this. is. my. life.
my stove is home to my hot rollers, blowdryer, iron and laundry detergent :)

what is wrong with these people?

Well, if you don't like to cook and eat every meal outside of your apartment, then the kitchen would just be wasted space otherwise. These people are just making use of every last inch!

So where do these people keep their food if they have their fridge filled with shoes? And If I had clothes in my oven my place would definitely burn down...

I would hazard a guess that these people don't cook. Ever. I just can't relate to that.

My vintage stove seems to give off heat all the time, so using it as extra storage isn't an option even though I never use it.

I would love to get my hands on the apartment of the lady in the 2nd from right photo - she's not using her vertical space! Shelves, sweetheart! With a little better organization, she would be able to cook! If she wanted to...

Each to his or her own, but wouldn't you unplug your fridge before putting clothes in it? The lights are still on in both of those fridges.

I gave up my freezer a few months ago, after running it plain empty or using it for storage for 4 years. I bought an half height fridge and increased my counter space. I also find it forces me to eat fresher healthier foods and saves a few watts at the same time.

This is hilarious!!! But it's not good for feng shui to have clothes in the oven. The oven / burners represent Wealth in feng shui...if you're putting your expensive clothes paid for with hard earned cash in the oven, it symbolizes a disrespect for your Wealth. Not a good idea. I saw many a gal who kept only a few bottles of champagne and perfume in their NYC apartment fridges but this I never saw. Thanks AT for the LOL!

That's the last time I want to hear anyone say that people in LA are nuts.

This is why one must clean and disinfect everything when moving into a new place, no matter how clean it might look. *shiver*

This reminds me of Sex and the City

Didn't Carrie keep her old issues of Vogue in the oven?

Im gonna say: No!

no. carrie kept her sweaters in the oven. her vogues were neatly archived on shelves in the anteroom across from the kitchen. who would keep magazines in an oven? they are too heavy to have bend over and slide it out every time.

Yeah.No.

Only in America...

These people seem proud of their slovenliness.

Not only do these people obviously rely on take-out, but they apparently never keep leftovers either.

wow i wish i had enough money to eat out everyday. must be nice. i also agree with the ick factor of having shoes in the fridge.

Oh, oh....don't turn on that stove. I see...they never use it. Yikes!

And I thought I was doing something strange by keeping half of my shoe collection in a file cabinet!

It's obvious they don't know how to cook, nor do they want to so they use their kitchens, such as they are for other things.

I'm fortunate that I have closet space (to a degree) so have no need to store clothing etc in my kitchen and yes, I DO cook in there and it's in need of a good scrub down anyway to store anything else but the kitchen items.

And a thought while reading is that is the Post serious with this article?

My theory is if you don't have enough space for your clothes, shoes and stuff, you probably have TOO MUCH STUFF!

Throughout my 20s my kitchen cabinets were filled with books and the oven stuffed with pots and pans that I never used, so I can relate to these people...somewhat. But relinquish your fridge? Champagne, beer, takeout leftovers and eye masks aside, don't they ever crave cool water? The Brita needs to live somewhere.

Do I have enough closet space for my clothes? No. Am I going to use my fridge, stove, and the rest of my kitchen as clothes/shoes storage space? NO. I have a hard time getting myself to cook a meal. 3x per week is the max, but this is nuts! Not even a bottle of water???? I filter mine, but I prefer it cold! Or even booze! Really people? Ugh! I feel bad for whoever has to deal with the fridge and stove next! I'd replace the fridge if I knew people's shoes had been in it. Either that or spend a lot of time with some bleach or something disinfecting and possibly poisonous in a small space!

Ew, gross! On the fourth photo...So weird that there is a pan on her stove when the fridge is filled with shoes. I don't think she would ever need that pan! Obviously...

peppercook, old stoves have gas pilot lights for the oven and for each burner, so yep they give off heat continuously. New stoves have electric ignition.

Old stoves might be awful for clothing storage, but they make a great place to put dough to rise.

With the money these people spend eating/ordering out, they could either have storage built into their homes, or just buy another place.

awful....

Well...my stove isn't hooked up to the gas line, so I have to admit I keep my drill, dustbuster, extra battery packs and charger in there. After all, what are microwaves for?

So. gross.

Um. I live in a 250 sq ft apartment in NYC, tiny! But never ever would I use the oven or fridge as clothing storage. Have these people never heard of shelving, or under bed storage? I do have a good deal of kitchen cabinets, and use a couple near the ceiling as storage for smaller artwork. But shoes? Ack!

I don't keep food in my apartment, and I can't remove my fridge, so I keep my shoes in there. Yes, I either eat out at every meal, or cook with friends in their homes. Scandal!

umm... everyone else already said what i wanted to. but i'll say it anyway-- NO!! I'n order for me to put my clothes in the oven it would have to be BRAND NEW with nothing ever having been cooked in it. so that begs the question, why did you even buy yourself an oven? why not just stick a wardrobe in its place?

Asinine.

lol -- love the posts. i guess most people never tried to live in under 200 square ft. welcome to new york.

most new yorkers i know can't cook, knowing street vendors is a life skill.

