My resolution this year was to make working in my kitchen a little less cumbersome. Clearing up the counter space as much as possible without making things too difficult. As a result, I bought myself an Expedit from Ikea. Not the largest one because I can't reach the top of it (I'm really short!) but the 16 cubbies one. In it, I placed things I use at least once a week, but nothing I use more often unless it is an item I would normally not use in the kitchen, like the pasta roller or the bread machine.

I'm hoping that this will help improve the functionality of my kitchen by freeing up space, not only on the counters, but within the cupboard areas I can actually reach. Too often I have to literally crawl into the lower cabinets to retrieve a cooking vessel, there is only one access door into a long, narrow cupboard! The top cupboard shelf is too high, I have to climb up on the counters. I hate that. I'm clumsy and awkward and have the cuts and bruises to prove it. 

With the Expedit in the dining room, right now, everything is within my reach. Which I think should help make things easier for me. Plus, each cubby tells a little story, mixing the narrative of each box, with the small appliances and serving trays I use everyday.