apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Liquor! Plenty of room for all of those oddly shaped bottles.

wine rack

I was just going through my top-of-the-fridge stash last night:

1 bottle of rum, 2 bottles of gin, 2 bottles of tonic water, 1 bottle of amaretto, 1 bottle of cognac, margarita mix, vermouth, 1 bottle of whiskey, 1 bottle of scotch, 1 very large bottle of vodka, a huge bag of organix puppy food, one bag of japanese rice. I cringe everytime I look at the top of the fridge, because the rest of the kitchen, including the countertops, is uncluttered.

-David

There's an ARGUMENT on the top of my fridge. The Fiance and I quarrel about what can/can't go up there...constantly. He's a pack rat who "piles" things that invariably slide and fall off and make a mess.

Today, I am winning:

1. half eaten bag of tostitos
2. serving tray

In my previous house, the microwave was up there. A little awkward, but better than taking up counter space.

Now, there's a cabinet over the refrigerator, with a clearance of a couple inches. The only things that hang out in the space are a cat toy (not that the cats put it there) and some dust.

I don't recommend putting wine or liquor up there. The heat from the fridge could alter the flavor.

Crock Pot. Doesn't fit anywhere else.

We've got booze up there too. And our collection of Everyday Food and other cookbooks.

A model of a chair I made, some tall glasses I can't fit anywhere else and some large bowls that don't fit in my cabinets....and probably lots of dust.

The big ol' George Foreman grill, some booze, some mixers and chips.

Microwave - it's above eye level, so I'm never confronted by its messiness and never have to clean it!

Chips on top of the fridge seems like a universal .. we did that when I was growing up too.

A serving tray (doesn't fit anywhere else) vintage metal flour/sugar canisters and the ipod dock.

A large, old melon basket filled with cookie cutters.

A rice cooker, about 10 bottles of jug-sized liquor from Costco from our last party and...gooey, sticky dust. I'm so glad I'm too short at 5'6" to have to see that everyday.

I solitary yellow rabbit cookie jar.
I don't like stuff on top of the fridge for some reason.

a pile of cast iron pans
one yellow enamel pan
an orchid
a spooner, filled with various small utensils

all waiting for a real home

there's about 5 inches before the overhead cupboards, just enough room for a chilean wooden box containing tea and an olive dish

no olives, just the ditch

Two boxes. Don't judge me I moved in not too long ago!

Mixing bowl, cake stand. And whatever doesn't fit on my island when I'm cooking. I have about 2 square feet of counter space.

roach motels i'm sorry to say

Booze and doggie treats. It's a bit of a mess right now. I'm newly inspired to build some shelving up there.

We have a cabinet directly above our fridge, so it makes storing things on the actual fridge a little difficult.
But I keep my baking sheets and cutting mats up there. The monstrous (but awesome) wine corker is also kept up there. And there's also our take-out binder (yes, I organize the take-out menus, that's what happens when you work in production), rental/lease info envelope, and CA Tenant Rights binder, which now that I think about it, could stand to be put into an inconspicuous/pretty box or basket.

Uh oh. You mean tall people see it at eye level?? Let's see what's up there...

Bread maker, dust kitties, popcorn maker, half-eaten bag of Tostitos circa 2004...

Maybe this should be my January jumpstart?

My frosted miniwheats, my husband's granola, the coffee filters...and sorry to say, a variety of stuff of unknown origin. Napkins, I think. Junk.

a large red ruby glass serving plate that doesn't fit anywhere else. it holds various invitations and announcements to events I plan to go to. As a tall person, it's right at eye level and I can't miss it.

I havd a cabinet above my fridge where I stash things that I hardly ever use as I have to climb on the counter to get up there.
So on my fridge I've been keeping a package of about 20 paper towels and a package of about 24 rolls of toilet tissue, just until I find somewhere to put them. (Or until I use them all up and replace them.)
Oh and one of those bamboo like plants that grow in just water alone.

No dust bunnies for me. Yeah!!!

I have part of my unique tea pot collection up there.

I used to have liquor on top of mine and then one of my blog readers blasted me for it so I took it off...

My George Foreman Rotisserie. I have no where else to put it.

there's about a 6" space between my fridge and the upper cabinet. my cat sleeps up there. he jumps from the counter like the agile and svelte feline that he is.

i also bought a drawer from the elfa mesh-metal drawer set that's the perfect size of a placemat. so it fits perfectly all my placemats, dishtowels, and oven mitts...and the cat sleeps behind it...sometimes in it...which is furrily annoying. but it just tucks away, which is nice.

Often, my cat.

a plant and a lamp

(please don't store wine on top of the fridge - it makes me cringe)

The microwave and a row of ceramic jars and coffee-making vessels (moka, french-press, etc)

My bright green Ikea PS VALLO watering can and a small pot w/ a jade plant that somehow manages to survive despite my occasional forgetfulness towards it. And no dust. I like to keep it clean since my stove is just to the right.

nothing*:

1. i'm short
2. i can't stand clutter

* (with the occasional exception of my cat)

6 cereal boxes.

Four metal "shoeboxes" from IKEA, which hold spices, pasta, and stuff like plastic wrap.

