My Awesome House: The Spice Drawer

So I've been working my tail off for exactly one month trying to unpack, paint, organize and set up house. We've come a long way and we are getting there. Checking one thing after another off our long, long lists. So it's time for a little flaunting, just a little.

My kitchen counters are 14 feet long. Lower cabinets, dishwasher and sink along the island counter; upper and lower cabinets, stove and refrigerator along the wall. When I saw the kitchen I knew it was bigger than my last one, so I would have no trouble fitting all my stuff. But I'd conveniently forgotten the huge rack of kitchen appliances, serving dishes, and tupperware I'd been keeping in the laundry room.

No matter, I worked and worked those first weeks, to get the kitchen put together. Each day I'm getting a little better at remembering where things go when I unload the dishwasher. I'd gotten almost everything a place by week 2, but one placement eluded me - my spices! I have a lot and they need their space. My double decker lazy susan was cracked and crippled but I would still use it if I could. Only there just wasn't an upper cabinet for them. Or a lower cabinet. Or a shelf. I'd started researching wall-mounted wire racks when I had a vision. What the heck was I keeping in that huge drawer across from the fridge?

I'd overlooked it, walked right past it, in my considerations. I opened it and found a pair of scissors and the dishwasher user manual. And a huge empty drawer.

Behold, my spice drawer:

It's a beautiful thing. I almost hate to post it because I love opening it for first-time visitors, especially family who understand the spice thing, and observing the appreciative awe, but it's a good way to start my My Awesome House series.

I also keep my rolling pin in this drawer because it's too long for any others. That leaves almost no space for new spices so I knew I would have to be prudent. Then one time my dad laid one jar on top of the others and closed the drawer. "See?" he exclaimed, "You can do a whole second layer!" Aaaaahhh.