Tackle It Tuesday/Kitchen Revamp

Thank you for all the grocery money saving ideas, and to those of you who are in the same boat I am in, I am jumping ship!! I tackled my frig and freezer and I could not believe the waste. I have before and after pictures, but I am to embarrassed to show them so I will show you the "in between" picture... Sparkly clean. (I turned the light off because of the glare) I took out all the drawers and all the shelves on the door that collect the gooey jelly and ketchup. My freezer got the same treatment. How many of you have side by sides? I really do not like them. My freezer is deep, but almost too deep. It is very difficult to get in it. I will not complain past saying that though because I really LOVE the water and ice in the door and you can not have one without the other.

I did some more re-organizing. I showed you my new baking center on Sunday, but I added my hand mixer, pastry cutter (I have one, yes, but I don't know what to do with it), and my cook books. I store my Home Management Binder on an easel just below this cupboard, so when I made Banana Bread today, I could prop my cookbook on the same easel. It worked out very well. I really enjoyed my time baking today as everything was in reach. I have to trick myself...just like with the towel over the sink of dishes, I created a baking center to make me WANT to bake and cook more from scratch. Just below this counter, in the corner you see, is a long narrow cupboard, perfect for cookie sheets. I took everything out and wiped it down and re-organized it. I actually found my griddle....I thought it was still packed downstairs...just in time for lunch. This cut my lunch prep time in half!Next to that cupboard, is a nice cabinet with pull out drawers where I keep all my baking pans. This also got a re-organizing and swipe down. I store my silverware, dish towels, and paper products in the drawers next to this cupboard.

My pots and pans drawers got a swipe too. I store these right next to my stove/oven for easy access. Sweet Hubby bought me a gorgeous set of pots and pans for Mother's Day. Linda told me she explained to her husband, early on, that if he ever bought her a household appliance or cleaning/cooking item for a gift she would...(I don't think I can repeat it here)I believe she said she would cause some kind of bodily harm! I, on the other hand, ASK for these things at gift time...not just from Sweet Hubby, but my mother was told my birthday request...a handy dandy label maker and the new Reynolds Wrap freezer bag system. Did I ever show you my Mother's Day present from a couple of years ago? I just love it! It sits on my counter next to my stove. It spins and holds some of the most wonderful spices. Plus Sweet Hubby picked it out. (I picked out the pots and pans) I have NO excuse not to scratch cook!

Cheryl, in her series "The Less Than Perfect Kitchen" (you can find it on her sidebar), has a beverage center. I don't think I have one of those, but I do have a portion of counter space where I keep my coffee pot and make my ice tea. The ice tea maker is stored when not in use. I keep all my coffee/tea cups just above the coffee pot, along with the coffee, creamer and splenda. I LOVE Coffee!!!! (I do drink the 1/2 caff brewed and the decaff single serve) I store my ice tea maker, bread machine, toaster, crock pot and blenders, along with bulk paper products in the back closet just off the kitchen. I plan to create a bulk food pantry on the other side of this closet where I now keep my vacuum cleaner.I also cleaned out the lazy susan where I store my serving bowls. I have never quite known what to use this for, so it holds this mismatched collection of bowls and colanders. I have a magnetic fill in calender on my frig and thought it would be perfect for my menu planning. All the blanks are not filled in yet, as it is a work in progress. I will go shopping on Wednesday. When the week is over you rip off the sheet and there is a fresh one underneath. There is a space for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Dessert. This should help the grocery bill!! I told my husband about the USDA chart and he was shocked...not at the $100 I said I was over on the liberal side, but at what I thought my weekly total was. He told me to have a look at it. I looked at the ledger and found I was 200 dollars over...I had not counted eating out, and had forgot a Schwans order. It is really sinful. Like I said...I am getting out of that boat!

Several other bloggers are showing their kitchen/baking set ups also. Amanda showed hers...this young lady is amazing. Niki's is wonderfully organized and she makes everything look so easy! Elizabeth is sharing her very organized baking center also, and Ann is promising to show her kitchen in the next week. Does your kitchen need a revamp?? Cheryl has a great post to help you plan it all out and consider things we may never consider when setting up our kitchens. It is the first post you will want to look at in Cheryl's series, The Less Than Perfect Kitchen, but it is toward the bottom of the list. Trust me, start here! Would anyone else like to give a tour of how you set up your kitchen? Let me know so I can visit!