we love the high ceilings and cabin-feel the wood beams give to this space…

remember our little built-in desk area just off the kitchen? here it is tucked away in the corner (between the kitchen and dining room)…

we love this space in our home. and we LOVE all of the kitchen cabinets. in our California home the cabinets were pretty much non-exisistent. (don’t believe me? stay tuned because i will be sharing photos of our previous home very soon!)

when we moved here and had all of this cabinet space, i didn’t know where to begin. not to mention, this was our first time living away from home. living faaaaaar away from home. did i mention “living-in-a-new-state” far away from home? here we were living in a new area, in this big house, with our little boys (2 and 1 at the time). in my state of shock, i just sorta opened our moving boxes and put items away where they seemed to fit. i was desperate to make the house a home for the 4 of us. so i simply put the kitchen stuff away without a big plan and figured one day i would get back to really organizing everything…

first up, emptying out the cabinets. this was only part of the disaster i created…

then i brought out one of my cleaning BFF’s – my portable Oreck vacuum…

after vacuuming each shelf and cabinet, i used ajax with a very wet sponge and some old rags to clean the surfaces….

when i need to remove markings left by pots and pans (you know those black spots that soap and water can’t remove) i turn to the big guns. this works like a charm each and every time. just squeeze a little water from the sponge onto the area you are cleaning, sprinkle on a little ajax and scrub to your hearts content. don’t be afraid to take out some frustration while you’re at it. then, wipe it down with a wet rag…followed by a dry rag. you will love the results. this shot is a bit *flashy* but i wanted you to see just how great this product works…

the yellowish color is our cabinet stain – not dirt or grease. this area used to be covered in pot and pan markings. now it looks brand new!

now, let’s remember – i said one little product sparked this big idea? here it is…

my idea was to use this stand for baking sheets, muffin sheets and cutting boards. the cutting boards used to lay flat inside this cabinet and the baking sheets and muffins tins used to lay flat in a different cabinet. my hope was this little stand would create enough space for all of them to stand upright – and live together in one place.

will it work? will it fit?…

IT DID!! and i love the result!! i now have those baking sheets and cutting boards in this cabinet along with items i frequently grab – like the food processor, hand mixer, cheese grater, salad bowls, juicer, etc. the items i use less are way up on the top shelf…

in this cabinet i placed the pots and pans, mixing bowls, and other bakeware…

and in this cabinet we have our platters, large serving bowls, big standing mixer, waffle maker, and holiday items – like the big roasting pan for our thanksgiving turkey…

amazing how one little product can inspire you and in turn spark this major cabinet overhaul! i love it when that happens! i put the new cabinets to the test last night by making a batch of White Bean Chili (recipe will be shared soon!). every item i needed was now within reach and i wasn’t bending over to grab items from those low cabinets. love that!

what might i love even more? i purged quite a few items – hellllllllo spring garage sale!…