Saturday, March 29, 2008

counter space

If there is one thing you should know about me, it is that I cannot abide cluttered counters. We have a small house with limited counter space so I like to keep them cclean and clear but this week things got a little out of control. So today, I awoke with resolve in my heart and this is what I cleaned off the counters:

1) Open bag of Twizzlers cherry nips that I decanted into a candy jar
2) Unopened stick of Gilette deodorant - from when I unloaded the groceries on Tuesday
3) Bag of red delicious apples
4) Box of Raisin Bran that I've been waiting for Tom to put away
5) Empty egg carton that needs to go to the people from whom we buy our eggs
6) Bag of tomatoes - I can never remember - should I store tomatoes in the fridge?
7) Bag of moldy steak rolls - what a disappointment!! I chucked them out the back door for the birdies
8) Container of biscotti that my sister made me for Christmas - does biscotti go bad?
9) Bowl of onions and garlic - just like Rachael Ray
10) Two tortillas wrapped in tin foil
11) Bag of rice too big to fit in the cupboard right now - I'm going to start making real rice instead of minute rice!!
12) Empty iced tea pitcher - I was waiting for Tom to make the tea.....it will be a long wait
13) Empty ice cube tray - no room in the freezer for it
14)Gma Bergman's bowl - she sent home spaghetti when I was laid up and we've yet to return it. I need to send it back with something yummy in it.
15) Two bananas rapidly growing brown - maybe I can make Gma some banana bread?
16) Extra bag of bread that I got out to thaw
17) Open box of Entenmanns Popems that I cleverly hid from my husband by putting the loaf of bread on top of the box
18) Tray of fresh baked cookies that I disguised with a dish towel so he won't eat them all at one sitting
19) Empty applesauce jar that really should go to recycling but will most likely end up in the garbage - don't judge me, we all do it!
20) Glass dish that I made baked ziti in last week and had to wash out by hand since it won't fit correctly in the dishwasher

This is not even counting all the things that are permanent fixtures on the counters ie: toaster, mixer, bread box, mug tree etc.

I put everything away in its proper place and my kitchen once again looks neat and tidy.

What is on your counters?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

In my dream life, my counters would be completely empty. Instead, we always have a basket of fruit, napkins, and other assorted crap on the main counter. Plus, there's another counter that my husband junks up and I have not been able to force him to clean up his act.

Anonymous said...

I, too, have a small house with limited counter space. I would LOVE to have a toaster oven- heating up the regular oven for one person always seems like such a waste- but I have no room.
What I do have room for- microwave, toaster, basket of onions and yams, cutting boards (stored vertically), salt, pepper, some vitamins, and the small pile of dirty dishes every day (no dishwasher, so all are done by hand). That's all that will fit!

Anonymous said...

on my counter: papertowel holder, dispenser box of vitamin packets, a pretty platter holding my bread and 2 tangelos, 2 orchids, sugar in a pyrex lab container that jen got me. i keep my tomatoes in the fridge if i'm not going to use them in a week.
also, if you have bananas turning brown, you can put them in the freezer (they will go all black) until you have enough time or nanners to make the banana bread. my friend was so perplexed as to why he found brown frozen bananas in my and SIL's freezers until i explained it to him
*****sanna

Anonymous said...

I have it on expert advice that you should NEVER put tomatoes in the frig. (My sister worked for the CA Tomato Board)

I too have a very small house and I swear the man who designed the cabinets never has to use them. So let's see, I have 3 tea glasses I swiped from my mom's house that I need to return. A cutting board, Coffee maker, Usual flour/sugar/coffee/tea decanters, cat food cans (because I don't have a cabinet to put them in!!) extra cat food bowls, because when I house sit, my dad doesn't wash the dirty one and re-use it, toaster, sugar bowl, decorative pitcher.

I suppose I'd have more room, If I cleared the decorative things away and only put out the essential items, but I don't have any place to stick the decorative things, because I have microscopic counters!!!!!!!

Robbie

Anonymous said...

bowl of grapefruits, kitchenaid mixer, blender, toaster oven, teapot and knife block. There's also usually a load of library books perched precariously on the edge of the counter scrap that no one uses for food preparation...

Anonymous said...

oh, there's also a teacup & saucer I bought in Ireland. I leave it out because it's so pretty.