I’m purposefully practicing gratefulness this year. Check out other installments of Fostering a Grateful Heart here!
The kitchen is the most used room in our house which I think makes it the easiest place for me to let discontentment creep in. I’d like to think of myself as a pretty good home cook, and I can let the inadequacies of my kitchen become causes of my grumblings: not enough space on the stove, no real range hood, not enough counter space, etc.
Here’s the truth: This is the largest kitchen in floor space and counter space I’ve ever had.
When we moved in, we extended the peninsula to hold one more cabinet which made space for our new and improved cutting board. Pictures can be deceiving in size. This puppy is 3 feet long! I regularly prepare dinner with my kids or hubby chopping alongside me. There is plenty of space!
Not only can the peninsula hold this massive cutting board, there is ample space on the counter next to the sink. This space is where I’ll put our blender to make smoothies, do a rough chop of vegetables, or puree soups. Oh, and of course, it holds plenty of dirty dishes after a meal!
To the right of the sink, I put the drying mat for letting hand-washed dishes air dry. Again, there is plenty of space for the drying dishes without crowding the corner and prep space next to the stove.
Speaking of the space to the left of the stove, I usually line up my prep bowls for what I’m cooking from the corner over to the stove. I line them up in the order that I need to add them to the pan. I will frequently have 3-6 bowls lined up here (I use the cereal bowls from our everyday dinnerware to hold the prepped veggies/meat/fruit).
To the right of the stove, there is room for either (1) the prep dishes for the dish being cooked on that side of the stove or (2) plenty of space to make a pot of coffee. Our coffee process requires a kettle, kitchen scale, Chemex pot, and coffee grinder. It’s a little more involved than most people do! Either way, lots of space!
Bonus space: the counter to the right of our fridge. I don’t use this space for regular cooking or prep-work, but I use it for entertaining. I set up our airpot with coffee mugs, cream, and sugar for morning gatherings, or I put glass pitches of water or lemonade plus cups and straws. The counter is large enough to hold all these items, freeing up counter space for food and allowing everyone’s thirst to be satisfied. 😉
This kitchen is larger than our first apartment, our first house, or our second apartment. However, have you noticed that you can easily fill out the space you have, no matter how large or small? Contentedness and gratefulness for my kitchen takes purpose and intentional thought for me. I can always think of a feature, space, appliance that would make my kitchen so much better, but the truth is this: great food can be made in any kitchen, friends can gather and laugh in any kitchen, and family memories can be made with any amount of counter space.
You don’t need a lot to be happy. You don’t need more to be a good host. The thing you need is for you to have a grateful, joyful attitude about what you do have.
How have your spaces changed size over the years? Did your contentedness change too? What aspect of your kitchen are you the most grateful for? Is there something in your kitchen you used to want and now have (and have perhaps forgotten that you once longed for this feature!)?
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