January and The Kitchen

This is my kitchen

In my 1920s house

Basically, there isn't much more than what is shown in this photo

In the 20s, kitchens were food factories

It wasn't a place to entertain or even socialize

And when Linderhof was built,

it was meant to be the domaine of the paid cook

And even though I love to cook,

my small kitchen really suits me

for I'm not a social or an entertaining cook

I like to cook

Alone!

Then in the dining room or breakfast room, have people enjoy

the delectables which came out of the kitchen!

Every January, I do a closet, cabinet and drawer clean of the whole house

Christmas is often not good for my organization

Plus cleaning sometimes in December is spit and polish

as one find time or just before company comes.

The dreary January days are perfect for going through everything

And then coming back and really cleaning.

Not quite as thorough as the Spring or Fall clean

For it's really more about the inside of closets, cabinets and drawers!

But this year, I decided that my kitchen cupboards needed a redo

Sadly, I don't have any before!

Last weekend, I took EVERYTHING out of the cabinets

It was ALL OVER the countertops and island

It looks as if a TJ Maxx had exploded in my kitchen!

Then slowly, I went cabinet by cabinet, replacing the shelf paper

And adding plastic lace to the shelf edge

And put back what I felt like I used

Where I thought I would use it!

(Which wasn't necessarily in the same place it came out of --

which confuses Husband Jim some . . .

but it's good to give them puzzlements ...sometimes!)

And when I was finished I was quite proud of my work!

My main cabinets where I keep those items I use most often

The cabinets on the other side of the kitchen

The double door cabinet

which now houses all of my Johnson Brothers Indies

on the bottom two shelves

It's my breakfast dishes

and my luncheon dishes

The top shelf holds some Blue Room plates

(which I often use when I have company for lunch and don't want to do dishes by hand!)

The corner cabinet next to the double cabinet.

Bottom shelf holds my bone china Spode Camilla tea set

(and now I have a teapot to match!)

Middle shelf holds a Wedgwood pottery Asiatic Pheasant tea set

And the top holds blue and white milk pitchers

The cabinet to the left of the sink

holds the glasses that we use the most

I've had them "forever" and not broken a one

They're French and plain and are wonderful

And next to them juice glasses

To the right of the sink:

My blue and white breakfast for one set on the bottom and middle shelf

(An estate sale find for "nothing" because the estate sale company thought it was a bunch of mismatched china!   I immediately realized what it was and was so excited)

The top shelf holds some German cake plates that matches a big German cake plate that is stored elsewhere!)

The corner cupboard

Bottom shelf holds my English mixing bowls

The middle shelf holds my mother's covered cake plate

And the top holds my Spode punch cups

The little cabinet next to the corner one

Bottom shelf holds smaller French glasses

(I had no cabinet that would hold them all!)

Middle shelf holds my breakfast things -- egg cups, egg coddlers)

Top shelf holds more cake plates -- these are French and are blue and white with fruit on them and I have a sandwich plate and a round cake plate that match.

A couple of days later, I finished the "outside" of the cabinets,

I scrubbed all the cabinets, washed all the glass doors, wiped down backsplash, washed off light fixtures

So the kitchen shone . . . both inside and now out!

And there's always something nice about the smell of clean!

The island is a piece of marble over 100 years old from the kitchen

of the place where I worked for 30 years.    When it closed, I was able to get this piece of marble

that had seen many biscuits and breads made on it's surface.

The refrigerator, cookbooks and the cabinet next to it that holds most of my baking pans

and items too deep to go into regular cabinets.

The other side of the kitchen where the coffeepot, tea kettle, toaster and mixer reside.

The island shelves hold small bowls which I often use when I cook,

teapots (the Utilitarian ones so that they're hand if I want to make a pot of tea)

and the bottom shelf holds pitchers for when I want my tea cold!

It was nice on Tuesday, to mop the kitchen floor and know I was done . .  .

At least for a year!

Will it stay this way?

Who knows.

What will happen to the things that I found non-essential?

Who knows,.

But I do know that I will not get rid of them until at least January 2020

In case there is something important there that I truly need!