Magical Makeshift Kitchen Tour

 

When the kitchen is all torn up, with nary a countertop or drawer in sight, how's a girl supposed to make her oatmeal? Why, in a Makeshift Basement Kitchen, of course!

A folidng table serves as our main (crowded) prep area, with a power strip to plug in appliances. Justin also hooked up a new outlet (see photo below) for added convenience (and to avoid the inevitable fuse blow-out when you're trying to brew coffee, boil water, toast toast, and fry up pancakes all at the same time. Not that anyone's tried that yet).

  

We are washing our dishes in the oh-so-lovely utility sink. Sometime last year, I discovered the folding sink-side tray that our dish drainer is sitting on in the photo below. I wasn't sure exactly what I'd use it for, but am I ever glad I picked it up!

(By the way, yes, we know that the walls and floor of our basement look pretty ugly. Not to worry: someday down the road, you'll get to read all about our progress fixing them up!)

   

Without a stove, we are relying on a variety of plug-in appliances, some we already had, and others we grabbed at garage sales and thrift stores. This is what we've got:

a. Hotplate

b. Small electric skillet

c. Electric griddle

d. Microwave

e. Toaster

f. Four (!) crockpots, various sizes and vintages

g. Our fridge/freezer, still hooked up upstairs

h. Two dorm room fridges, not yet in use (picked up cheap at UW-SWAP)

h. Weber grill, recently given to us by some awesome people

The rest of our kitchen supplies and pantry goods are either piled on Justin's desk in the basement, or packed in boxes in our attic. We also have a table set up in our hallway by the dining room that we use for serving and prepping (and holding dirty dishes until someone runs them downstairs).

It's all a bit chaotic, and it kind of sucks, but I'm getting lots of extra exercise running up and down the stairs when I accidentally forget a fork or need to wash the odd tomato. Both of which happen more frequently than you might think. But overall, it's working out okay for us, and it will certainly make us appreciate our new, improved kitchen even more.