The only upper cabinet, in our whole kitchen, was a necessity to secure the microwave. It is a very large, deep cabinet. It is hung high, we have 9’ ceilings.
This cabinet’s recent clean out happened very quickly/easily with my husband on the ladder, handing things down to me and wiping shelves. I sorted and handed keepers back up to him.
Most of the items/removed went to a young family, a few were sold:
An ice shaver
8 of the very large canning jars
Several large and a lot of tiny Tupperware
Spice jars
With the upper shelf of this cabinet cleared, the punch bowl and cups moved, from the pantry, up there safely. If we did not have room, this is an item that would go. Present life, it is not used. It is hard to tell what future life might be. We have room, I love it, so far it stays.
The cabinet above the microwave now looks like this -
Here are close ups if you are really interested -
The counter under the microwave, holds the toaster. It is very rarely used, but it stays.
This counter, proportional onto the cabinet above it, is very large. It can easily become a clutter magnet.
When an area attracts clutter, in my opinion, there are two options: leave it empty or put purposeful things there.
I love collections. For me, they feel like “art”. I look for opportunities to put little collections in unexpected places. This area is cohesive. It is united by the color blue.
Rather than hanging things on the wall, which is awkward because of the deepness of the space, I opted to lean two trays. They can still be used as trays, but their main purpose is now “art”. I value practical things that double as art.
The heavy metal blue fish trivet is also “art”, but gives a very defined place to put things (in and out of the refrigerator and microwave).
The arrangement of all the items, and the addition of the little rush seat chair with the dog biscuits, says - I am special, do not make a mess here.
Note - All three of the crocks (above) are vintage Roseville. This is a famous (by Midwest standards) pottery that operated for about 60 years. The history is here -https://rosevillepottery.org/
