Containers for storage

Thawing in the fridge

When it comes to retarding fermentation with sourdough making, it's all in knowing which containers to use in the process. As these are what will protect your dough from drying out, from the effects of chilling or freezing. Here are some suggestions for containers, I have found the most useful.

Christmas DIY gifts

Just a quick link to a Youtube video, if you're looking for some last-minute, DIY Christmas gifts. I thought these 4 ideas were really practical, doable and used repurposed items, rather than purchasing new. So for those crafters out there, looking for inspiration, I hope this helps. The first idea can be used for any number of small items, which need to be kept together for storage, or transportation. Anyway, I hope you're all getting ready for Christmas. We should be putting up our tree today!

Vertical space

We have a modest sized, four bedroom house, so you'd think, space isn't a problem. Without a proper garage/workshop outside though, most of my power tools and DIY supplies, live inside the house. Which makes for quite the squeeze, in our two main linen cupboards.

Naturally, I've had to find inventive ways, to maximise storage space anywhere else I can in the house. Enter, vertical space! I've touched on this subject, previously, when I wrote about Weekend Projects Inside. I wanted to share how some of those storage solutions, worked, as well as some of the extensions I've made, recently too.

 July, 2015 
baking cabinet ~ still in use

Inside the kitchen cabinets, I shared how the wonders of adhesive hooks, worked at arranging some of my cooking tools. I'm happy to report, in almost four years of opening and closing that door - none of the "Command" brand adhesive hooks, have come undone.

It's saved so much time, having the measurement tools I use often (for baking, fermentation, and all kinds of meal preparations) right there. Instead of rummaging through items I don't use as much. So when deciding what items you will hang, favour what you will use the most.

January, 2019

baking cabinet - new addition

I made a little extension to this particular door, recently. The item I chose to hang, does break the rule about being the most frequently used item. As it's not. But there are good reasons for it making the cut, as well.

As my attempts at preserving, have increased over the years, the wide-mouth jars I prefer to use, are hard to break the seal, by hand. Enter, the jar opener! It's very simple, and replaces the old spoon trick I used formerly.

While, I don't need to use a jar opener as regularly as my measurement tools, I hung it for safety reasons. Because it shared drawer space with other sharp utensils, like an arrangement of different chef knives and hand graters. So hang mismatched items, if it removes them from a more hazardous location.

 January 2019

Utility/linen cupboard ~ still in use

Speaking of hazards, do you remember that utility cupboard door, I hung our brooms and dustpans from? I no longer had the danger of broom handles, falling on my head, while attempting to get the vacuum cleaner out of the cupboard. As the sweeping implements, were formerly stored on the floor, with the vacuum cleaner. 

While it can still, sometimes be a struggle to get the vacuum cleaner out (always the way, with bulky items) the adhesive hooks have not wavered. So still no endangerment of falling brooms on my head!

 January 2019

Utility/linen cupboard ~ new addition

I made a recent addition, to the adjoining door. It's a safe place to hang our fire blanket. Formerly, it was sitting under the kitchen sink. While it was close to the stove in that position, the blanket was made to be fixed to a wall, and accessed quickly from the base. So the linen cupboard was a better choice, even if it was a few more metres away. 

July 2015

Stove, cabinet ~ still in use

The saucepan lid holder, has performed well over the four year period, too. Although I'm surprised, how little, I actually use them in comparison to the saucepans. But it did the job of clearing out drawer space, to access frying pans, better.

One thing worth noting, is how you will lose the equivalent storage space, inside your cabinet. If there is lots of bulky equipment inside, like mine, you may not have the cabinet space to sacrifice. I'm glad I only used this small portion of the cabinet door, and have the majority of the cavity, free for bulky equipment.

I'm still happy I divided the saucepan lids, from the frying pans. But I'm equally glad, I didn't go crazy hanging stuff inside THIS particular cabinet. So consider the internal cabinet space, you will be sacrificing, by hanging things from the door. There will be certain cabinets, this is just not a good fit for. Literally.

