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

[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.