{Day 13: Lovely Kitchen Storage}

As midnight approached on day 13--and I hadn't written anything--I decided that it was Just. One. Day. In fact, I proclaimed that it had been skipped, but not really missed, in my Day 14 post "Lovely Little Days". 

Yet somehow not completing it felt wrong.  And, as it turns out, I still have more to say about creating lovely little spaces in the kitchen.

For example, kitchen tool storage.

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Isn't this a lovely idea? I found it today via Pinterest.

I like keeping my kitchen tools on the counter. It's handy for cooking, and it can be very pretty.

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I would have been perfectly happy to use a crock like one of these from Pottery Barn--but at $24 to $39 a piece, it was not within my budget.

My Kitchen

So I got creative with what I did have, and what I wasn't already using. Specifically my grandma's antique silver pitcher. Besides being in my budget (free) and having sentimental value, it also creates a look that is unique. 

The smaller and/or bulkier tools (peelers, can opener, measuring cups & spoons, etc.) are in a nearby drawer.

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The tools are kind of just floating around in the drawer right now, but I really like the idea of these drawer dividers, which I also found via Pinterest today.

Five tools that every kitchen should have (but not everyone thinks about):

1) Good ice cream scoop
We have a great one for cookie dough but it's really too small for ice cream. My Sweetest Day gift to Phil this weekend is going to be a better scoop; it's just a little gift but it's fun to celebrate the smaller holidays, too.

2) Extra measuring cups & spoons
I don't cook and bake that much but I always end up needing more than just one of a certain-sized measuring cup or measuring spoon. Even better than having more than one set is that one of my measuring cups is a Pyrex. For measuring spoons, I have two sets. Some heart-shaped spoons on a ring that baby Bela picked out on a grocery trip a long time ago, The other set is from one of my oldest and dearest friends. It is the absolute coolest because it's magnetic! The spoons nest inside each other. Brilliant!

3) Scissors
It makes it so much easier to open just about anything (cocoa packets, bags of rice, frozen veggie packages) plus you can easily cut off Box Tops for Education to save for your school.

4) A Spatula
For scraping. 

5) A Wooden Spoon
For stirring. 

One holiday season I worked at Williams-Sonoma so I KNOW that there are many, many more tools you could buy for your kitchen, and I think the other cook in my household would definitely add a few tools to this list (meat tenderizer, potato masher, flipper). But... you can get by pretty happily with just these five things.