Project Empty goes to IKEA. Again.

[darkemeralds]

The unexpected outcomes of Project Empty continue to occupy my free time and brainspace...and, I sheepishly report, my wallet.

I wasn't going to buy new stuff--especially not "storage solutions". The last thing I wanted was new containers for old crap. Which was a great intention, but I didn't see the kitchen explosion coming.

When I was eating from restaurants and packages, the storage space in my kitchen was fine. But when I started preparing twenty-one meals a week at home, things got out of hand.



Here's a before-and-after photo from before the cooking thing started posing pantry problems:



And here's what that relatively tidy dishwasher-slash-countertop was beginning to look like:



So, off to IKEA I and my car went a couple of weekends ago, and home again home again jiggedy jig (a wink to my fellow RayK fans) with a New Storage Solution. A 30-inch Akurum base cabinet with four drawers, one of them big enough to hold a ridiculous number of one-gallon jars of bulk food. (Note to self: a gallon jar of rice is heavy!)

Some assembly required, of course. An acre of cardboard (all going to the compost), a small armload of plastic wrap (garbage, alas), and several days of effort later, a fine new cabinet:


(Conveniently customized for today's modern six-foot tall woman.)


Magic! New pantry space--and with those drawers that pull themselves silently shut the last inch.


And it matches the cupboard I installed a few months ago, thank you IKEA.



So, the level of stuff falls a lot, then rises a little, as the whole lifestyle changes. I wish I could say that I've stopped acquiring new things, but all I can really claim is that the influx of stuff into my life has dropped off sharply.

The quality of my life seems to keep going up.

Comments

[roxymissrose.livejournal.com]

I am swooning, overcome by the beauty of your cabinet!

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

I've been doing the same thing, every time I walk into the kitchen. IKEA stuff can be damned good looking for the price.

What I like best, though, is how the drawers silently close themselves. Very chic.

[kispexi2.livejournal.com]

IKEA furniture has such great, clean lines, doesn't it? It makes you feel calm just looking at it. (Until you think about their dodgy tax arrangement, that is! *g*)

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

*la-la-la-la* I can't hear you.

You're right. I had a long internal struggle, all about how I could have a wooden shelving unit constructed locally by a real American person, suitable for stacking my jars of rice on. I told myself that really, the dishwasher itself wasn't such a bad solution. I said that anything was better than that big Swedish WalMart.

Then esthetics won. Pure, I am not.

[kispexi2.livejournal.com]

I know. There are some bits of consumerism that are so much trickier to deal with than others. And I too often crumble before IKEA.

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

I know this is going to sound rationalizing and self-justifying, but it's not really possible to be a non-consumer or a non-buyer and survive in the world. Everything after that is some form of consumerism. I figure that as long as I'm conscious of the problem, moving toward a solution, and balancing all the factors (price, true cost, impact, etc.) as best I can, then I can sleep at night, you know?

But yeah, IKEA has a strange attraction.

[kispexi2.livejournal.com]

We can only cultivate our garden. I do my best to switch off light, recycle, and buy ethically but I don't always manage it. And often I'm not sure how good a choice I made.

IKEA offers insta-calm. No wonder the world flocks to it.

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't know about insta. The store itself is a huge clusterfuck, noisy, baffling, and fairly sickening. Then there's the loading up of the car. Then the lugging the stuff home, and then actually assembling it from their wordless little instruction sheets--usually fairly good but on occasion so cryptic that a phone call is required.

And perhaps two, three, four days later, the calm can begin.

[tehomet.livejournal.com]

Your new cabinet is nifty.

One of the side effects of my (ongoing -- I'm sloooow) decluttering of my den is that I blush to admit I bought a new hoover. The old one annoyed the crap out of me every time I used it, leading to me not using it very much. So I bought a new Dyson, which I chose because it's supposed to be efficient suctionwise, and also because I wanted a bagless one, rather than to be buying new bags all the time.

Although ideally I would use just a sweeping brush, this purchase has really helped me to tolerate hoovering. So: thanks for that.

And, I realise that part of the plan is reduce purchasing, but a little strategic buying worked well for me in this case, as I hope your new cabinet works for you.

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

Yes, finding a realistic balance--always a challenge for me--seems to be one of the keys to this process. The perfect is the enemy of the good, and all that.

I remind myself frequently that simplicity, quiet, and order are a big part of the reason for Project Empty in the first place, and if there are purchases I can make judiciously that will contribute to those goals, then it might be a good idea to make them.

There's nothing like a well-designed new appliance or tool to make an onerous job easier and your life simpler.

[vchrusch.livejournal.com]

I was starting to wonder when the kitchen explosion was going to hit ya.

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

Well, wonder no more.

I've been taking Anthony Bourdain's knife and pan advice into consideration, and resisting the lure of specialty and single-use tools. Even so, a few Asian items have crept in, and let me tell you, a wok and a 16" bamboo steamer don't fit just anywhere, you know?

I'm pleased with the cabinet and my new level of kitchen efficiency so far. Cooking just gets to be more and more fun.

[roseambr.livejournal.com]

I love the look and sleek lines of the cabinet. I believe that part of the entire declutter project is to make our worlds (each individual world we each choose to create) more beautiful and relaxing. Sometimes that means new things have to be purchased to make it all possible. To be able to provide a place for everything that is needed and look wonderful at the same time. And there is a difference between finding a place for the things we NEED verses the things we HAVE. You have done a fabulous job of clearing out the un-needed so it is only fair to have a honorable space for the things that remain as needed.

Your kitchen is beautiful to the eye and an ease of use. What more can we ask for?

[emeraldsedai.livejournal.com]

Heh. I'm coming to terms with my purchase--because it's sooooo nice to use!

You're right though: it's important to keep in mind that we still do need some stuff. And as long as we have it, it might as well be in a nice place.