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Rebecca
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| Posted: July 19 2006 at 10:04pm | IP Logged
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I have been reading all the talk about whether we need microwaves or not. About a year ago, I put mine out in the garage for a two week experiment. I decided that if I missed it a lot, I would bring it back inside. I eventually brought it back in.
Yesterday I questioned it again but then decided that I would keep it until it died but not replace it.
Well, guess what? It died TODAY! Yep, doesn't work anymore! I am not a bit sad. Made the decision a whole lot easier on me. Now I have more room on my counter for one of those crocks  !
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kristina
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| Posted: July 20 2006 at 12:10am | IP Logged
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I finally finished this thread. I'm inspired to do a bit more tweaking in our kitchen.
Our microwave seemed huge for our limited counter space. It has been stored in the basement for over a year now, but it is finding a new home w/ friends whose microwave went this week . We replaced it with this. I keep a small round stone in it and use it for reheating in bake mode. Basically, it is a pathetic excuse for a microwave and an oversized toaster oven. Good idea, but it does neither job at all well. Since it is a joke of a toaster, we caved and bought a 2 slice toaster. I think we should have gotten the four slice because 2 slices is ridiculously impractical for seven. Live and learn.
Two additions to our kitchen this past year were quite good. Since our home did not come with an island, we were using something just like this (without the granite.) Since dh was feeling really cramped with the standmixer and blender on the counter, he selected this from Ikea. So far it has held up well and it stores all of our cookware, most gadgets and tupperware. The appliances went to the corner cabinet where the cookware was formerly stored. The only drawback is it such a tempting hotspot! I am constantly clearing legos, the mail (goal is to deposit into the wall baskets and trash upon arrival) and things that are on their way elsewhere. For the sake of elegant simplicity, only the napkin basket and the fruit stand belong on top. The other cart went to the basement to store dh's tablesaw. At least it has been repurposed.
I do have a crock next to the stove for our nonstick cookware tools. Since my neurotic tendencies have rubbed off on DH we both rinse the utensils before we cook with them. He even uses gloves when he touches raw chicken. Then he smirks and says "you did this to me!" My mom always tells me how lucky I am that he puts up with me. 
DH always has such good ideas. But the most brilliant idea so far, was this. It fits perfectly at the top of the basement stairs. When people first see it, they do not recognize it. I make them guess what it is. Spice rack? no. Strange pantry? no. It's a shoe rack! (There are a couple of shots of it on my blog). We, too, lamented the "shoe problem." Our only occasional issue now is encouraging the children to actually put their shoes in it, instead of leaving them on the floor. 
As for a pantry, I should just be thankful to have one. For our little home, we placed a narrow white 4 shelf cabinet from home depot in the bathroom  next to the washer/dryer. It is hidden behind the door, so it goes unnoticed. It would be a perfect linen cabinet, but food storage is a greater priority for now.
JennGM wrote:
| I'm not crazy about free advertising for the company but I haven't found a towel that outlasts these. I know my marriage is still young, but these towels are lasting 6 years...I had some others..some "younger" and they are biting the dust. Mine are blue and white, my favorite combo. |
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Jenn, it was so good to read that the Williams Sonoma towels hold up. I bought these, also in the blue and white for my birthday last January. Actually, I went to Sur La Table for these adorable, yet frivolous towels, but they were sold out. (kitchen towels for a birthday? I know, I am really boring.) The ones at Williams Sonoma were on sale and have lasted so far. Other than the bleach that spilled on one of them  .
Donna Marie wrote:
I use the biokleen and the bac-out products and they get them clean the best...brighter than bleaching them...and I don't have to worry about bleaching someone elses' clothing anymore.......no matter how careful I am with bleach...it always sneaks out of the bottle when I am not looking and ruins something.... 
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I must get some of the Bio-Kleen. Is it similar to Oxy Clean?
Now I just need to have dh hang a hook under the lip of the island to keep a towel hanging. He does not like them hanging on the oven door or on the island drawers, but it is just one of those "to-do's" that keeps getting forgotton.
This thread has inspired me to tidy up my biggest hotspot: The kitchen desk. It is, yet another, invitation to clutter. Working on it.. 
Blessings!
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kristina
yesterthoughts
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Genevieve
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Rebecca wrote:
| Well, guess what? It died TODAY! Yep, doesn't work anymore! I am not a bit sad. Made the decision a whole lot easier on me. Now I have more room on my counter for one of those crocks ! |
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So glad to hear that the microwave was so accomodating.
