Weekly Round Up: Kitchen Remodel Edition

Guess who was able to cook dinner in the new kitchen?  Yup--that was me!  I'm so excited to have our kitchen back and have the dining room space liveable again.  Many thanks to Grandpa, Steve and Bryan for working so hard on this project. 

Here you are--pictures from each day of our remodel.

Sunday, August 24

Look at those nasty floor boards!  It's wonderful to not have mold underfoot anymore. 

Monday, August 25

Wow--the room was stripped, painted and got new floor boards in less than 24 hours! My crew was super busy. 

Tuesday, August 26

A special tool had to be rented to bust a hole through our foundation for a new sewer line.  It was rock and concrete--about 7 inches thick.   Grandpa and Bryan worked together to get the job done. 

Wednesday, August 27

A trip to Spokane for cabinets, plumbing, electrical odds and ends and whatever else was on the list.  No pictures from this day, and no work done in the kitchen as the linoleum was drying.

Thursday, August 28

Cabinet installation day! Here Bryan is working on the upper above where the microwave will be hung. 

Friday, August 29

Plumbing day.  Like our creepy basement?  It's half dirt floor and piled high with stuff from when my Grandma lived in the house.  I'm sure there are many treasures here--a project for someday!

 Like I've mentioned before, plumbing and electricity were not original to the house.  All of that has been sort of jerry-rigged over the years and the basement kind of shows their history. 

Anyways, the whole house (with the exception of the toilet) got moved to a new, larger sewer line.  The kitchen got new hot and cold lines as well. 

Side note.  When your husband asks you to go to the store for a much needed part right before the store closes...remember that hot and cold water lines are different sizes.  And that's important.  I didn't know that, and came home with the wrong one.  Which meant the plumbing couldn't get finished until this morning.  Oops!  But I learned something new, and Bryan was super sweet about my mistake.  Thanks honey!

 Saturday, August 30

Get finished day!

Well, except for a few minor things like touching up some paint over where we filled holes from the old cabinets and putting in the kick boards on the cupboards.  I've even unpacked the majority of the boxes from around the house.  It's wonderful to have a functional, beautiful space!

This picture shows Bryan working on the dishwasher.  It was nice to run a load tonight. 

Kitchen remodel was the story of our week.  We survived, and have a great space now.  We are all looking forward to resting tomorrow and Monday before starting back to work for Bryan and back to homeschooling for the kids and I. 

Have a relaxing long weekend!

Inexpensive Kitchen Remodel 2

The kitchen is going back together; I'm so excited!

We tried hard to stick to our budget, and have done a good job so far.  In case anyone is looking for ways to remodel a kitchen without spending a fortune, here are three ways that we cut the costs on this remodel.

1.  Bryan did the work (with the help from his Grandpa and my Step-dad).  We didn't have to pay for any labor expenses. They did the planning and layout, electrical, flooring, plumbing--everything. That was a huge money saver! I'm blessed to have a husband who can do so many things around the house (and family who can come to help!)

Hanging the microwave support bracket.

2.  We went with linoleum for the floor.  Someday, we'd love the beautiful hard wood or tile or something.  But for now, knowing that it'll just keep getting wet (the kids love to help wash dishes!) we went with the inexpensive linoleum.  I think it was a great choice for us! And it was only $400 for the floor--including the fancy roller and knife we bought and all of the glue and surface prep material. 

3.  By reusing everything possible.  We scrubbed cupboards.  Bryan used the staple gun to reinforce a few that were wobbly.  This way we didn't have to buy all new cabinetry--just the pieces that were missing for our new design.  We cleaned the microwave and decided to put it above the counter (where it used to be over the stove) instead of trying to buy a new one to put on the counter.  These simple moves kept expenses down.

4.  With our countertops.  We were able to reuse every bit that was in our old layout.  Then we realized we were short about 5 feet.  And were blessed at Home Depot to find one that has the same pattern in just a slightly lighter color.  We'll use that for the missing piece, and saved money by not having to special order!

