Plans to start to sort out the house - Kitchen and Pantry and cleaning

Trying to Get Organised

Here we go again attempt number ??? The kitchen is the main workroom of the home and so therefore it makes sense that this is the first room that is tackled as disorganisation here greatly affects the rest of the house. It is going to take more than a good couple of days as I also need to reorganise the items in there as well and get the items I use more regularly into the cupboards and those other items into organised boxes in the dining room (on top of my fridges).   For instance I have a lot of different cookie cutters and they need to be organised into one box and also a lot of icing equipment and moulds which needs to go into another, more so that I can find things easily but it will also keep items nice and clean if crated and also to keep them all together.

The Laundry and Ironing Area of the kitchen

Unfortunately at the moment because my kitchen is a small galley kitchen I do not have the luxury of a separate utility room which I could sorely do with.  Therefore, I also have to iron in the kitchen which I currently cannot do due to a lack of an iron.  In the meantime however, I have bought a new ironing board cover (in the future I will make these myself) and keep a couple to hand.  My ironing board is wider and longer than most models and it came from Dunhelm in the first place.  

As I have said (when I initially started to write this post) My iron had also given out and so I have since invested in a new steam generator iron one which was picked up cheaply from B & M.  Will see how it works and if I am not harry chuffed with it then it can be kept as a spare and I will have another look around.  My other expensive one was fantastic so it has a lot to live up to.

I have also seen a small ironing board which will be ideal for my crafting projects in Lakeland.  This will be especially beneficial in ironing seams open when making garments or indeed with the patchwork, and as I have plans to use the back bedroom more for my crafting (once I can get the table in there) this will fit in and be organised nicely. 

I am also intent on getting one of their clothes driers/airers in due course as well.  I may have to wait for that though.

New Methods and Routines of Cleaning 

In the meantime I have been reading some blogs on different ways of cleaning some of which I am keen to incorporate into my cleaning routine.  More on that later on.  As I am a creature of habit, I also need to organise a routine for household duties that fits in with me and what I am having to do.  That may take some doing but I am keen to review this and get it sorted and easier to do.  That will be a work in progress though and will change as I get each room sorted.  Hopefully to the point where it will just be a straight run through the house.

Outlining a Plan of Action

So if I am going in where Angel's fear to tread then I might as well make a job of it, totally strip the kitchen and the pantry out and get it where I want it, which includes decorating.  Will just take it as it comes to start with.  In the first instance though it will be the deep clean and then the decorating even though I have the paint etc to hand.

Once the kitchen has been initially sorted, the next place to sort out will be the pantry.  This has also got severely out of order and it also needs decorating.  In reality this room will be decorated before the kitchen is.  I can then get the shelving sorted and the shelf covering and trims put on.  I have a green polka dot vinyl with which to cover the shelves.  I might add some lace trim to the shelves as well.  Will see on that as I quite fancy a vintage look for the pantry as well as the understairs cubby and also the fireside cupboards.  I have some vintage crochet lace that is partially damaged that could be used here. I thought that the vinyl would be easier to keep the pantry clean. I am therefore gradually assembling all the items together in readiness to start very shortly.

I also want to get my Moira crocks into use holding different flours, sugars etc.  my bulk base ingredients.  I have a lot of the deep stone storage containers already having been collecting for sometime.  The latest largest one being a bread crock for £9. The theme for my kitchen is very much rustic country kitchen.

Cleaning Wooden Items

My pine knife block got into a bit of a state and so I stripped it down by using Barkeepers friend, mixing it into a paste and leaving it overnight.  It has cleaned up a treat and I just need to oil it to get it back to where it was.  I just use olive oil in maintaining my wooden items in the kitchen particularly my wooden boards such as the bread board and the carving board.

I did a couple of years ago buy three or four bottle carriers from Kilner.  They have been in the shed and as a result got damp and instead of pale wood they have gone black.  I have scrubbed them vigorously with Bar Keepers friend which is very good for getting stains out of wood as well as cleaning lots of other things.  Putting it on a thick paste and scrubbing it in with a nail brush and it has got rid of the black and brought them back to what they were.  Bar Keepers friend I understand is used to get stains out of furniture that has been damaged, especially if a ring goes black on a pale piece of furniture.  I use this a lot for cleaning brass and copper, but it is vey good generally.

Another thing that I find extremely useful is the Oxy-Clean powder which is predominantly used for soaking away stains in a soaking bucket to get out severe stains.  My OH is messy and spills things on his clothing and does not tell me, so in an effort to save his clothing  I use this in the washing machine in any event.  I have had a pop at him about this but he forgets to tell me so have found this the best option all the way round. Sometimes you just have to work around things that are just not going to change, despite reminders and prompts. I have also used it to remove stains from other items including crockery.  Mine is sourced from Wilkinsons at £2 a large tub (in their laundry area).

Therefore the only way is to get stuck in and keep revising things as I go along.  At least I have an outline plan now to start off with.

Catch you soon.

Pattypan

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