the household expansion pack

[tielan]

I have been looking at getting a stand-alone dishwasher. I just can't manage the dishes along with everything else and they build up. B1 is not reliable to do dishes (health issues) and B2 is not reliable to do dishes on the weekend with any regularity.

Result: a fairly small benchtop that is covered with stuff and has very little space.

I mentioned this to my mother and she suggested an entirely new kitchen. Which is not impossible, if I stay in my current job. That said, once mum suggested the new kitchen, my stepfather suggested a house remodelling.

Oy.

All I want is a dishwasher that isn't me!

*sigh*

I'd like cupboards that go all the way up to the ceiling. Then we don't get that useless space on top where things get stored but they also get covered in oil and dust, caked thick and sticky. We can store things that we hardly ever use (or which B1 won't let me get rid of, such as a bunch of old 'fancy dinner' chinese bowls, including a soup toureen).

I'd like floor level drawers that pull out and allow storage of things like baking trays and cooking pans, fancy plates and dishes, plastic containers, and stuff like that.

I'd like those shelves for corner cupboards that are on a spindle and pull out, so you can store heavy things up the back and not have to remove everything to reach it.

An integrated stove/oven would be nice, too.

And, of course, the dishwasher.

I'd like to be able to clear stuff away in the dining room, which is presently unusable. But that relies on B1 having the energy to move it all, which she doesn't have and won't authorise anyone else to do and...

Firstly, decide exactly what we want to do (I say 'we' but it's really kind of 'I', then how much we can afford to do.

Comments

[wpadmirer]

You make me very happy that Pat and I can split chores, and that I'm really good at ignoring the ones he doesn't get done because of his health issues. (grin)

I do the dishes, but with just the two of us, there is very little to do.

[tielan]

Well, it's just the two of us, but keeping on top of it is a pain, and between work and everything else, I don't have the time. Plus, our takeaway containers are plastic and we wash them and reuse them for all sorts of stuff.

[wpadmirer]

Our situation is the same. I work full-time outside the house. I'm at an office five days a week. Basically it boils down to how much we can tolerate, and because I'm very, very good at ignoring things, it works for us.

But if I wasn't, it would be a constant hassle. I do laundry and the dishes. That's pretty much it. (I have a couple of small flower beds, but that's my thing and I'm more a "benign neglect" type of gardener.)

[jenab]

When my mom had her kitchen remodeled she had pull out drawers for all floor level shelves and it was pretty great.

She also had space between the cabinets and ceiling and put up some decorations that were pretty. But they really did get covered in dust and oil. I didn't realize how bad they were until I was de-cluttering the kitchen to have the house sold.

It was a gorgeous remodel and just what she wanted though it did take years for her to get it and save up for it.

[tielan]

I have a friend who did a complete kitchen remodelling and it cost them upwards of 60K...

I am thinking that maybe it doesn't have to be quite so much; most of what we need is the cupboards and the installation, I think.

[rose_griffes]

I've been mulling over new cupboards as well: definitely the kind that go to the ceiling, yes. I do shove stuff on top of the existing cupboards at times, with exactly the resulting dust + grease problem you mentioned.

[tielan]

We have so much stuff on top of the cupboards. *sigh* At least with floor-to-ceiling cupboards, there'd be more shelves, less dust, and it wouldn't look like every space surface is crammed with things. I mean, every spare surface is crammed with things, but...it would be nice to be able to pretend.

[rmc28]

Thing is, you can get a standalone dishwasher for a few hundred pounds and new kitchens start at about £5000 and are a way bigger project. Speaking as a veteran of trying to get stuff sorted in a house where everyone is tired and busy and big projects are overwhelming, get a dishwasher now and figure out how to integrate it into the new kitchen later.

I have wanted a new kitchen for at least a decade and it keeps foundering on a shortage of my capacity to get stuff done (and somewhat on not having thousands of pounds in savings - there are ways around that, but that's just another addition to the work required). But we do have a dishwasher! And 18 months ago we got a water softener which was a palaver and a half but also a definite improvement for the house. And I also got spouse to admit last year that all the pans were ropy and horrible and we could get a new set. And none of these are big fixes but they make the kitchen easier to use right now.

[tielan]

I am looking at dishwashers and fear that even a standalone may not be possible given the space that we (don't) have...

*sobs into a pile of dishes*

[beatrice_otter]

When my parents bought their new house 20 years ago, the kitchen needed remodeling in order to be usable. So they tore it out and slapped some shelves on the walls and some random cabinets the family had so they could have SOMETHING while they were working on getting moved in and a new kitchen done. I mean, it did have all the appliances! Just, not, you know, cabinets or countertops that were actually kitchen-appropriate.

Then, very predictably, my Dad got distracted.

They are only just NOW actually putting a kitchen in.

I hope your kitchen woes are more easily and quickly dealt with!

[tielan]

Yeah, I'm hoping so, too.

[pensnest]

I think rmc28 is absolutely right, a dishwasher *now* is what you need. You can always incorporate it into a new kitchen when you have the time and energy.

I have a kitchen that is just to my taste, and it is a wonderful thing. Not cheap, though. We used a kitchen design place, and our designer thought of several things that had not occurred to us - and she was right. And the kitchen is high quality. But we also went to a couple of cheaper places beforehand and told them what we were looking for, and they could have provided it at *much* less cost - so if you can figure out exactly what you want, that would work. And of course the DIY places are cheaper yet. Thing is, you have to spend quite a while thinking about what you really want and can have, and it's not something to decide in a hurry. Start noticing how you use the kitchen, it'll help.

Drawers are *excellent*. You might be able to get inexpensive baskets-on-wheels if the drawers prove expensive, which would probably be perfectly ok for many shelves. And, one of those floor-to-ceiling pull-out units for storing tins etc. Brilliant. It is incredible how much you can pack in to one of those.

Meanwhile, can you put the stuff on top of the cupboards into cardboard boxes? Not pretty, but at least they won't be covered with kitchen grime. And if there is any wall space, can stuff be hung on it? Like paperwork, in hanging pockets?

Bit of a tangent, there, sorry. Good luck with the dishwasher.

[tielan]

No, it's fine. Organised space would be great. I just don't know how to get there - particularly with B1 because any solution is going to require her involvement or else it's going to fail.