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Genevieve
The Good Within
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marihalojen
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kristina wrote:
| We replaced it with this. I keep a small round stone in it and use it for reheating in bake mode. Basically, it is a pathetic excuse for a microwave and an oversized toaster oven. Good idea, but it does neither job at all well. |
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I have this very same thing, it worked so well for the first year but we never use the toast or oven part now - it takes FOREVER. But I don't have an oven or stovetop in the boat (I can set up a burner pretty quickly though) so I use the microwave all the time, it still cooks pretty quick, rice mixes and stuff only take 2-3 minutes more than called for. But cooking them outside on the grill takes much, much longer by the time the water comes to a boil etc...haven't considered replacing it as we're focused on anchoring out in Key West and therefore will have only 12V plus an inverter so I'm certain the thing will not be coming with us!
So, I'm pretty certain I've seen a 12V kettle, has anyone used the Pasta Express Cooker? (I've seen off-shoots at stores) It could be the solution to the microwave problem...and so much smaller too!
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~Jennifer
Mother to Mariannna, age 13
The Mari Hal-O-Jen
SSR = Sailing, Snorkling, Reading
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stefoodie
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Rebecca wrote:
| Well, guess what? It died TODAY! Yep, doesn't work anymore! I am not a bit sad. Made the decision a whole lot easier on me. Now I have more room on my counter for one of those crocks ! |
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Ooooh, lucky you. I wish mine would die (instead of my blender and grain mill  ) because I can't get rid of it until it does (gift from Mom). It's not sinful to wish death on a machine, is it?
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stef
mom to five
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Kristin
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I just wanted to share that I implemented some of the ideas you lovely ladies shared in this thread. I recently had to move our Bible and stand from the "prayer" table (wasn't getting used) and it was temporarily displaced. When I read about having the Bible in the kitchen (to read to the children while making dinner) I had to think of where in our kitchen to put it. The only good place was just to the left of the microwave (which, by the way now is also in question ) --- a terrible hot spot on the counter where all of my stuff loved (yes "loved") to congregate. So this afternoon I decided that stuff had to move out of the kitchen --- it really wasn't stuff that I used every day anyway. And the Bible on it's lovely wooden stand now stands in it's place. DH just called to me from the kitchen, "This extra counter space is great! We just gained 2 feet worth of counter space --- Imagine what would happen if we got rid of the microwave!" Yikes! What have I gotten us into?! I also decided to try moving our crock of utensils off the counter and into the pantry, putting only those used daily in the drawer next to the stove with the pot holders. I think it's great, but DH isn't quite as happy about that (it was given to us by one of his best friends and it had our names and wedding date on it). It was definitely special and nice but it's still special and nice where we can see it on the top shelf every time we open the pantry! We'll see. That might have to change --- but for now I'm very pleased with our new "simply elegant" kitchen space! Thanks so much!!!!!
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almamater
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| Posted: July 21 2006 at 11:10pm | IP Logged
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LisaD wrote:
For those of you who don't use microwave ovens, at what age do you teach your dc to safely use the oven, stovetop or toaster oven? Right now, my 5 year-old and 7 year-old can heat things in the microwave for lunch, but I hesitate to allow them to use the stove or toaster oven.
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I am still catching up on the thread, so maybe others have already replied to you. My 9yo and 6yo use the toaster oven all the time...starting at around 5yo. Young children can be safely supervised at the stove, preferably electric, of course. At the Montessori school here, the 2.5yo and 3yo children make all sorts of things on an electric griddle or plug in burner.
My 6yo makes scrambled eggs start to finish on her own. I am always in the room when there is a stove on, but they do very well. We do use a wooden toaster tongs to remove items from the hot toaster oven.
When we used to have a microwave, they (and I)would burn themselves removing unexpectedly hot dishes from it, so there are always lessons to be learned no matter the equipment. Just teach them the proper safety and, well, there will likely be a few little burns along the way. 
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~jennifer in tx
mommy of ds(11),dd(8),dd(6), dd(3),& ds (6/08)
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almamater
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Interesting discussion about the dish towels. I grew up in a microwave and paper towel home. I recently tried to get rid of the microwave but it is now in the guest room, because my mother couldn't bear to be without during their lengthier visits LOL!
