- We have had this cabinet space in kitchen that has been unusable since we moved in roughly 4.5 years ago. When I say unusable, I don’t mean that it is in a weird location, or awkwardly sized, or the shelves are too shallow. I mean that it is 97% unusable. A 40″x30″x36″ inch space of mystery! The house was built in 1956 and remains mostly original, even the cabinets are the original hard pine with 4 inch nails. The kitchen did have some updates completed by the previous owners. New granite counter tops, clear front cabinet doors, a farmhouse double basin sink. It also appears that this mysterious space was blocked off during said renovations, with only a tiny 20″x 8″ door on the side. Even with attempts to look inside via phone camera, we didn’t know what construction was behind the wall or if there was anything currently in there (other than the 5 wine bottles I was able to slide in the tiny door), but I knew it had a lot of open, usable space hidden away. And I wanted to access it!
- I began to think of all the possibilities: will we use it daily and how? what will we store in there? will we simply fill it with items that we don’t really use on a daily/weekly basis, or will we be strategic about what goes into this new space with items that we will use often to enhance our daily living, and that will bring us joy?.
- And so the demolition begins. No, I did not do this myself. I may be handy with tools, but this was a bigger project that needed a professional, and I did not want to risk breaking the stone countertop with my DIY skills. A quick phone call to set up an appointment, and just like that, the wall was sawed away revealing a beautiful 25 cubic feet of possibilities!
- While standing there admiring this new open space, I thought about how similar this was to my current situation. How I have found myself “suddenly” unemployed (by choice, of course) with a lot of open time on my hands. Up to my last day with Southwest Airlines 3 weeks ago, my mind had been like a hot calzone stuffed full with a combination of home, family, social, work, and other stuff all melting together…with work consuming over half the space. From the moment I woke up to the time I went to bed, my pre-frontal cortex was on overdrive with thoughts of work tasks/projects/to-dos. It never stopped. Even when I was supposed to be relaxing with family at home, laughing with friends, or unwinding before bed…work was always there. That is just how society has programmed us to function, whether you like what you do or not. Work = Survival. (P.S. I loved what I did!) So what happens when you suddenly find yourself with half of that stuffing gone? Like the mysterious walled off space now open and visible, I now had this space, an emptiness, that I did not expect to find.
- I began to think about the open cabinet space and what I would put in there. Then…how will I get to those items. I envisioned 2 very deep shelves with a large door. I would put my KitchenAid mixer down there. Yes…that is a perfect space for it! I don’t use it that often and this would get it off the counter top. So, when I do need it I would simply kneel down on both knees….take the multiple items out of the cabinet that have been stuffed in front of it and place them on the floor…lean way back…drag it out…and…WHEW! That is already exhausting me. This is NOT going to work. On to the next idea. (Imagine me standing in the kitchen, casually leaning on the counter, one eye partially squinted with lips pursed to the side slowly tapping the side of my cheek. The typical “thinking” pose.) Then it hit me. If am going to fill this space with items I use often, items that bring me joy, I need…drawers, giant sliding drawers!
- After a couple of visits from the professional of measuring, then installing and finishing, our dear kitchen is proud to announce she is the mama of two new, almost identical, super-large drawers. These drawers are still fairly empty as I strategically decide what to occupy the space with. What ever goes in this space should be items I use often, and things that bring me joy.
- ***I wrote this story many weeks ago and then forgot to post it. So fast-track to today and what do I have in these drawers? A GIANT box of Goldfish cracker packages that are easily accessible to #theVivinator, various Gluten-Free items, a few bottles of wine, and my KitchenAid mixer. Not an amazing selection, but each item does, in its own little way, bring my life joy. There is still plenty of room for other wonderful items, and I am slowly finding out what is most important to fill this space.
aKats9lives 