And it's looking good.  I'm excited about not going over budget and about the new layout.  I've been playing around with different things on paper, and think I finally have my spaces all accounted for.  It'll be much less cluttered than before. 

In order to get the most bang for our buck, we tried to spend our money in ways that would really count.  Here are some areas that cost the most:

1.  Cupboards.  We were thankful that Home Depot still had the cupboard pattern that matched.  We spent a bit less than $1300 on cupboards for the new layout, and our full height pantries were almost half of that amount--but the amount of storage space has been increased significantly, so it was money well spent! 

3 pantries all in a row, just waiting to be filled. 

2.  A new sink and faucet.  I wasn't going to do it.  But Grandma and Grandpa convinced us otherwise.  We now have a nice deep stainless steel sink and a faucet that goes up quite a ways.  Washing my gallon glass jars for milk will be so much easier!

Bryan and Grandpa getting the sink installed.

3.  Plumbing.  Did I mention that we live in a really old house?  Our plumbing has been in need of upgrading for a LONG time!  Bryan increased the pipe size to maximize water flow, and added a vent.  We had to rent a tool to punch a hole through the foundation for the new pipes to come out.  I couldn't believe how many rocks were in there! This upgrade benefited not only the kitchen, but also the bathroom and washing machine.  It's so nice! But, all of the connection pieces really add up quickly.

4. Electrical.  Since we moved the stove to a different wall, we needed more of the heavy duty wire to support that move.  At $2.69 a foot for just the wire, electrical adds up almost faster than plumbing. Ouch!

But, the Lord provided exactly the amount we needed to tackle this project, and we are very thankful.  The electrical and plumbing should be finished up today, which means tomorrow my kitchen will be in full working order again and I can start unpacking boxes!!!  I'm looking forward to it. 

The Beginning of an Organized Kitchen: Planning!

I mentioned yesterday that I really needed to work on getting my kitchen organized.  I spend a lot of time in there, and I want it to be an efficient place.

Since I'll be getting more storage out of our kitchen remodel, I thought it'd be good to spend some time planning.  That way when it comes time to unpack all of these boxes...

See all those boxes hiding behind the table?  Those need a new home!

I'll have a spot all picked out for them.  I really don't want to unpack everything only to discover that my new system doesn't make any sense.  I'd much rather spend a couple of hours over these next few days and plan. 

I still may not like the new system.  But at least this way I'll have tried to be proactive and organized!

And I think I will like it.

So, how am I planning?

I took the grocery list that I made in Excel, I added a new column titled Storage Location.

Then I went item by item and decided if it was stored in the pantry, in the fridge, the freezer or in 5 gallon buckets.  It didn't take too long.

Once every item had a home, I resorted the list, by storage location.  Then I "saved as" so I didn't accidentally ruin my shopping list,  and deleted everything that wasn't kept in the pantry/cupboards. 

Now my list was down to about 50 items.  A much more manageable number for organizing. 

I decided to further break down this list, so I added another new column.  This one I called "Category." Here, I decided if the PRIMARY purpose of each item was baking, cooking, seasoning or snacking. Some things definitely overlap, which is why I stuck with primary. Here's a sample of what it ended up looking like.

My list is now pretty organized, and during my next work session, I'll tackle where it makes the most sense to store each group of items.  For instance, my seasonings should be by the stove since I tend to add the most seasonings to things I cook on the stove top or in the oven.

I am wondering about a couple of items though.  Potatoes and onions.  How do you store them? 

I used to keep onions in the fridge, but I read during my research this week that they should be at room temperature.  Same with potatoes.  But they shouldn't be stored next to each other.  I really think I'll just end up with a mess of dirt at the bottom of my new pantry if I just dump the potatoes in on the bottom.  We have at least 40 pounds of potatoes and 5-10 pounds of onions to keep track of.   Any ideas for me?



Thanks!



 

Inexpensive Kitchen Remodel 1

Guess what we'll be learning about this week here on Maggie's Milk?  Remodeling your kitchen on a (tight) budget! 

