Saturday, January 30, 2010

Before and After: Kitchen Makeover.

I used to be one of those super organized people. Having kids ruined that. I aspire to get back to my former neat and tidy self one day. Until then, I just do my best. Sometimes my best sucks, and I need an intervention. Hence my friend Jennifer stepping in and gently suggesting we take today and do a kitchen makeover. For the sake of full disclosure, I will say that the Before picture was taken after breakfast, and the dishwasher needed to be unloaded and reloaded, the counters wiped down...and I needed more coffee.
Jennifer was not kidding around. She set up 4 piles for me. Toss, Give Away, Keep, and Recycle. Cameron even got in on the action (though truth be told, she mostly just took objects from one basket and put them in the other ones). As Jennifer organized cupboards and tossed objects in the garbage, I cleaned and sorted. We strategized about how to keep the counters clear. Things we use a lot got permission to remain on the counter (coffee maker, toaster, bowl of snacks). Things we do not use on a daily basis were put away. We threw out two garbage bags worth of stuff. It was determined that I needed a paper towel holder I could mount on the wall, a smaller dish drying rack, and a way to mount the microwave cord under the counter.
With the three of us ladies hard at work, it actually wasn't all that painful. A little bit of elbow grease and encouragement, a quick trip to Storage Solutions and then a glass of wine to celebrate. It takes a really great friend to come into your home and clean your kitchen. We won't even go into the ten loads of laundry she did for me. Apparently tonight we are going to tackle my bedroom dresser!
As you can see, the After is incredible. I feel so much lighter on my feet now that I can see my kitchen counter. My head is clear and as I look around the rest of my house, I feel like I can move room by room and clear out the clutter. I may not be able to control much, but at least I can make my world a little more organized.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:38 p.m.

    Wow. Kuddos to you, Kat for being open to this. And what a good pal you have in that Jennifer. I am sure Cam enjoyed it all.

    MB/OM

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  2. Nice job, ladies!! It looks amazing.

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  3. I love how you went from dishevelled-with-coffee-mug to prim-with-wine-glass. Nice touch!

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