Kitchen Photos

Here are some pics based on the post written below about organizing kitchen counters.
Enjoy!!

This is the area to the left of the basement door.
I bought a country style garbage bin.
Our calendar is on wall and is where I record family members birthdays
including cousins as we exchange gifts with the cousins/grandparents, etc.
Also, dr. appts tend to get penciled in here if not in my daytimer.
I keep a jar of pens and pencils on here as well as something seasonal and pretty.
This month I have a hurricane globe with berry winter ring around it and a
hacienda candle inside.
For the holiday season, I displayed gold pinecones in the globe.
The room in back of pic is our living room.

This is my microwave area.
Cookbooks and mailholder on top along with a ceramic teapot, a gift from my mom.
Door to basement (laundry, office, playroom, pantry, tool area, and Wii area) is to left
The little room in back to right is our half bath. The door you see is the coat closet and where I store some cleaning supplies, vacuum parts, etc.

This pic shows the least fave part of my kitchen.
Note the garage door to left. This is our main entrance as we rarely use the front door.
We go in the house via the garage due to shoes needing to be kept off.
That is my house rule. Shoes come off at the door.
The bench is one we picked up to match the microwave cabinet.
As you can see, I need to go back out tonite for ministry duties
which is why my purse is still on the bench!
All winter I keep a basket of extra mittens, gloves, fleece headbands on it, too!
We can just grab and go.
Note the 2 bulletin boards: top is Courtney's my 15 year old with her class schedule.
bottom one is Claire's my 10 year old with school schedule, drama/dance ministry schedule
and focus rehearsal schedule. I type up the school schedule to include her specials like art, computer lab, music, gym plus her 2 extracurricular activities. This works for us!
If a field trip permission slip comes home, I tack it up so don't forget.
Anything important regarding school or church gets put on the bulletin boards.
The room in background is a part of our family room.

The fridge and crazy schedule with a shopping pad and pretty decorative magnets.
The calendar is a write on-wipe off board and I color code if for each person.
Red is Claire, Blue is Courtney, Black is Dave and I or family stuff.
I have had this since my oldest was 2 and was taking KinderMusic classes!
It sure helps us to stay organized and know what each person has for the day/week/month.

My stove and tiny counter space. I used to keep the toaster here but we use it more now
so I prefer it on the longer counter.
This is the perfect counter to use the veggie steamer on, if the other counter is busy.
I usually have a wicker basket of apples or pears, oranges, but today it is empty so stored in cupboard above the stove. Dave has a banana every a.m. so I need to keep them stocked
on the banana stand. The fresh garlic is in small bowl.
Note my tea kettle: it keeps with the country theme of the house and is in the
Camping Style of other items. I don't bring it camping with us tho!

The sink (single) is between this and the pic below.
This is my hot drinks area.
Dave and I have brewed coffee every a.m. and I even make it sometimes in the afternoons
since I only teach part time and by 3 pm I am usually craving a cup,
especially in the non summer months!
Next to the coffeemaker is the crock or sugar, a tin of biscotti, splenda, coffee scoop
and the glass canister is full of various herbal teas.
My fave is the African Honeybush tea.
Dave's fave is English Breakfast Tea.
We drink tea once in awhile in the evenings if it is decaf.

This is the part of my kitchen that I have re-arranged the most.
This current arrangement is my favorite thus far.
Since Dave and I both work outside the home, we have to have quick breakfasts'.
Therefore, the toaster is used almost every day of the week, especially during school.
The circular holder for knives, etc. is very convenient.
I used to keep my veggie steamer in that corner and before that, cookbooks.
I now keep the steamer in cupboard below and just bring it out when in use.
Keeps a clearer, neater counter.
The open space is where I keep the dishrack when air drying dishes.

This part of the counter is where I typically put the crockpot if using
and where I bake cookies, breads, brownies, etc.
Note the crock (ceramic) of baking utensils.
Cooking utensils are kept in a drawer near stove.
That is banana bread I baked on Sat sitting on the cutting board.
The country style paper towel holder. Featuring a heart for the month's theme.
The tin decorative cup is from a trip I chaperoned when my oldest was in 4th grade.
It is from the Farmers Museum in Cooperstown, NY.
The other 2 plaques are ones I have had for years.
The tiny one has my fave Bible verse on it: Proverbs 3: 5-6

This is the part of the counter where I keep important papers of the day until they're filed.
The wicker basket hold paper napkins. Yeah, it is low. Will shop tomorrow for those!
The wooden recipe box holds all my fave recipes.
The glass jar is vintage from a store in Vermont and I keep our straws in it.
The small plaque above napkins says "Thou Shalt Not Whine"...very important!
I have 2 pics of my children displayed. One of Courtney last summer.
One of the girls in 2004 on a camping trip in ADKs.
My infamous blue tin star.
Simple decorations work best for my life-style.

This is the end of the counters, before heading into dining room or living room.
I bought the little corner curio from a country magazine.
It was very inexpensive. I think I only paid about $25.00 for it!
Since we are campers, I have collected much of the blue tinwear.
I use the bowl for fake lemons.
The small coffee pot is just a decoration.
The angel is from my friend, Erin.
The little blue ceramic bowl is a decorative one from one of my wedding showers.
The wicker basket holds wooden Easter eggs that I keep up most of spring and summer.
The blue star tile was made by my youngest when she was a 4 year old and in Our Savior's Lutheran Prek class(Albany, NY)
It is a special gift.
The sign above lists the 10 commandments in country style lingo.

As you can see, having an island or a small table would be just about impossible in this kitchen lay-out. IF we didn't own a microwave/cupboard, we could fit a kitchen table across from the stove. My neighbors do that. But...I like the open space as we go from kitchen to family room and back to living room or upstairs alot! I change the rug as the seasons change, typically.

I hope you have enjoyed this stroll around my kitchen!
Now, what are your tips on organizing counters? Please feel free to share.