Vintage Hamilton Beach foodmixer (use it a lot too), 2 teapots, 2 tea caddies, yogurt maker, dishes for catfood, serving platter (holds Kleenex box right now), copper dish, marble rolling pin, toast rack with forgotten mail, recipe box, old ashtray filled with soda can tabs, last weekend's estate sale purchases. It's pretty crowded up there - need more cabinets I guess !

Microwave, small toaster and mini food processor. My kitchen is very small, only a small corner of my tiny 1 bedroom.

I have a huge orange pottery bowl (all to often with pliers, nails, screwdrivers etc in it) and a smaller pottery jar that I bought in Santa Fe on vacation. I like to look at them, and they hold small stuff so they're kind of useful.

Just the microwave. A much better alternative than it taking up tons of counter space. It is a bit awkward taking hot things out from so high up, but that's the compromise.

A slightly ugly Murano-esque glass vase that my college roommate gave me as an engagement present and two homeless wedding gifts: a fondue set (powered by a tea light-- can that possibly work?) and a smoothie maker (otherwise known as a blender with a spigot).

One and a half years' worth of Christmas, birthday, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and other cards. It could give way at any moment.

3 boxes of cereal, instant oatmeal & malt o meal, bread.
Being only 5' I have to ask hubby to get the cereal boxes down. I know I know how about using the step stool you ask...it's just more convenient to ask him : )

Yeah, so the front of the fridge is storage for stuff that gets used regularly - big bag of tortilla chips, basket of onions, and the trash bags (nice and close to the trash so nobody forgets to put a bag in after they empty it). The back of the fridge is the black hole of stuff we never use - paper towels, paper napkins and paper plates, most of which were not purchased by us but brought over by people trying to be helpful at potluck-type events. And I don't even want to think about the dust. I'd better get on that.

Knife block that also holds oven mitts. Very tall olive oil bottle. Spice rack.

And across the back, the extra shelf from the cabinet above the fridge, which it turns out is a highly desirable cat perch. He barely fits but he loves it back there.

A breadbin, on top of which again sit containers of muselli and porridge oats. The cat often sleeps behind the bread bin on a cool day.

Just two trays...nothin' else allowed.

microwave, and coffee pods for my coffee machine.
and on top of my microwave I've got a bowl with coins, broken magnets, rings etc and two framed pictures.
(a piramid of sorts!!!)

Steamer baskets.

Nothing! I couldn't bear it.

The smoke detector =X
It went off every time I cooked, so I took it down in protest.
There's a cabinet up there too, with the toolbox and various appliance instructions and the lease and whatnot.

since a: I have a giant fridge, and b: I am short, that turns the top of the fridge into: space I can neither see nor access easily. So, up there at the front where I can reach them on tiptoe go all plastic bags/wraps/foils, etc., and in the back are the extra bag of cat food that must always be in the house, and any other large bulk items that I don't need on a regular basis because I only pull out the step ladder when absolutely necessary.

My microwave and my serving tray.

2 boxes of cereal, mixing bowl stack, 2 pitchers. there are 3 of us in the house and we have little cabinet space so it's crowded up there.

since my fridge is in the dining room and not the kitchen (kitchen is the size of a postage stamp) there is very little on top of it - a few framed photos and a ceramic vase.

We just got new cabinets in our kitchen and I made the cabinet above the fridge 24" deep instead of the standard 12"--that way I can store the liquor bottles and other odds and ends in the cabinet instead of having it on full view. Plus, I can reach the cabinet doors now without having to get a step stool out.

A stereo, so I can shake my moneymaker while cooking, baking, and cleaning!

Nothing but some fridge magnets that seem too ugly to use to clutter up the relatively new fridge. I'm short so we have a pantry/closet for accumulating junk

Kinda embarassed. I have tons of liquor (my husband's a bartender) that will takes us ages to finish drinking. 2 humongous containers of whey protein. Again my husband's. Various boxes of cereal.
Really unattractive, but we live in a tiny bedroom, and the kitchen has very little storage. No pantry, no room for a shelf.

Maybe we'll move the microwave there... but it is harder to clean it up there.

The microwave, cookbooks, house purchases receipts

I hate clutter up there too, but I need the space. We just have 2 things up there: the bose wave radio, and a giant old yellow ware bowl that was my grandma's. The bowl is the place I toss all the kitchen clutter: recipes waiting to be filed, coupons, receipts, lists and so on.

Serving tray and a very large basket. I'd prefer nothing, but the basket needed a home and the tray, well.. as everyone else says, it's the only place it fits..

I was just looking at it in dismay last night. A large basket of fruit/veggies...a banana stand (unused because the junk keeps knocking it over)...a wicker picnic basket containing my daughters' tea set...a Fiesta butter dish bottom pining away for a top...misc noisy toys that are in "timeout"...all three of our insulated lunch bags (is there *ever* a good/convenient place for these without a pantry?)...an envelope of name stickers to label school items...

And this is all in the 6" of space between the fridge and cabinet above it. I hate clutter so I get a twitch every time I walk by it.

A set of JLB Creature Speakers (silver in colour) - the wire itself is then run down behind the fridge and across the back of some storage jars to where the iPod gets plugged in!