In my spare time, I've been reflecting on two rooms in our house...The Kitchen and our Utility room. When you think about it, these are, without a doubt, the most used areas when it comes to keeping our household running smoothly.
Basically, everything starts in these two rooms. Cooking meals (which requires a lot of counter space)...laundry, cleaning and just keeping things organized. I have to laugh...😂 because, ironically, these two essential rooms are the smallest in our home. I'm not sure that men would even recognize how challenging it is to work in small areas. After all, most men rarely go into the laundry room and most do not cook.
This has me wondering, what can I do to make these two spaces more functional??
Honestly.....these two areas drive me CRAZY!
Since my word for the year is Peace, I know I'm going to have to work harder to find peace in these areas. Right now, they feel more like sources of frustration than calm, but perhaps with a little creativity, I can turn this around. Hey...we have lived in this house for 22 years and I guess that I have made do for this long......However... maybe there is some hope for completing a challenging task this year.
I think the main goal for me is to be able to walk in these two rooms and feel like they're working with me, and not against me. Achieving the PEACE that I am desiring here won't just make it easier on my day to day chores, it will set a calm tone in my spirit.
Time to brainstorm, plan, and try to make some changes that will bring a little more PEACE into these two everyday spaces!
I would love to hear your ideas ......what are your best tips for making small spaces more functional? I guess I need a "Chip and Joanna Gaines" ....AND.....about an extra Two hundred thousand dollars!! LOL.. 😂😀
I just happen to be one of those kind of people who prefers my cabinet tops to be free of stuff... No canisters, No toaster, No can opener, nothing sitting out. Only a vase of flowers or a basket of fruit.
It's okay to dream right?
** I do want to make note that I am very thankful to have a nice home to live in and I do know that there are many folks (California and North Carolina) who have loss everything. I am not making light of these issues. I am just making a blog post that my kiddos will look back on one day...(in the blog books I have printed) and will know what I was thinking on this day in time.
As you can tell....not much happening around here, except COLD weather.
Happy Thursday friends...Stay warm and keep your Love for the Lord shining bright.
Shug...
When we looked at this house, I thought the kitchen was big...and the actual space is a decent size, but the kitchen also houses my washer and dryer...which definitely cuts down on the amount of cabinet and counter space I could have. Like you said, we can still dream. :)
ReplyDeleteI love the floor, the white and stainless colors, and the plants in the window! I can't stand clutter on the counters either! This tall wood cabinet over by the kitchen chair...I wonder if it could be removed and that space could be used for some kind of pantry or shelving? I know it is a tiny space though. I am not good at this kind of thing, but I love it! I like your laundry room, but I can see it is too small. I am dying to know what you will do!!
ReplyDeleteOur washer and dryer are downstairs in the finished basement, so they're not in the way. Our kitchen is small compared to many modern homes, but Danny has organized it beautifully. We actually have our pots and pans hanging up on racks above one counter and the other over our movable kitchen island. Not having to store those in cabinets is such a space saver! May your new year be filled with peace, Shug!
ReplyDeleteProps for setting some fun (and possibly realistic) goals! Unfortunately, our 'laundry room' is part of the kitchen itself -- nestled in a niche behind bifold doors. The only time I/we grow testy are the rare occasions we're each trying to meal prep at the same time.
ReplyDeleteIf we were 10 years younger, I might push for a redo -- but there's several candidates ahead that need attention. Like Gilda said, "It's always something!"
Yes, it's absolutely okay to dream. I do it all the time. My house is on the smallish side and I would love to redo the entire house. I have visions going through my head all the time. I have to say that I love the look of your kitchen.
ReplyDeleteI think your small kitchen is beautiful but you really don't have a lot of counter space for prepping.. It looks a lot like mine...galley style. I would love to refinish our cabinets but the pocketbook says no..so we plug along and say we are thankful to have this home. Love your floor so much.
ReplyDeleteSue
I totally get it! My kitchen is smaller than yours and we've tried to brainstorm about how to make it work better. Bob's planning to make us new cabinets at some point, but there's no room to make things bigger. Your kitchen is really cute though!
ReplyDeleteyour kitchen is beautiful. I have never had a laundry room, and never lived in a house bigger than 900 sq feet, until this house which is 1350 sq feet the washer dryer are in the garage with all of bob's hoarded stuff that hasn't been used since we moved in here in 1989. I would like a smaller house with no kitchen and a charge card to get food delivered by Uber or smart dash. or better yet, enough money to live in a motel on Ormond beach which only has a coffee pot, microwave and small fridge tiny sink. go out the front door onto the beach and the back door where the cars are and walk over 5 rooms and there are washers and dryers that I don't own...
ReplyDeleteall the beautiful kitchens I see here today and they are gorgeous, I looked at the open shelves and thought who would get up there to wipe the greasy dirt off all those beautiful thing.
Oh Shug, I love what you said at the end being thankful to even have a home to live in, as you may have heard there are fires in So Cal right now, and thousands have been evacuated, lost their homes, and some have died. It's so scary, and please say a prayer for containment. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou know, your kitchen is charming, and I smiled cause I have a very small kitchen too. And when you said you don't really like stuff on the countertops, I thought, "that's me!." And honestly, that's one way to make our kitchens look bigger. The more clutter on the countertops, the smaller the kitchen seems. I hope you show us some of the ways you made your kitchen and laundry room more functional when you get finished with the project. It's a good project to do in the new year.
~Sheri
I live in a small house with a compact kitchen. I don’t mind small spaces, but everything must always be organized and uncluttered. My ideal kitchen is a small, beautifully decorated area. I believe small kitchens can be very functional. Having a larger counter space just means more cleaning, and being the practical person I am, I don’t throw big parties, so I don’t need a lot of room in the kitchen. Plus, when my sons, step-daughter, or friends come over, it feels cozy! It's Mom's kitchen!
ReplyDeleteI think your kitchen is nice, and I love the flooring. My laundry room is at the back of the house, and you have to walk through it to get to the garage, which I dislike. At first, I liked the setup. The laundry room is small, but we have a stacked washer and dryer which is beginning to be hard for my lower back - Ideally, I would love to have an all-in-one washer and dryer. They have a large capacity, but honestly, I don't need that much capacity. While it is convenient for washing sleeping bags and comforters, I wouldn’t mind going to a laundromat for those items. My husband wanted the stacked unit, but since I do most of the laundry, I believe my dream setup would be more efficient for me. But it isn't going to happen, and I must just live with it and I'm okay with it as long as I don't spend any time on Pinterest!