I Love My New Pot Rack (PLUS: A Kitchen Makeover)

Is it possible to love an inanimate object? Was Johnny 5 really alive? These are questions for philosophers, not food bloggers. All I know is that I love my new pot rack.

It all came about because Craig had been complaining about how disorganized our kitchen was and so, for his birthday, I decided to do something about it. I bought rubber gloves; I bought cleaning sprays; I bought paper towels. And then I got to work.

First, the great purging of spices. I had spices all over my counters, cabinet shelves, spilling out on to the floor. Something had to be done. Some of these spices were from the Jurassic era.

I got rid of almost all of them, except the ones I'd purchased in the last few months. I don't regret it at all and now my spice rack is neatly organized and way more useful because it's actually stuff I want to put in my food:

Then I got to my cabinets. Look at this mess!

I emptied everything out and scrubbed the cabinets clean.

During this process, I decided to investigate the top of my refrigerator to see if it needed cleaning too. HOLY MARY MOTHER OF GOD. If you had poured tar on top of my fridge and then hired a flock of seagulls to defecate on it, it would've been cleaner than what I found up there. It's not for the faint of heart; I spent a good hour scrubbing and scrubbing:

My theory is it got so dirty from all the smoke that rises up from the stovetop when I brown meats, etc. Whatever. My back hurt after scrubbing all that grime off; but it was worth it. After hours and hours of scrubbing and cleaning, my kitchen looked like this:

Pretty, right?

As a reward, I treated myself to a yellow teapot from Crate & Barrel (I'd been using just a regular pot to make my tea every morning):

I bought a basket at Sur La Table for storing my onions and garlic and potatoes and also anything I bring home from the farmer's market:

As for reorganizing my cabinets, I made the top row baking vessels (casserole pans, soufflé dishes), the middle row bowls and ramekins and, in the middle salt, and the bottom row drinking glasses and mugs:

On the left side, the top is still baking vessels (cake pans, tart pans), the middle shelf is baking stuff and the bottom shelf is Tupperware and mixing bowls:

I neatened up the drawers too, removing all our old silverware in lieu of our new Bakelite silverware from E-Bay:

It's hard to define this drawer, but I think it works (I could probably use a drawer liner):

Here's the breakthrough moment. I purged my bottom cabinets of all pots and pans, removing them to a bedroom. Instead, I brought all my appliances and essential devices front and center: the blender, the food processor, the toaster, the salad spinner, the roasting pan, the colander and the cutting boards.

This is so much nicer than the jungle of pots and pans I had shoved in there. I know exactly where everything is and where everything goes.

But what to do with all of those pots and pans?

Cue a chorus of angels descending from on high with this Enclume Bookshelf Pot Rack:

People, as I said at the start of this post (and in the title), I love this pot rack. Not only did it un-clutter my cabinets, but now all of my favorite pots and pans are just a grab away when I want to cook. Installing it wasn't easy (I ended up calling a handyman who charged $50, which seemed fair; when you're dangling so much weight from your drywall, better safe than sorry) but it was totally worth it. Seeing all of my pots and pans hanging there makes me want to cook more often. And after I cook and the dishes are done, it's easy to know where everything goes. This pot rack has changed my life.

So thank you, pot rack. I may not be able to marry you in a court of law, but our love is forever. Or: until we move again.