Anyway, it has really been bothering me how we go through paper towels...use and throw. I started thinking about all of the generations that didn't have disposable towels to wipe up every spill. So I deciced that we could probably buy a couple of replacement towels every month and still come out way ahead financially while at the same time reduce our wastefulness. Isn't it ridiculous how habitual some things become? I mean now it seems silly that I never thought of this before.
Now the problem will be convincing my mom, because even in my paper towel buying days she would go out and buy mega packs for me claiming that we never have enough and she wants to be able to use as much as she needs when at my house.
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~jennifer in tx
mommy of ds(11),dd(8),dd(6), dd(3),& ds (6/08)
Soul of the Home
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Tina P.
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| Posted: July 22 2006 at 9:14am | IP Logged
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MicheleQ wrote:
| I got rid of the microwave. The darn thing took up too much space and microwave cooking really isn't that healthy anyway. I LOVE the counter space getting rid of it gave me. |
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Michele: We only just started using a microwave after 4 years in Europe. My son put it on timed cook instead of timer when he was cooking some eggs on the range below. He blew some fuses. So we can't use it anymore until it's fixed. We've only ever used a microwave for one minute at a time to reheat. Now we reheat using the range.
This kitchen thread is especially interesting to me because we just moved into a new house. The kitchen is large with a peninsula eating bar (is that what you call it?) for which we just bought four black barstools. The countertop is Corian (I think). It's gray with white and black speckles on it. The backsplash is wall. I don't like that. In Germany, we learned to love tile. They tile up their bathroom walls and their kitchen walls to the ceiling. How easy that is to clean! Therefore, one of my projects is to tile in the backsplash area white and black. We plan to upgrade our appliances as they go. Some of them are from the '70s. I'm guessing/hoping the first things to go will be the oven and range, but not too soon.
Our main clutter areas? There are several already ~ keep in mind we've been in this house for only a week. We have a bench when you enter the front door. That's a huge catch-all. I'm working that issue now. We have a desk in the kitchen that's filled with still-wrapped pictures. And that darn peninsula thingie. The peninsula mostly collects cups half-filled with water, clean dishes that my children don't know where to put, drawings, receipts, etc. Once we place pictures, have our china cabinet delivered, and have several more bookshelves mounted, we'll be well on our way to clearing boxes and paper clutter out of the house.
We're having a rummage sale just after we wade through our mess and determine what's over-the-top mess and what we elegantly simplistically need. I *do* like my cooking utensils and pots, however. I've found a way to contain all the Tupperware/Rubbermaid lids. I have two Rubbermaid dishpans with all the lids standing on end. One contains the small lids and one contains the larger. I do the same with pot lids. For those pot lids who have no matching pots...well, I must admit, my kids play cymbals with those. I keep them in the downstairs kitchen.
The eat-in area won't fit us (and, in fact, it's tight now) when Celia is out of the high chair. We're trying currently to figure out how to spread out that space. Just to the back of that is an oversized laundry closet. I wanted a larger laundry room, but with all the other benefits of this house, I couldn't complain about something so small. The other half of the space that's taken up (behind the laundry closet) is a half bathroom. I wouldn't mind relocating the laundry room to afford more space in the eat-in kitchen, but I like the bathroom where it is right inside the back door. Our eat-in kitchen would be L-shaped.  I like Elizabeth's idea of putting the table in the sunroom. But we don't have one yet. Another addition perhaps? Well, one thing I guarantee about this house. We won't be wanting projects for a long time.
We have a small second kitchen downstairs. That's our school kitchen. We actually have a separate schoolroom in this house. Yippee! We'll conduct science experiments and possibly some arts and crafts in this kitchen. So to whom do we send pictures of our kitchens? I'm getting itchy to send a before picture. It'll be a while before I can send an after.
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Tina, wife to one and mom to 9 + 3 in heaven
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kingvozzo
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marihalojen wrote:
So, I'm pretty certain I've seen a 12V kettle, has anyone used the Pasta Express Cooker? (I've seen off-shoots at stores) It could be the solution to the microwave problem...and so much smaller too! |
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I recently purchased one after my mother was telling me how great it is. I haven't had good luck with it--it makes my pasta gummy  . I've been meaning to talk to dear mom to find out if I'm doing something wrong, because I really want to like it. I had very high hopes for it, because it's so much less dishes than pasta the regular way. I was also hoping it would be useful while camping...