July 2015

Kitchen pantry ~ still in use

How have my oven-mitts, hung inside the pantry door, performed over the years? The hooks have not faltered, even with the fluctuating temperatures that can happen between summer and winter. Heat, is generally the undoing of most adhesive hooks. Of all the "Command" brand hooks I've used, they've not lost their adhesion, all this time.

Do I regret having my oven-mitts, a little further away from the oven though? Not really. I tend to get them out, and leave them near the stove, when something is baking anyway. Otherwise, they can happily live inside the pantry, and I can have my bench space, back.

July 2015
Sink, cabinet ~ still in use

Finally, to the last, and what I consider the most successful vertical space, installed in the kitchen. It's a a wire basket, under the washing-up sink. It's purpose is to hold cleaning items, I use the most.

It has saved my back, bending down to the lower shelf, for items only required a few minutes. While only such a short duration, things like the "Miracle Spray", for example, were retrieved multiple times a day! So consider using vertical space, where it can help save your back, with repetitious tasks.

January 2019

Sink, cabinet ~ new addition

It's success, warranted expansion. Bottle brushes! If you make kombucha at home, or use glass bottles to store water in the fridge - even using narrow reusable straws, then you'll be familiar with the necessity of a brush collection.

Not having to bend down at the back of the kitchen sink, any more, meant I was suddenly washing the bottles, as soon as they migrated to the counter. It's one of those things I SHOULD have made more easily accessible. Because in hindsight, I realise this is why my kitchen counter, often looked like a bottle recycling centre - and not in a good way!

It's also why, I would try and stick my hand into narrow jars - attempting to get the dishcloth, to the bottom. Now it's become a habit to grab the bottle brushes from the door, whenever I need them at the sink. There are so many more things I wash with the brushes now, because they're so easily accessible.

January 2019

Sink cabinet door

I'm not finished with this particular door, just yet. On the opposite side, is a convenient place for my knitted dishcloths, to dry. Originally purchased at a cheapy-store (Dollar-store, for the US) it's one of the easiest ways to create vertical space. Just by hanging it over the door. Removable. Portable. No adhesive strips. Nor drills.

It may sound silly, but having a dedicated place to hang your dishcloth, is a big deal. Formerly, I'd use the tap spout, or dish drying-rack. Which wasn't always convenient, with a really stacked load of dishes. Sometimes migrating it to the tap, wasn't a good idea either. Especially if you're in the middle of cooking dinner, and need to rinse something in the sink. It threatened to fall in the food, every time!

Now I don't worry about homeless, wet cloths, getting in the way.

January 2019

Sink, cabinet ~ new addition

Cleaning under the sink recently, I decided to move more items out, and onto the adjoining door. The fly squat (mandatory in summer) and BBQ lighter, take such little space, but often their requirement, is a case of urgency.

The BBQ lighter comes in handy, after a power outage. Finding the means to light candles in the dark, is challenging. Likewise, who wants to break eye-contact with an annoying fly, to retrieve the squatter? Both can be very frustrating situations. Now dealt with, by quick retrieval. I've kept this area, intentionally sparse. Like the fire blanket above. All to facilitate the need for an urgent, automatic, response.

This was actually the cabinet door, I considered hanging the fire blanket from.

January 2019

Sink cabinet ~ underutilised, space

Of all the cabinets in the kitchen - it's under the sink which was, most forgiving to vertical storage on doors. There's plenty of wasted space, under a sink. Just ensure, anything you plan to attach to the doors, has enough clearance around the plumbing, first. Otherwise, you may find the doors won't close afterwards.

Unlike an appliances cabinet, or saucepan cupboard; where bulky stockpots have nowhere else to go - don't plan to utilise those cabinet doors, for vertical space. Multiple, bulky items, need all the space you can give them! So keep that in mind, when contemplating which cabinet doors, to use vertical space on. Some cabinet doors, will seem endless, others, are best leaving to maximise cabinet space.

