actually, it wasn't on the list: but it should have been!

Before: (obviously!)

After:



Looking at this, I thought I really should paint the baseboards. The pine was installed over the existing plaster: and nothing was placed on top. Until I decided to paint that top bit it the same colour of the walls I never knew how to deal with it. But I hadn't thought of that trick when I painted this kitchen in 2000 or 2001, so it is just weird. As well, the other rooms have hardwood, so unpainted baseboards kind of make sense. But they make no sense here: here they are just an ugly yellow racing strip around the room.

Lots left to do.