There is one thing I really hate about my kitchen – the deep, dark bottom cabinets. I feel like there is likely a creature living in the back corners — like a bridge troll, only for 1970s era kitchen cabinets. The corner cabinets are the worst. I can’t even reach the back. When we moved in, I tried to roll the shelf liner to the edges so I could cut it to fit and I gave up on those corner cabinets. I just rolled the liner out and cut it haphazardly with the scissors.
One thing I’ve done to try to combat the deep abyss is using milk crates as faux-drawers in the lower cabinets. I learned this trick from my sister and it is kind of brilliant.
In the green crate, is all of our small sized plastic food storage. The blue crate has all the large sized plastic food storage. It’s a little hard to tell (1970s kitchen is dark as fuck!) but the top right area has a clear cambro (giant, commercial food storage bin) and this is where the water bottle/tumbler storage started.
I don’t know who fed the tumblers chicken after midnight, but they… Multiplied. A promotional water bottle here, a school spirit one there. I got an insulated cup from both my bookkeeper AND the hospital when we toured the labor and delivery floor. I found these awesome ones at Starbucks while on a business trip that look like paper Starbucks cups but are reusable plastic ones. These were cooler in theory than application because several have been accidentally thrown away at the restaurant when Colin takes his coffee with him. I pick up water bottles at yard sales sometimes and, well, we ended up with a lot. Too many, really.
But out of sight, out of mind. I really had no idea how bad it was until I came home from a trip to the grocery store with two grocery bags full of MOAR TUMBLRZ. My husband guffawed and flung the cabinets open, “Oh, yes. We really do need more tumblers!” But these were good insulated cups + travel coffee cups and they were in clearance, marked down from $7-9/each to $1.50-2!
He pulled our collection all out on the counters and then left them there for me to deal with. I threw away the tumblers that were missing lids (cabinet troll must’ve eaten them) and that were ridiculously hard to clean. I threw out the ones with straws that were either not removable or too skinny to ever get cleaned properly. I threw out that one aluminum one that has had a broken spout ever since I can remember and the paint is peeling on the sides.
This is what we have left (not counting the five that are dutifully in service elsewhere in the house, diaper bag, car and at school with Harrison).
It still feels like… A lot of water bottles. But I feel mostly okay with what we have left.
I will, however, refrain from picking up more tumblers at the store, even if they’re a good deal.
Bonus:
Here’s a picture of Charlie napping on his brother’s lambskin, under his brother’s blanket.
Can’t believe this little homie is almost two months old.