Even though we don't live in a tiny house, we're nonetheless stacking functions with the storage available. So space, is still a premium consideration. What I like about the improvements thus far, is how it all cost under $50. Plus, I still have spare hooks to use when I find a purpose. And there's always a purpose!

I look forward to sharing more vertical space solutions, in future.

Weekend projects inside

It's been a while, since I've done a weekend project update. These are jobs which can reasonably be done in a weekend. The last time I updated, it was all about storage solutions for my kitchen. I promised to update what I did for the bathrooms at the time. I'm now fulfilling that promise, some eleven months later!

Personally, I love storage solutions which can be built using recyclable materials. However, not all spaces are created equal either. Sometimes, you have to purchase something which is designed to fit the limitations of the space. Such was the dilemma, in our small ensuite.

Former storage solution

Where to hang towel rails, when wall space is a premium? We managed to erect a permanent towel rail, above the toilet, which kept it high and dry. The second towel rail however, involved purchasing a free-standing unit, with lower shelf. While it successfully aired the towel enough to dry, it was awfully close to the floor too.

The free-standing unit, inevitably became a haven for dust bunnies, because it wasn't so easy to pull out of its nook, in such a confined space. I always thought the shower wall, would make a perfect spot for a second towel rail. But I wasn't thrilled at the idea of drilling through glass to install one! I eventually got my wish, without having to involve power tools.

New look

Getting the towel rail up higher, not only prevented the dust bunnies, but it also made the space much larger. Our free-standing towel rail, went into the adjoining bedroom instead, to air clothes worthy of another day's wear. We could also store our slippers on the lower shelf.

Holds well

What made this possible without drilling through the glass however, was a new product using strong, silicon suckers. Forget all the other products you've seen, which inevitably lose contact with the wall. These ones are designed to hold up to 15kg in weight. More than adequate for a slightly damp towel.

These towel rails are about 80cms long, which was perfect for this space. It serves ordinary bath towels well, but may not be suitable for the much larger bath sheets though.

Also in our ensuite, and the main bathroom, is a matter of counter space at the sink. This has been solved by moving the toothbrush console, into the cabinet, under the sink. This was from the same suction cup, product range.

Suction cup

Start by cleaning the surface, allowing it to dry, and then applying the suction cup, according to the instructions. These will be included in your product, but I'll show a video down the bottom too.

Cup holder

Next, sit the metal cup holder into the lip and gently pull down, until it clicks into place.

Final assembly

Then sit the plastic cup into the holder. Be sure to check where you position the product, that it allows the cupboard to open and close freely. Some bathroom cabinets, have an upper lip you have to take into consideration.

Ready to use

Then fill with your favourite toothbrushes and paste. We still store a lot of stuff on the bathroom sink, but getting the toothbrushes into the cabinet, also meant they were protected by a lot of things which naturally float around the bathroom. Think, stubble and random hairs.

There was also one more product I purchased, which I wanted to try out in the main bathroom.

Off the ground

The single toilet roll holder, is screwed into place, but the multiple holder, is our new addition. We've always kept extra toilet rolls at floor level, for some reason. Probably because it's where the major storage solutions, focus on keeping them.

If you're anything like me though, you hate having to move the extra toilet rolls out of the way, to sweep and mop. They inevitably collect dust bunnies on them too. I wanted a solution that would lift the toilet rolls off the ground, where all the dust seems to collect.

This new holder (also utilising he same suction cups) has been working really well, and I haven't regretted purchasing these various items for our bathrooms. It's been almost a year now. In the interests of DIY though, I also wanted to include some other solutions in this post, in case it may suit instead. Especially if it uses existing features.

