Discoveries
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In our kitchen we have one of those useless corner cupboards, a space filler between two runs of cupboards. In fact, there are two. The upper cupboard is where we keep fuses and batteries for small appliances, sticking plasters and over-the-counter remedies like paracetamol and ibuprofen. It is adequate and only slightly awkward to access.
However, the base cupboard is another matter entirely. It is larger and difficult to get at. It is the place where pots and pans and ‘unique, must have’ appliances go to die. Well, the shelf shifted somehow and listed at an alarming angle. I mean, if you were on a ship and it did that, you would be seriously worried, worried enough to encourage all your ship mates to dash to the other side of the vessel. During the Battle of the Solent in 1545, the crew of the Mary Rose all rushed to one side of the ship, anxious to see Henry VIII, who was watching from Southsea Castle, and the ship capsized. Actually, that’s not true. It’s just an urban myth. No-one really knows why the ship sank, but nearly 500 men drowned. Most sailors then could not swim and died within sight of land.
*We could not remove the shelf, no matter how we tried. It remained sulkily in place, thwarting all efforts to release it. How was it fitted, then? It was put in place before the worktop was attached. Everything was removed from the cupboard and the business of identifying items began.
Surprisingly, we discovered that most of it was still useful, though maybe not to us. I mean, cake tins and bun trays! I do not inflict my cakes on anyone. As for Yorkshire puddings, I dislike them and have never attempted to make them. A willing recipient was found for these extraneous bakeware items and a couple of other gadgets, bought in haste in an excess of enthusiasm, used a couple of times, then banished to everlasting darkness in the corner cupboard.
*We considered sawing the shelf in half, a messy business in a confined area, but the problem was solved when it slipped down to the bottom of the cupboard, saying, ‘I’m not coming out and you can’t make me.’ Everything we wanted to keep has been put tidily in the cupboard.
*When I say ‘we’ I really mean Barry.
I think we all have cupboards that are full of well, stuff. That corner one reminds me of one my daughter has in her house. It actually has a weird hinge open so the whole thing opens and inside there is a thing that revolves so you can swirl it around to get to the item you need. Really quite a good use of space!
ReplyDeleteIf only I had known that your problem was solved when it slipped down to the bottom of the cupboard. Accidentally, I am assuming (but that doesn't matter).
ReplyDeleteIt remains an issue here :(
Oh, dear, bad luck. If ours had not slipped of its own accord a mallet might have been applied . . .
DeleteLooks like it was quite a task!
ReplyDeleteIt took a long time but it's done now. Must just keep it tidy . . .
DeleteMy underbench corner cupboard is my pantry, nothing on the top shelf is heavy enough to cause listing thank goodness.
ReplyDeleteObviously, you're much more sensible than us, that is, me! ;-)
DeleteOh yes those corner cupboards 😩
ReplyDeleteNosy question - as you don't make cakes, what do you use your Kenwood for? 😀
Alison in Wales x
That's a very good question, Alison. We used it a few days ago but neither of us can remember what for! x x x
Delete😂😘
DeleteAlisonx
My corner cupboard has one of those wire two tier shelves that revolve. It stores all my tinned goods and the basket of spuds.
ReplyDeleteI think carousels are a great idea. I'll get the mister to research it for the next few years.
DeleteI'm glad the shelf decided to throw a wobbly and sink to the floor. Much more useful and maybe, if needed, you can put in one of those wire shelf things that stand on the bottom and give a bit of extra shelving. xx
ReplyDeleteIf we have more storage we'll only find more things to put in it. ;-) x x x
DeleteWhat funny things you keep in your kitchen..
ReplyDeleteFuses and Batteries..sticking plasters and
paracetamol and ibuprofen...?
I've just discovered a job intended not doing,
my shed door...won't open, stuck fast, the
wood has expanded, , l could'nt open it, my
neighbour tried, but did'nt open it, he said
not to, as it would'nt then close..! :(
So, l was on the phone earlier to my friend
Jock, he's popping later to take a look,
probably needs replacing, on the first of
April, l would have lived here 46yrs..and it's
only the second shed door l've have, the
hinges, door knob, and lock are still the same
ones...! Think, replacing it would be best...! :)
HeHe! Manuals in a kitchen..What! ever next....
