The Rodney Home Tour Pt 1 Kitchen

This is my ktichen!  This is the "hot spot" of the Rodney Home.
Its were I spend about 90% of my day.  My day often starts here and ends here!  In the morning my kitchen is a busy place, preparing breakfasts, packing lunches, unloading the dishwasher, and tidying up are among the list of things that get done in this room.  Then there is snack time, and tidying again.  Then comes lunch and supper preparations.  Not to mention the kitchen has also become a "play room" for the kids.  Tons of drawers to discover and adventures underneath the table.  Then ofcorse there is the homeowrk that gets done at the table, the discussions about what happened at school.  The ups & downs of my adolescent daughters life all get spilled out at that table. This kitchen  always puts a smile on my face each morning.  Everything in its place just waiting to be used for that day!  Although this kitchen has caught me in every mood there is, its consistant positive atmosphere quickly turns my mood around every time.  Here are some features of my kitchen that make things easier for me!

Dishwashing Station: I like for everything to be out and accessible but I want it to look good as well! I have always found dishwasher bottles to be tacky looking.  I tried putting the dishwashing liquid in dispensers, but the they would always get all mucked up.  I saw this wonderful idea on Martha Stewart.  Get a tall glass bottle and put your dishwashing liquid in there.  Its easy, and virtually mess free.
I love clear counders-so I bought a glass shelf to mount over my sink.  That way my dishwashing liquid, hand soap, lotion and sponge are all easily assesible and stay off my counter! Yay!



Shelves & Baskets

My kitchen is pretty small.  So maximizing space is essential.  I bought a stainless steel shelf and baskets to store my tea towels, dishwasher soap, compost bin bags ect. I absolutely hate cluttered counter tops.  So this easy shelf solution really was a God send for me! It was also very budget friendly.  One thing I have learned with decorating is that it doesn't have to cost a lot to make your home look good.  You just have to do some research and have a little creativity!  In between my baskets is a pretty apple covered recipe box given to me from a dear friend!  That is the "heartbeat" of my kitchen.  All my cooking secrets are held within that little box.  All the favorites of friends, family and kids lie in the tiny green box.  And although many people keep their  recipe boxes tightley locked up, this recipe box is welcome for all.  My motto  is "if its good, then share it, if its bad, then spare it"

Some other features of my kitchen are:

Drawer organizers: makes life easier when everything has a place
Tea Storage: I have lots of tea, so in the cubbard where all my mugs are I have a specially basket hang down shelf to store my tea containers
Wall Spice rack: once again frees counter space-and is easy to grab while cooking


My kitchen Draw Back
I have very deep bottom cupboards, its hard to keep things organized in one of my corner cupboards, but its not shaped well enough to incorporate a lazy susan!  Things are always getting messed up in there and I have no idea what to do?  The cupboard is filled with items like my blender, strainers, slow cooker & punch bowl. Cereal makes its way in there too. As creative as I am , I have yet figured out a way to make this cupboard "work" for me and my family!  I guess you can't have it all!! Any ideas?