Source

If you want to use your existing toilet roll holder, you can make a pouch in this tutorial, or come up with something of your own design. The only thing you'd have to take into consideration, is your holder is long enough to accommodate a roll, plus the ribbon on either side.

Or visit this link, for some more ideas on toilet roll holders and extra storage.

Now for the video I promised. It's like an infomercial, so skip it, unless you're genuinely interested.

I purchased this particular Everloc range, online, from Lifespace, and I notice they have a sale on their limited quantities of large towel rails, right now. Just look under "Bathroom", and then, "Towel bars and racks". I'm not affiliated with the company, I just thought I'd mention the sale if anyone was interested.

Howards storage world, is also selling them online, slightly more expensively, but they seem to be advertising a 10% store wide discount too. You can also find them in-store at Target and Bunnings. Non affiliate recommendation too.

Is there a clever bathroom storage solution, you've had to come up with, for your particular space?

Weekend projects inside

I'm late in updating my latest weekend project, namely because I decided to give the computer a rest for a while. The outdoors was calling and we had the time to indulge, so everything else got put on hold. I look forward to sharing some gardening endeavours, but for now its back to my weekend projects.

This was something I had been mulling over for a while. There's a lot of things I do on a daily basis, which wasn't organised very well. We currently live in the biggest house we've ever had (at four bedrooms) but its not a Mac Mansion. It doesn't mean the space we did have available however, was organised very well.

So I did a lot of online research, and borrowed a few ideas. Let me start with what I did in the kitchen.

All in a row

I bought some clear "Command" adhesive hooks, which can hold up to 225g. I did a dummy-run, measuring out the distance between each hook, to give enough room for each cup measure, and for the measuring spoons. I'm happy to say, the hooks have stayed in place, even though this cupboard gets opened a lot.

Functional storage

It's my baking cupboard, and the measuring cups and spoons once sat on top of the plastic container, with the blue lid. I used to have to open the door, stick my hand in and hope to grab the cups or the spoons (whichever I wanted) and drag the whole lot out. Now I just open the door and select which ones. No guesswork involved, because I can see exactly what I want.

Stored, but not conveniently

Also in the kitchen, I had a problem with extremely difficult to store saucepan lids, which were constantly pushed around the frying pan drawer. An obstacle they are no more, thanks to a simple tea-towel railing.

 Vertical space

These are now stored in the cupboard door, under the stove top. I did have to screw into the thin wood, as opposed to attaching by adhesive tape, but I don't imagine I'll be needing to remove this railing. I did a dummy-run with measurements again, being sure to take into account, the shelf in the cupboard and the lip at the very top. I also had to reorganise a few items in the cupboard, to make sure the railing didn't hit them, once the door was closed.

 Bottles of bliss - if stored correctly

This would have to be my favourite addition to my kitchen storage campaign however - a simple wire basket caddy. I use the vinegar spray, dishwashing liquid and powder for the dishwasher, regularly during the day. I also use the bottle cleaner quite a lot also, but had nowhere "airy" enough to store it.

Ready to go!

Once again, I used screws to attach the caddy to the door, did a dummy-run, and made sure I could position it, so it filled the space between the door and the plumbing. Who needs that space right where all that s-bend plumbing is anyway,  except maybe for storing regularly used cleaning products?

The reason this is my favourite addition to the kitchen, is I no longer have to bend down to the lower shelf on multiple occasions during the day. I get to stand up straight, open the door and grab exactly what I want. I highly recommend this for people with mobility issues or back pain. I have a reasonably healthy back, yet I didn't realise what a relief it would be, not to have to bend down to that lower shelf for items I use every day. I can't believe I haven't done this one sooner.

More hooks

Lastly, for the kitchen, is some more (can you guess) adhesive hooks. Only these metal hooks swivel. They're meant for hanging utensils, but I already use  an old pottery crock for that purpose. Who needs to have their oven mitts, taking up storage on the kitchen counter though, as mine previously were?

