10 minutes with The Nester

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The Nester FINALE

I looooove a good ten-minute makeover! That fits in nicely with my schedule!

I will say that, of The Nester's four ten-minute rooms, (family room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen), my kitchen #1, gets used the most and #2, needed the most help. My kitchen is BIG--people that actually cook are a little jealous when they come over! So my challenge is keeping it organized, as uncluttered as possible, and storing all my dishes and entertaining pieces while keeping it as user-friendly as possible. My live-in sister-in-law and my hubby are up earlier than I am so they need to be able to make their lunches and get their coffee without extra hassle. While I'm not one to go for beauty over convenience, I DO like for things to look nice--so it's a hard balance!

I'm also still recovering from a tea party I had two weeks ago so rather than cram everything back into cupboards, I set out to rearrange and purge so everything would fit back nicely. Plus I wanted to use some of The Nester's tips, of course!

Following her tips in order, here goes:

1. Unclutter. PHEW! I have a major "hot spot" in my kitchen where all the odds and ends tend to accumulate so I decided to just get rid of the paperwork I usually keep there and clear the space. Now there's just the utensil crock and a pretty mug with pens and scissors. Phone and camera charges go in the cabinet below and my paperwork goes to my desk...imagine that! I probably still need a basket to "collect" the odds and ends that will still end up here without it looking cluttered. We have to be realistic, right??



My live-in SIL's mail also tends to pile up by the microwave...



...but it does need a home, so I moved the mail sorter over there for her. The big tea cup holds her medicines and such. This spot is much better! Notice, too, that the fridge clutter got moved to this "hidden" side!



2. I'm a graduate of the Fly Lady's 28 day "program," so the shiny sink wasn't new to me, although I hadn't officially shined it in a while. You don't realize how grimy they get until you take a fine-toothed comb to it!! Here's the after.



And that whole area, looking into the dining "room"



3. I also cleared off the fridge and moved the stuff I really like/use to the hidden side (see the last after picture in #1).

Here's the before:



And AFTER:



It may or may not stay this way! People actually like to look at the pictures on the fridge but then again, it does look nice all cleared off.

This is the change that made the biggest difference...and the one my hubby noticed right away!

4. Add fabric. Any ideas on how to do this one, ladies???

5. Seating. Our son's kiddy table where he crafts and eats is in our kitchen and out dining room table is three steps away so I didn't want to add a "grown up" table. We ARE fortunate enough, however, to have a high counter with an over-hang and we do keep two stools there...but there wasn't much motivation to actually sit, so I added place mats, a plate and cup and napkin to encourage breakfast or snack dining at the bar. It looks nice!



6. Lighting. Ooo. This one is a work in progress. My lamps are all in use, except one really tall one without a lampshade so my new mission is to find a lil' guy for the kitchen. I do enjoy a cozy little lamp!!

7. Beauty. Easy. I have one of my favorite angels by my coffee station.



I also have this fun black shelf with my Willow Tree collection and some other pieces I love to look at (including the cream and sugar set from my wedding china), plus a lovely tea towel.



Next to my tea kettle, which we do use almost daily, I keep this pretty metal tray with my favorite teas for people to choose from. I find this to be a very nice touch and our guests enjoy picking their teapot and tea.



And there ya have it!!

As a side note, this took me longer than 10 minutes but I rearranged my cupboards to hide some items and to fit others I use more often.

This one holds a lot of my entertaining pieces and tea party paraphernalia.



And this one is above the coffee station where my dishes go and where I hide away the tea and coffee-making supplies.



I'm loving all of these small changes and the kitchen definitely FEELS better. Thanks, NESTER!! :)