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Noreen
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Mom to 4 great kids and 10 sweet ones in Our Lady's arms
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Dawn
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Dawn wrote:
| I buy 12-packs of plain white washcloths from Target (I think they are $5) and use them for *everything*. They hold up well and bleach well too. |
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In case anyone was interested in these white washcloths (great alternatives to paper towels) they are on sale at Target for $2.49 this week. 
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Dawn, mum to 3 boys
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Genevieve
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Oh Dawn! I don't live anywhere close to a Target this year. Thanks for the heads up anyway.
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Genevieve
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marihalojen
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kingvozzo wrote:
| I recently purchased one after my mother was telling me how great it (Pasta Express Cooker) is. I haven't had good luck with it--it makes my pasta gummy . I've been meaning to talk to dear mom to find out if I'm doing something wrong, because I really want to like it. I had very high hopes for it, because it's so much less dishes than pasta the regular way. I was also hoping it would be useful while camping... |
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Keep me updated, I'm right there with you on the camping/sailing thoughts! 
__________________
~Jennifer
Mother to Mariannna, age 13
The Mari Hal-O-Jen
SSR = Sailing, Snorkling, Reading
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lapazfarm
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I use the white washcloths too. For everything! I keep a stack in the bathroom, on the baby's changing table, and in the kitchen. I've gotten mine at Walmart before and Target.
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
LaPaz Home Learning
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almamater
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Dawn wrote:
In case anyone was interested in these white washcloths (great alternatives to paper towels) they are on sale at Target for $2.49 this week. |
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Thank you! I saw this just as I was on my way out the door to Target and picked some up while I was there.
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~jennifer in tx
mommy of ds(11),dd(8),dd(6), dd(3),& ds (6/08)
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Molly Smith
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Kristin wrote:
| I also decided to try moving our crock of utensils off the counter and into the pantry, putting only those used daily in the drawer next to the stove with the pot holders. I think it's great, but DH isn't quite as happy about that (it was given to us by one of his best friends and it had our names and wedding date on it). It was definitely special and nice but it's still special and nice where we can see it on the top shelf every time we open the pantry! |
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Kristin, how about putting all of the utensils in the drawer, and putting a plant in the crock and leaving it on the counter (or somewhere else)? I've been on a houseplant kick, and it really does liven the place up in the spots where I've cleared away the junk. Just an idea...
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Molly Smith in VA
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Molly Smith
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marihalojen wrote:
kingvozzo wrote:
| I recently purchased one after my mother was telling me how great it (Pasta Express Cooker) is. I haven't had good luck with it--it makes my pasta gummy . I've been meaning to talk to dear mom to find out if I'm doing something wrong, because I really want to like it. I had very high hopes for it, because it's so much less dishes than pasta the regular way. I was also hoping it would be useful while camping... |
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Keep me updated, I'm right there with you on the camping/sailing thoughts! |
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I bought one, too, thinking it was the answer to all my pasta pot woes, but it was gross. The pasta was so gummy that is was truly inedible. Unfortunately, I spent more than $14.99 on mine , so it was a hard lesson learned in "as-seen-on-tv" shopping. Sorry, can't recommend it in the least...
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Molly Smith in VA
Mom to seven beautiful children, ages 1-14
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Christine
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Costco sells white wash cloths and hand towels. If my memory serves me correctly, they come in a pack of 24 for $9.99 (at least that was the price two years ago). I keep some of the wash cloths, in what should be our knife drawer, in the kitchen. They are used to clean hands and faces of little ones after meals and to do any wipe up. The towels are stored in the linen closet and are used as rag towels for larger clean-ups.
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Christine
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Memories of a Catholic Wife and Mother
Pretty Lilla Rose
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marihalojen
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Thanks Molly, I'll hold out I guess - big sigh from dd - she saw the ad, it cooks shrimp, it cooks asparagus, it cooks pasta...
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~Jennifer
Mother to Mariannna, age 13
The Mari Hal-O-Jen
SSR = Sailing, Snorkling, Reading
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Alice R
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We use paper towels sometimes and try to use a hand towel for drying hands etc.
I bought "bar towels" in Walmart. They are very thick and absorb really well. I'm sure they sell them everywhere...they are white with blue thin stripes.
They are awesome. You can bleach them. I go through about 4 a day in the kitchen alone.
Blessings,
Alice R
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Mom to Nathaniel (10), Noah (8) Alise (6) Rebekah (3)and expecting another blessing Faith, Grace and Family
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Elegant Simplicity in the Kitchen