Tucked away, in the right space

My oven mitts are well loved, and now hung inside the pantry door. I didn't want them in the cupboards near the stove-top and oven, for safety reasons. The storage space it freed, was the heavy pot holder (trivet) they were formerly resting on the counter. I had to move the mitts first, then move the pot holder into position, before I could get to whatever needed removing from the oven or stove.

It may sound like a lot of trouble to go to for oven mitts and a trivet, but as a former professional baker and cake decorator, organisation is the key to any regularly used work space. If you have to double-handle things, when you're in the process of cooking, mistakes are easily made, things get dropped - it's just one of those days - or just too many stacked functions in the one space, with poor organisation? The simpler you can make your tasks, the more likely they are to run smoothly.

More organised - less drama

Right next to the kitchen however, is a storage cupboard. Its chock-full of stuff. So much so, that I would often have to battle with the vacuum cleaner, to get access to the broom and dustpan. I use them more than the vacuum, (daily almost) but I suddenly noticed all that space on the door! Why was I wrestling with the vacuum cleaner hoses for?

On a shoestring

This was another case of looking up, instead of down. I just had to drill a hole in the broom handle, tie a random shoelace through it (keeping an extra shoelace, when one of them breaks, is handy) and hung it from the hook.

This was the same brand of adhesive hook I used for the measuring cups and oven mitts, only it could hold up to 5 kilograms of weight. Even though my dustpan and broom, would come nowhere near that - I also had to take into account, the extra weight the item would pull on the hooks, when the door is swung open. To date, everything has stayed in place.

If my cupboards were made of solid wood, I would have preferred screw-in, metal hooks. You can even get fancy, and make hooks out of all sorts of things. Whatever system works best for you, so don't feel like you're only limited to pre-made storage solutions.

I also made some storage changes to the bathrooms, as well, which I'll share another time.

Are there changes you made to your kitchen work spaces, where you thought, why didn't I do this sooner?

A new cheat!

Okay, so my husband doesn't have many vices - he's not a drinker, smoker or addicted to 4WD'ing! So I don't like to request his remaining vices be curtailed. They're honestly pretty tame, but can sometimes be expensive for our one income family. I'm always trying to find ways to save money.

A necessary evil

My husband IS a coffee drinker though, and not an ordinary one - he likes Mocha's, which is coffee, plus drinking chocolate. He actually has two different varieties of chocolate powder in his Mocha's. First is, Milo, made from barley, so is more a chocolate malt powder - its cheaper per gram though, because we can buy in bulk. His second powder however, is Cadbury's drinking chocolate, derived from cocoa powder, and decidedly more expensive per gram.

I was filling up the glass jars, near the coffee station recently (from the main tub above) and I thought to myself - there HAS to be a cheaper way. There just has to be! So I looked at the list of ingredients and realised, I could make it cheaper.

New mix

You may be grossed out by this, so please turn away if you are allergic to sugar (fake sugar, at that) as these were the list of ingredients I came up with. It fills that little 400g tub I normally buy from $5 to$7 (or $3 on special, if I'm lucky).

Ingredients:
*2 cups of icing sugar mixture to 1 cup cocoa powder*
Whiz around in a food processor then store.

Crazy right? But now affordable and no worse than the name-brand variety. David tasted it and said it was just as good! When I buy Cadbury's on sale, its 75 cents per 100g. Using normal prices for the other two ingredients, it works out to around 36 cents per 100g. That's saving more than half price. Why normal prices compared to sale prices? Well, I buy a no-name brand for the other two ingredients listed, which never goes on sale, because its the lowest price all the time.

Best thing is though, I don't have to wait for his name-brand drinking chocolate, to go on sale any more. I can always stock those other ingredients in the pantry. Plus I'm re-purposing the old tub to hold my new premix, making it easier to see what it was.