I read the comments before looking at the photos, so I was imagining a bunch of total neat freaks who never ever use their spotless kitchens so they are fine for store other stuff but...

Man, a couple of those places look like they're owned by total shlubs. If strip-shirt guy just bought some cheap IKEA storage solutions, he wouldn't have to keep everything he owned in the fridge or spilling out all over the place in bedraggled looking cardboard boxes.

@RosemaryGinger....but, that pan looks so puuurty on the stove...

If you are going to store your shoes in your refrigerator, how about unplugging it? The light was on in all those pics.

ijits. i can't help but judge people who don't ever cook. i try, but i cannot do it. ijits.

I can understand that these people in New York eat out every night. They often spend insane amounts of time at work, so this saves them a lot of trouble, and they can afford it, so why not?

What I do not understand is that they don't need their fridge, at all. I can't imagine leaving the house on a Sunday morning to get me some breakfast!

Funny! Love that first pic. Hard to imagine doing this? Sure, but tons of people don't cook. Bravo to them for breaking with convention and using their space in a way that best suits their lifestyle!

k2yhe, my thought exactly. Eating out 3 times a day is disastrous for the wallet. They could afford a bigger place if they saved a bit, by not eating out so much and cooked a little, like one meal a day??!!?

Lamina, Sundays are made for breakfast or brunch. That's my main eating out event of the week....

These people gross me out.

That picture just reminds me of the time my roommate decided to store our tupperware in the oven when we had no more cabinet space. A few days later, while I was preheating the oven, something started to smell a little strange....

Even if you don't ever cook, don't you need your refrigerator? Don't you own a single glass or plate?

Ok.. to all of you who said "oh but the light was on in all of those pictures!", I'm gonna go on and state the obvious here: PHOTO SHOOT.
As for who keeps their what in their where... who cares? I never bitched my aunties out because they used to pack clothes in toy or game boxes on my birthdays, LOL.

these people are new yorkers. they don't need to cook. Not my lifestyle but I find it fascinating. I love New York! so many quirky people.

This also begs the question: if you have so much clothing that you're storing it in appliances, WHY DON'T YOU GET RID OF ONE?

If you're not using the appliances, get rid of 'em.

If you can't store the clothes, get rid of 'em.

I've discovered through a series of apartment tours that I need about 725 square feet to live. Guess it's the consequence of living in the Midwest and needing the space to be a crafter.

I cant wait to pay too much money for too small a space, eat take out every meal of my life, and keep my personal items in the oven! Hooray life in the big city! So great!

Cyb etal--

I daresay there are an equal or greater number of New Yorkers who are grocery shopping weekly at Whole Foods or Gourmet Garage or FreshDirect who are paying far more for cooking at home than these folks, who are eating every meal out (or doing takeout).

"Eating every meal out" does not mean every meal is eaten at NoBu or JeanGeorges.

And I also doubt the cost difference between cooking and eating out for most of these people would account for a sizable enough windfall to account for a move to a classic six on the Upper West side...

Let this all be what it is: one of the oddities of New York living.

Some of these comments are waaay out there. When did putting unused appliances to practical use become a moral issue? So some people don't cook. Big deal. It doesn't make them "obnoxious jerks." In fact, I find all this hurling of epithets far more obnoxious.

As a former Manhattanite, I'm with Patrick (too) on this one. Grocery shopping in NYC can often be almost as expensive as dining out (even at Gristedes, et al). There ARE ways to minimize the expense, but it takes some effort to do so. For many NYC dwellers, this is simply not a worthwhile investment- why go out of your way to get ingredients so that you can lose even more time making food and cleaning at home?

Figure out where the best 'hidden treasure' cheap-yet-amazing restaurants are, and you're set.

Context is everything.

And for those of you saying "gross, clothes in a stove!" I can pretty much bet you my oven is cleaner right now than the laundry facility I share with the residents of my neighboring 50 floors!

Groceries in New York are super expensive--especially fresh fruits and vegetables. So yeah, I could save money by buying a bag of cheap frozen burritos to eat all week, but I'd much rather get take out from my favorite cheap Thai restaurant.

If you want cheap groceries and a big house, move to the suburbs. I'll take Manhattan, thank you very much. It's got everything I need to live a full, happy life.

I think the shoes in the fridge are a little weird, too (no water or beer?), but I agree that the comments and scorn heaped upon these people are a lot stranger.

Who the heck cares if someone else doesn't cook? It's not a moral failing. Lots of people don't have any interest in cooking, in NYC and elsewhere, and it's not always cheaper. And the advice to "get rid of the appliances"? Have you people never been renters before? Sheesh.

And I can't help but judge people who can't use proper capitalization and spelling.

Yes, magnolia88, I thought the same thing about getting rid of appliances. Renters can't get rid of major appliances! They may as well use them.

lots of judgment and self-righteous bloviating about how other folks should live? Ahhhh....right on target, America.

With regards to the comment I made, who cares if someone actually cooks...but doesn't at least some of these people own a plate, a glass, a fork, etc? What about needing a fridge for things to drink and to put leftover take out? Some of those photos have to be staged because dedicating a fridge to storage is pretty impractical unless they also added a mini-fridge somewhere else for bottles of water and what-not.