When Johnny moved into the house in 2006, he redid the floor, added the bar, and replaced the counter tops. He also replaced the stove/oven with a stainless steel smooth top one. In 2014, we used my income tax refund to get a new stainless steel refrigerator to replace the smaller white one Johnny had. Then for Christmas in 2016, Johnny's son had bought him a Ninja coffee bar...and once everyone moved out, I was finally able to start using it to make Johnny's coffee in the mornings for him to take to work.
In February of this year, our washing machine and dishwasher both quit working. Luckily, it was almost time for our income tax refund...which was pretty big this year (last year we will be able to claim my oldest!). We were able to get the matching washing machine to the dryer we had to replace in December 2015. Then we found a stainless steel dishwasher that we loved. It had two adjustable racks and a third silverware rack. It's amazing how much better it works than the old one did even before it broke! We also found an over-the-range microwave to replace the old ivory-colored vent hood. They were all on sale (and because of a shipping issue, we were able to get all three appliances for an additional 10% off as well). We were going to replace the stove/oven too, but we decided to wait on that for now since it's still stainless steel. My OCD really likes that all of our appliances match now. ;)
The dishwasher was such a pain in the @$$ to install. We would've had to pay extra to have Lowe's contract with someone else to install it. I tend to be a very frugal person who only buys things when they're on sale and I really don't like paying for things that I could [probably] do myself. :P Well...halfway through installing the dishwasher I started wishing for a professional. LOL. But...after removing some of the tiles in front of the dishwasher (because our new one is quite a bit taller than the old one was), we finally got it to fit in the space...and then it was pretty straightforward getting it hooked up.
My brother-in-law installed the over-the-range microwave for us while Johnny was at work. He was a lifesaver! After all the work just getting the dishwasher in, it was so nice to have someone take care of the microwave for us. And he did a great job! We're loving the new microwave so much! And it has a second shelf so we can actually microwave multiple things if we need to. ;)
We also had an Amazon refund for an iPhone that we'd bought for Johnny and had to return. That meant we had quite a bit of Amazon credit to spend. So we used that to get a few more items for the kitchen as well. We got a new stainless steel color 4-slice toaster, toaster oven, and can opener. We also got some other small items...an under the sink organizer shelf, new air-tight canisters, a salt and pepper grinder, a spoon rest with lid holder, a separate lid organizer for the pots and pans, over-the-door cabinet storage bins, a knife organizer to fit in the drawer, a sponge organizer for the sink, and a storage tin for Johnny's bags of QT coffee grounds...just a few random things like that. Oh and we got a new Copper Chef electric skillet (because ours had rusted when everyone else was here), electric griddle, and a large stock pot to make chili and soups.
We also got a white cabinet (only color they had) that is my favorite of all the stuff we got. We needed more space for canned goods (one thing I do NOT like about our kitchen is that there is no pantry!) and Johnny wanted something enclosed rather than a plain over-the-door rack. So I found this cabinet on Amazon that slides into the door's hinges and we LOVE it. I did buy an expansion set with two more shelves, but it fits canned goods perfectly!
Around this same time, I'd also stopped by my grandma's house when she was in the mood to start handing stuff down. ;) I got a pressure cooker as well as an old Kitchen Aid stand mixer and food processor (which I don't think she ever even used). We've LOVED having them. It has really expanded my cooking options and made things a lot quicker. :) I made roast, potatoes, and carrots in the pressure cooker in less than two hours from start to finish (60 minutes in the pressure cooker after searing the meat). It was delicious!
The first thing I did after everyone moved out was organize the junk drawers in the kitchen. It's insane how much stuff accumulates when you're just randomly throwing stuff in there. So I tried to get it a little more organized so it'll be easier to actually find stuff when you need it.
After we got all the new stuff, I was really excited to finish getting the kitchen organized. Since we had to empty the cabinet under the sink in order to hook up the dishwasher, it was a perfect time to actually organize everything under there. A lot of junk collected down there as well. I don't think we even knew what all was under there before. :P I installed an adjustable shelf to make everything more easily accessible and take advantage of vertical space.
I also used some stacking white baskets that I'd bought years ago to organize the girls' odds and ends in their rooms...and used them to store all the crap that we've accumulated from take-out food: plastic silverware, straws, condiments, etc. It drives me crazy to just have all that stuff thrown into a drawer or plastic bags in a cabinet and forgotten about. This way they're right there and we can grab what we need or immediately put it away without it just being randomly piled on the counter until a home is found for it. It isn't the most attractive storage system just sitting on the corner of the bar...but it's the best I could think of at the moment. ;)
Really the only thing I haven't gotten around to dealing with yet is all the stuff on the very top of the cabinets. It's all been there pretty much since Johnny moved in save for the sno-cone maker I bought back in 2002 that I threw up there. :P We never really use any of it and for the most part it just collects dust...but I don't know what else to do with it until Johnny decides what he wants to get rid of in the garage sale. ;)
BUT...long story short, here is the [mostly] finished kitchen organization!
