My Kitchen: Simple, Frugal, Functional

I thought I'd give you all a tour of my kitchen. It's a pretty typical apartment kitchen- not very large, with an open bar to the living room and dining room. But honestly? I prefer this size because I joke that from the center I can "work the room" like I'm in a control center. Two steps in any direction, or a quick turn on my heel, and I can reach my oven/stove/microwave, sink, fridge, or pantry. I can easily clean as I go along, since I'm forced to if I want to maintain order and space availability. There isn't the option of just piling things on an island, or a stretch of counter- it's necessary to rinse, clean, and dishwasher load as I'm cooking, which makes clean up a snap. Usually the only clean up when I'm done cooking is the dinner dishes and whatever pots I used :)

This is the view from the corner of the bar, standing in the living room.

This is the view standing in the entrance of the kitchen. That skinny door is our pantry, and the trash can lives there too.

I've said it before, but I adore my spice rack. It's actually a corner shelf for a bathtub, and it works like a charm. I dislike spice storage systems that require you to use specific bottles that fit into specific holders. I also dislike how small generic spice holders usually are- I think this holds somewhere around 35-40 spice bottles. It was under $20 (far cheaper than any of the dinky wooden spice racks I priced at several stores) and it was easy to bolt to the wall on the side.

I love these canisters. They were purchased piece by piece at 3 different thrift stores, and all together they total less than $15. They are all sturdy ceramic, with good clasps. From left to right I have brown sugar, turbinado (raw) sugar, wheat gluten, baking powder, cornmeal, wheat flour, and sugar. This set up makes baking and cooking so much easier than fussing with bags and jars. On the far right are my two wooden cutting boards- the one on the bottom was my Great Granny's, the small one on top I got from Target. I use the small one for chopping onions and garlic, because even with vinegar rinses the wood can hold on to strong smells so it's just easier to work separately.

This is a close up of the top picture on the back wall. It's actually a gift bag that I purchased for $1. I like how quirky it is. Bobby says it reminds him of Russian religious icons. The frame was given to me.

The picture below it is a postcard I got from PETA, of cows congregating around an angel statue. I purchased the frame for $1, and since it wasn't made to hang up I used a bit of yarn and a tack to hang it.

On top of the fridge are jars of couscous and pasta, as well as any crackers we might have on hand. I've had these baskets for 5 years now, and they were $2 and $4 respectively. Since I'm short, I don't mind blocking the cupboards above the fridge because this is a more practical and accessible storage solution.

The inside of the cupboard to the bottom left of the stove. This is every single pot and pan I own, along with a large bowl in the background and my colander nested inside it. I cook a lot, but I've never needed anything more than these pots. The one on the very top is non-stick, but everything else is stainless steel, purchased secondhand or given to me. Oh, and that white shelf? It's awesome. It keeps me from having to nest every pot and pan into a teetering tower of mess and chaos.

The cupboard to the bottom right of my stove. This is all of my casserole/baking dishes/muffin tins, with the exception of two cookie sheets in another cupboard. Again, another white shelf makes the cupboard far more functional. The two Pyrex dishes on the bottom nesting together get the most use, and it's easy to slide them in and out instead of having to dig them out from under a pile of their friends.

To the right of the stove- all of the cooking knives, olive oil bottle with a drizzle top, and all cooking utensils.

This is the baking/tea cupboard, to the left of the microwave. Food processor and measuring cups/spoons on bottom, various baking items middle (with another handy white shelf), and tins/boxes of tea on top.

This is the view from the back wall of the kitchen, looking out into the dining room. That shelf you see in the background holds cookbooks and 4 mixing bowls nested together. Oh, and we use all cloth dish rags and napkins, which you can see draped over the sink. The yellow is for counters, the blue is for dishes (I like to keep them separate, what can I say :)

So that's it! On a final note, I used to have about double the amount of pots, pans, utensils, and kitchen gadgets that I have now. Then one day I realized how redundant most of them were, culled them out, and ever since I'm pretty much anti-gadget. It makes kitchen organizing so much easier, and it saves a ton of money too. I don't like clutter and superfluous decorations, but I still think that for how streamlined and small our kitchen is (and how little money was spent on it) it's functional without looking too sterile. If there was a window in this kitchen it would be just about perfect :)