Saturday, January 10, 2015

The Gift of Organization

Comfortable life in a small home requires organization and creative storage space.

My home, a small, 1896 bungalow (for now), was initially built as rental housing for miners (Cumberland being initially established as a coal mining town) but the then local undertakers team.

In around 1945 the kitchen was added on and, at some point between then and when I bought the house in 2011, it was mounted on proper foundations and the electrical wiring was updated from the original knob and tube wiring to current standards.

As I peel back the layers and make changes to the house, I find interesting things that constantly force me to think outside the box for the changes I would like to make.

The kitchen is one such place in the house. The cupboards are spacious and deep – but as they were when I moved in, not entirely practical for storage of dishes, utensils and so on.  The first modification I made happened after my Sister in Law made an Ikea trip and picked up some shelving inserts that made my cupboards MUCH more user-friendly.

Christmas this year saw me as the happy recipient of a couple of gift cards from Lee Valley Tools – which I promptly went on line and spent on some cupboard organizing magic.  The parcel arrived yesterday and this afternoon I installed the inserts and voila – organization under the kitchen sink is MINE!

The parts - sliders, basket and screws...

The project space - under the sink.
A pretty common under-the-sink view.

One installed

Both sides installed.  SO easy...
I should have bought a third one for under
the bathroom sink!

SO much more organized - and all the same stuff!!!

Left over parts - they hang on the sides and are for
holding cookie sheets


Good thing I have a space for cookie sheets!
The racks aren't fixed to the wall or to the cedar, but they
seem to balance OK and the cookie sheets fir perfectly.  

I think I will have to go on-line next time they (Lee Valley) have another free shipping event and order more magical organizing stuff!


With love across the waters…