Soap in the bathroom...? HaHa! Bless!
✨ 🎼✨🎶✨🎼✨🎶✨ 🎼✨🎶✨🎼
Good luck with the shed door. It's nice to have a new door and pleasing to look at until the novelty wears off:-)
DeleteIt'll look great...Especially with a few coats of
DeleteBubblegum pink gloss over it...! And..All the
antlers back hanging on it...! :).
My kitchen cupboards are calling me, but the sun is shining so I will rush past them to get outside.
ReplyDeleteGood move!
DeleteYour post makes me shiver, I think about the 2 moves I have behind me ! The last was into my "castle" and I had hired a "vide tout" Empty everything and I moved in my new home where I didn't need kitchen stuff. I just took 3 coffee cups and a plate with me ! All the rest went I don't know where and I don't care. I should have kept at least a bottle opener and scissors ! I had to buy them or steal them here in the kitchen !
ReplyDeleteOne day, I suppose, we will have to move. I dread the thought. We have mountains of 'stuff', all kept 'just in case'.
DeleteThe amount of time I've spent adjusting the hinges of corner cupboards to stop them catching is painful to think about.
ReplyDeleteSome hinges require attention more frequently than others and not necessarily the most often used, I find.
DeleteSwedish death cleaning?
ReplyDeleteOne day many years ago a man who never entered a kitchen invented corner cupboards, and pushed ahead with them long after his wife told him how awful they are.
Mr Yorkshire Pudding will be dismayed to learn of your dislike of yorkies. I confess to not being fond of them.
Jay Cee must be gleeful to see the interior of your cupboards.
I've never heard the expression 'Swedish death cleaning' - I like it:-) Why do men design kitchens?
DeleteGoodness! Our kitchen had three such cupboards (3 corners!). Who designs such a criminal waste of space? We resolved two of them with fancy sliding, hinging things that somehow work in two directions at once. I was alarmed that the baskets were so much smaller than the shelves but in reality being able to access stuff in the back corners without having to pull everything else onto the kitchen floor means that more seems to go in than did before. (And it all comes out again.)
ReplyDeleteWe, that is, Barry, fitted sliding baskets in the straightforward cupboards but didn't/couldn't resolve the corner cupboards. He threatened to research carousels but something more interesting and techy came up;-)
DeleteCabinet and closet clearing. Either one is always an adventure and it seems you had your share with a single minded shelf! Congrats on winning the battle.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Just the rest to do now :-(
DeleteI had a corner cupboard in one of my homes and it was used for spices. It had a Lazy Susan revolving rack. Very easy to find what I needed.
ReplyDeleteIt's a good idea - maybe, one day ;-)
DeleteA great achievement!
ReplyDeleteWe thought so (low expectations . . . )
DeleteAlthough we don't have a corner unit, we still have a place where appliances, gadgets and cake tins go to die. Sorting out cupboards is one of those things on a long list of things to do when I retire ... Hopefully we can hold off the shifting of shelves and the sinking of ships until then :-) xxx
ReplyDeleteIt's always a job for another day and one we don't attempt until forced . . . x x x
DeleteOur corner cupboard has a wire two tier shelf which revolves.
ReplyDeleteThankfully it is easy to get too and has space for lots!
All the best Jan
I think they're often built into corner cupboards these days, but our kitchen is quite old (understatement!)
DeleteWe have built-in Lazy Susans because our house is only 36 years old but they come with their own challenges - when something gets knocked off the shelves into the far corner of the cupboard I need to fish it out with a yardstick, not the easiest job when the bottom of the cupboard is jammed with "stuff" I can't do without! lol
ReplyDeleteIt really is nice to get one of those "stuffed" cupboards cleaned out and pared down, though, isn't it? At least it is for me. You did well!
It feels like an achievement. Of course, if I were a 'proper' housewife, rather than a slovenly one, these things would never have to be done!
DeleteWe have two of those cupboards in the kitchen and after reading about your exploits in these little known areas, we too suddenly have lots of space. So thank you :-)
ReplyDelete'Turning out cupboards' used to be a regular occurrence in many homes. Actually, it probably still is, just not in my home, though I keep threatening to do it!
Delete