Tired of bumping elbows
By AnjaP
@Rollo1 (16676)
Boston, Massachusetts
November 9, 2015 5:35pm CST
The one thing that you really need in a kitchen is counter space. I never seem to have any. And what little there is, is taken up by small appliances.
It seems like there are so many things that have to be out on the counter to be useful. I mean, you need the coffee pot there. The toaster? Well, who wants to pull a toaster out of a cabinet every morning to make their breakfast? The can opener? Same thing, I would go crazy pulling it out and plugging it in every time I needed to open a can.
Okay, I don't use the breadmaker every day. But it's too big and heavy to put away and take out every time. The Nuwave countertop oven? If I put it away, I would never use it. I have it because it cooks food quickly and uses less electricity than the regular oven. So, having it handy is important. The toaster oven? It's quick to make small things, and I use the broiler quite often. The countertop dishwasher stays. I could put the Keurig away, no one ever uses it.
I am complaining because I was making a pie crust and I can't even roll it out. Every direction, I bump into things with my arms or hands or even the rolling pin. I am tired of lopsided and poorly rolled pie crusts because I don't have the room to properly roll it out.
What I need is one long counter with a zillion electric outlets to put every appliance on. Just line them up. And then another counter to prepare food on.
Do you have enough counter space to do the cooking you want to do? Have I just got too many appliances? Which should I put into the "forget it ever existed cabinet"?
20 people like this
19 responses
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
10 Nov 15
The main thing that I avoided when I was furnishing my home was to overcrowd any room. To me having adequate space to move about is very important, so I restricted my selection accordingly. The surface area in my kitchen is not a vast expanse, but I do find it to be adequate for my needs.
When I first saw the title of this post I wondered why you should keep bumping elbows, especially since they are on opposite sides of your body.
3 people like this
@msiduri (5687)
• United States
9 Nov 15
We actually do have enough counter space. But that also means the bread machine sits on a small table away from everything else. The coffeemaker is small. And the kitchen table is fine for anything that needs be rolled out with a rolling pin. We've lucked out.
3 people like this
@JudyEv (382019)
• Rockingham, Australia
10 Nov 15
As long as I put things away properly we have enough counter space too. Sometimes papers or mail gets left lying around. Paperwork is always a problem in our house. We seem to drown in it sometimes.
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
10 Nov 15
Well, I got rid of the kitchen table, but I might put it back. The problem is that people put things on it that make me never want to use it for food. Mostly it collects junk mail and things like mittens and hats and pocketbooks and backpacks and just anything that anyone feels the need to put down as they walk in the door.
@allknowing (153544)
• India
10 Nov 15
I have a side table that divides our kitchen area and that part of the hall where we dine. This side table is like a buffet table where cooked dishes are placed thus making room for working on the kitchen platform. Yes while at work the kitchen platform does have a cluttered look.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (153544)
• India
10 Nov 15
@Rollo1 I like designing interiors so if you can post a picture here (without the clutter (,lol) may be I can suggest something, only if you want to.
@Rollo1 (16676)
• Boston, Massachusetts
10 Nov 15
@LadyDuck I do bake it in the oven, because I hate bread machine-shaped bread and the crust is never right. But I knead it in the bread machine. I guess it is silly, in a way, to have this big machine that does nothing but knead the dough. But since it also warms it for the rising, it's convenient to set it up and do other things for an hour and a half while it takes care of all the menial tasks.
1 person likes this
@KnehKnah (3582)
• Philippines
10 Nov 15
You seem to have what you need for an easy food prep & cooking, except a space to roll your pie crust. I may sound silly but I do this when I am after a bigger space to chop ingredients, etc when I cook. I slump on the floor & do it there. No, of course not RIGHT on it but just on it. Ha! Ha! Ha!
1 person likes this
@KnehKnah (3582)
• Philippines
11 Nov 15
@Rollo1 Yes. It will be better to work on a table. I do that most of the time but when I still need an extra space & there isn't on the table, I do that on the floor. But, I see to it that it is immaculately clean & no cats, kittens, dogs & puppies to come near to it.
@marguicha (230351)
• Chile
10 Nov 15
I have most of my appliances at the countertop in front of the stove. But between the stove and the sink there is a better place where I can work.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
10 Nov 15
I do have space, I designed my kitchen and I have a peninsula which is perfect for those kinds of jobs.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
10 Nov 15
@Rollo1 I also put in a huge pull out wooden cutting board which I pretty much use every day for something, it is great extra space. I do my pizza dough on the board.
@iamshane487 (1138)
• Manila, Philippines
10 Nov 15
I'm experiencing that way. Our kitchen has small counter space too so we added new table to display the other appliances.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
10 Nov 15
Yeah this bugs me, I want a cabinet with really sturdy drawers that roll out, and plugs in the back, you wanna use it, roll it and out use it, when done push it in and shut the doors!
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
10 Nov 15
@Rollo1 yeah what I was thinking was something custom, where the shelves might as well BE countertop, you know? I have this problem too, I actually thought about getting a portable table and just setting it up and taking it down when I need more prep space.
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
10 Nov 15
With no knead bread recipes (ATK) has some, the breadmaker could go. My wife has great success that way.
1 person likes this
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
10 Nov 15
You did say you never use the Keurig, so that could go in the forget it ever existed cabinet. I have only one counter and it might be 6' long. It has my microwave canisters and two sets of knives, and all the stuff I haven't put away in a while. The sink doesn't have an attached counter. So my counter space is extremely limited. Oh, I do have a coffee pot hidden on the counter somewhere behind all the stuff.
1 person likes this
@delyaj30 (613)
• Quezon City, Philippines
11 Nov 15
it's really hard to move in small space specially the kitchen where we used to stay most of the time. Glad our kitchen was renovated last May and now it's more comfortable to move,have a long counter for some stuffs also, and easy to clean because of granite tiles used
@Tampa_girl7 (54715)
• United States
10 Nov 15
I only keep our coffee maker out and we seldom use it. I really am blessed that this house has the best kitchen I have ever had. I wouldn't change much about it. We will use it as the model for when we do our kitchen in West Virginia.
@Marilynda1225 (91069)
• United States
11 Nov 15
I am lucky enough to have lots of counter space and an Island, all with plenty of outlets. I moved from a house that had no counter space and I would have to set up my ironing board to use as an extra counter.
@Kazemononoke (248)
• United States
10 Nov 15
We never have enough counter space. Mostly due to the fact that my husband keeps the laptop on the counter to listen to news, music and whatnot while he is cooking. lol