If you read my weekly pics post from Saturday, you know that our kitchen was in pretty bad shape.  A while ago Owen bit through the water line going to our ice maker (it was sticking out from behind the fridge) and we didn't realize it.  It leaked under our stick on floor tiles and ruined the floor.

Pretty sad!  We've been dealing with it for awhile, since Bryan's been working such crazy hours at work, but now is the time to fix it! He is off until next Tuesday, and is a man on a mission!

So yesterday afternoon/evening, Bryan took our kitchen from looking like this:

Please pardon our mess--I forgot to take before pictures until we were in the middle of packing it all up!

to this...

Big difference!

And it looks much better now.  Between Bryan, my step-dad Steve and Grandpa Bill, they've taken everything apart, cleaned up the moldy floor boards, scrubbed walls, repainted (a really similar shade of green)

Bryan painting the chimney area.  I really recommend a paint sprayer--it saves so much time! And isn't that expensive.  We bought ours while redoing the upstairs of our house since it would hit the awkward angles better!

 and have the new floor boards installed.

Praise the Lord, the water damage wasn't as extensive as we thought, and we only had to replace half of the floor boards!

Tomorrow, the plan is to cover the screw holes with sheet rock mud so they don't bust through the new floor, and then lay the linoleum.  After doing some research, that sounded like the best floor  covering for  us since it's very likely to have water on it again.  We picked one that is wood patterned, and I think looks nice. 

Bryan is also going to redo the plumbing to the kitchen.  Our house is old.  All of the plumbing was installed after the house was built (our bathroom was NOT original to the design).  And it needs some work.  He'll start tackling that tomorrow as well.  I'm so thankful to have a husband who can do so many things, and who works so hard for us!

After that, we have to stay off the new floor for at least 24 hours, so Wednesday we're heading into Spokane to pick up a couple of new cupboards.

You see, we decided to rearrange things a bit.

Our sink will be moving to the other outside wall, so now I'll be able to watch the kids play while I'm at the sink.  Our stove will be taking the spot where our sink was.  And I'll have some nice counter space where the stove used to be.  And more cupboards!!! 

I'm looking forward to it!

And I'm learning a lot about kitchen organization.  You see, that's an area I really struggle with.  In fact, for years our kitchen towels and dish clothes were in a drawer clear across the kitchen from our sink.  One day, I decided to move them to the drawer next to the sink.  It was amazing how much time in the kitchen that simple move saved! Then I went all radical and moved the pot holders in the drawer next to the stove.  Can you believe it?  So needless to say, my kitchen needs some serious thought as I put everything back together.

So I went online today searching for kitchen organizing tips.  And was kind of discouraged because I couldn't find exactly what I wanted.  We buy too much in bulk, we don't stock up on lots of cans (except tomato products), and we don't need to worry about keeping our coffee maker next to our coffee cups (since we don't drink it!)

But I did learn that every kitchen is different, and every cook has to decide to how to best lay out the space given.  So I've been thinking a lot about it, and am excited to share some of what I've been learning.  And planning.  I think it'll be really efficient.

And I'll finally have enough space (we're adding two more full length pantry cupboards!) to put away the groceries when I do my big shopping trip.  That means no more stubbing my toe on potato bags stored on the floor, oh yes it does!

Until then, I have cupboards to go wash.  One of the ways we are REALLY cutting the expenses for this project is by reusing everything that we can.  Home Depot still has the exact same cupboards in stock that we bought seven years ago when we first moved in.  Everything can match still!

But, that means all of my dirty cupboards that are sitting on the porch are meeting some Murphy's Wood Oil Soap cleaner and sometimes some bleach water.  And elbow grease.  Lots, and lots of elbow grease!

Looks like a dysfunctional yard sale or something!

While I go scrub cupboards, I will leave you with this, our newly designed floor plan for the kitchen.  We found a great app, and used that to design. Called Mark on Call it was well worth the few dollars we paid!

A few quick notes:

The black thing in the corner is the chimney.  No moving that!

The door by the full height pantry cupboards goes outside.  The door directly across from that goes to our utility room.