 Coffee station with teaspoons a permanent feature

 ~ because I can save opening drawers

I like to decanter all my coffee brewhaha (Muh-ha-ha) into small repurposed Moccona coffee jars, which take up considerably less room on the kitchen bench, than most specialty storage jars would. And its obvious why. Yes, all those containers are for one cup of Mocha. He likes two teaspoons of coffee too, so we buy decafe to reduce the amount of caffeine he has per cup (smallest container on the end).

The way I look at it though, he has very few vices and I'm proud he'd rather a nice cuppa than a coldie (beer) after work. But I've managed to save just that little bit extra in our food budget too.


PS: if you don't have a food processor, or don't want to use the electricity, grab a plain old sieve and bowl instead, mix with a spoon, then store in your favourite jar.

Enter this way

I got this post idea from LindaM at Zone Zero who was brave enough to share an honest picture of the main entrance to their house. We've all had that kind of dilemma where the door to outside, becomes a collection point for everything we may need to use out there. I actually have several doors like that!

But the main doorway at the front of the house, was becoming a problem. I don't have photographs of what it used to look like, but I have pictures for today. Here is the first thing you see as you enter the front door.

This was given to me by my mum, when she was going through her stuff to downsize. It's not in the best condition (scratches, chips, etc) but it meets the need perfectly. It's a skinny piece of furniture, originally intended for a hallway, but it's used instead between two doorways (on either side) to the rest of the house.

It provides a place to leave some of our shoes so they won't clog up the entry, but its main purpose is for storage. All those little drawers are filled with stuff - some we use regularly, others not so much.

The main drawer holds some car keys, the pruners, watches, boot polishing brushes, and other assorted brick-a-brac. Generally speaking, small things which are used a lot, go in the main drawer. Once its closed, the bunched together mess is gone.

The smaller drawers are handy too. It's great to just pop my gardening gloves in here. They're close to outside and not left to sit on bench tops. My gardening gloves are one of those things I don't like to leave outside, in case any critters decide it would be a nice place to explore. Underneath the gloves though, are a bunch of miscellaneous items I keep - you  know, leftover pieces from furniture you've put together, that lonely hair clip your daughter lost the partner to - odds and sods which may come in handy one day.

The shoes though...oh, the shoes!!

My husband is quite the shoe hoarder. There is only one pair of Sarah's shoes on these shelves, and the rest are David's. Its a very simple system though - all his shoes are in one place and within convenient access to the front door. The only thing we haven't got is a bench-seat to sit on, but David makes do with a coffee table in the next room to put his shoes on.

This used to be the bane of my front door existence though. A mountain of shoes would build up so high, they would inevitably spill into the doorway. Thank you mum, for the free shoe shelves! They are so organised now and a great use of vertical space.

You can also see in the above picture, this is where we park the baby pram. It's an extra wide doorway, so we can park the pram there and still use the door to the lounge room.

I made sure to leave a little space between the shelves and wall, to put the umbrella and walking sticks. The walking sticks are just straight branches which have been collected in the yard. They're used very rarely, but occasionally outside.

What really helped with messy areas in the rest of the house however, was this simple gift I received on Christmas Day, from Dave.

It's a hat and coat rack - finally freeing the backs of our dining chairs, and the arms of lounge chairs to use as proper seats instead. David used to hunt around for where he left his coat, now its just a simple matter of hanging it in the one place. I had the same thing with Sarah's blue school jacket. We'd have to hunt for where she put it - the couch, the bathroom floor, her bedroom chair. Now it just lives on the coat rack until school holidays, and I hang it back up in her wardrobe.

We fit quite a bit in this very small entry space, and the doorway is almost always left clear now. I say almost, as a certain little person has decided he likes to clear the shoe shelves on a regular basis.

If you have a problem area in your house (or used to be) please write about it on your blog and leave a comment. I'd like to see how it was addressed, or will be, because there are so many different ways to organise our stuff. Cheap, ingenious ideas are always welcome.