The brown thing by the fridge is the doorway to the rest of the house.  It used to have a door, but we took it down and have a gate there now.  Someday (when Owen can get around the gate) a nice Dutch door will go back.

The X boxes are upper cupboards.  That one was probably obvious, but I thought I'd tell you anyways!

Under the upper cupboards by the chimney (where you don't see a lower cupboard) will be counter top with empty space underneath.  That's where I store my large 5 gallon buckets with flour, wheat berries and what not.  

Welcome to my kitchen!  I'm looking forward to sharing this project with you all!

August 17-23 Pictures

 Another week, another seven pictures to share.  I enjoy capturing these everyday moments!

Sunday, August 17

We were making goofy faces for me to capture on camera, and Ellie's just had to be shared!

 

 Monday, August 18

Jeffrey really wanted to play Monopoly City.  But, he's a bit too young to play correctly.  So we had a fun time setting up the city in various configurations and knocking it down with toy tractors, wind storms and earthquakes.  Then we got to build again!

 Tuesday, August 19

Ellie's learning to crack eggs.  Look--no shells!

 Wednesday, August 20

Owen didn't sleep last night, and by quiet time he was so exhausted he fell asleep in this awkward position.  Doesn't look comfy!

 Thursday, August 21

Sydney practicing one of her morning chores--emptying the bathroom trash can into the kitchen one so I can take it out later.

 

Friday, August 22

Jayme and Simon.  What sweet siblings! 

Saturday, August 23

Prepare for something ugly! About eighteen months ago, Owen bit through a section of our ice maker hose behind the fridge.  And we didn't realize it until it was too late.  Though it has since been replaced, our kitchen floor has slowly been getting worse and worse since then.  See what I mean? 

 We couldn't find matching floor tiles, so I've been mixing and matching it with some we had in the basement...but this floor is just scary!

Thankfully, Bryan will be home for the next ten days (and his grandparents are coming!) and we'll be improving our kitchen.  I'm so excited! 

Do you have any big plans for the rest of summer?

Broody Baldy's Update

After nearly seven weeks of sitting (on two batches of eggs), and a failed attempt at chick adoption, Baldy has finally hatched a chick!

That fuzzy brownish lump in the corner is the baby! Kind of hard to see, but Baldy was getting really mad so I didn't try too long to get a good picture.  Will wait until they are walking around for a better shot!

During chores Thursday afternoon, there were still four eggs under her.  When I went out to lock them up for the night, I was surprised to hear some new peeping and peeked under her again.  One chick ( Ameraucana from the looks of it, and due to the fact that it was a green eggs I saw pieces of) and three eggs.

This chick was born exactly at day 21 for this second batch of eggs.  How exciting! I'm not sure if we'll have any more chicks from the other three eggs, but I'm hoping!

And I'm thinking that now Baldy can get over being broody and become a great mama hen. I'll be sure to keep you updated. 

Refrigerator & Freezer Pickles

I love sweet pickles!  So do many of the kids.  But I've been growing frustrated lately by the ingredient list at the store.

High fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors and colorings.  All that junk for a delicious slice of pickled cucumber.

What's a mom to do?

Check the garden and find some cucumbers and start searching the internet for an easy recipe that doesn't require a lot of work and crazy ingredients!

I found just the one!

You can find all of the details here.

We've made a couple of batches of freezer pickles, and two of refrigerator pickles.  And most of the fridge ones are already gone.

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that you don't need a ton of cucumbers to proceed.  It seems like mine are ripening in short stages, and trying to get enough all at one time to can is hard.  

Don't those look tasty?  You just need vinegar, a few simple spices, an onion and cucumbers.  Oh--and some salt.  I just used sea salt.  Pickling salt works too!

These refrigerator pickles are ready in 24 hours.  The freezer ones need at least a week in the freezer. I put those ones in freezer bags instead of glass jars to save room.

One fun way I've experimented with this recipe is with pickled carrots.

I followed the same brine recipe, and just poured it over sliced carrots instead of cucumbers.  They were delicious! I'm sure other vegetables would taste good as well. 

Does your family like pickles?  Have you ever tried making fridge or freezer ones?