Today I’m pleased to introduce you to Joel and his 60 square foot kitchen in San Francisco.  He’s a fabulous cook who adores his wife.  He even blogs about food.  His site, cleverly called Six by 10 Tiny Kitchen, proves small kitchens can be home to some amazing meals.

Here’s Joel to tell us how he makes his really amazing space work:

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There are certainly challenges to cooking and living in such a small space, but with some effort and creativity we make it work.

First off, because there is obviously not much room for those medium size appliances such as the toaster, blender, coffee maker, etc. we set up a couple of shelving units in the adjoining room to hold them.

Making it even more complicated is the fact that there is only ONE electrical outlet in the kitchen, and the refrigerator is plugged into one of the plugs. This leaves us with one single electrical socket to plug in whatever appliance we happen to need at any given time, and as an added bonus it is nowhere near the small counter space, but is right next to the refrigerator just inside the doorway.

The microwave sits on top of the fridge, and plugs into the wall socket as needed. Otherwise, we run the cord of an electrical power strip from the shelving unit in the other room around to the inside of the doorway and into the plug. The electric stove, also just inside the door, is where we set the blender or food processor when they are needed. Otherwise, they live on a shelf in the other room. Above the oven is the shelf where we keep the spices, bread, and other small immediately useful things. It is, for lack of a better one, my mis en place.

I believe the counter space in this kitchen was designed to cause the greatest amount of frustration and aggravation possible. It is tile, and has a raised 1/2 inch lip along its length, meaning it is neither smooth nor level. Two cutting boards fit nicely between the lip and the wall, making for a useable makeshift work surface, but they are not fixed so they slide around constantly, especially when I am trying to work with dough. The cabinets over the counter come down low, leaving only about 18 inches to work with above the counter. Needless to say, this doesn’t provide a great deal of room to work with.

There is a small pantry cupboard next to the sink and below that is the old ice box, which is funny to see in this day and age. (I think the building was built in the 20′s or 30′s. It has not been significantly remodeled since it was built. In fact, the old built-in ironing board is still there, stuck in the wall behind the refrigerator.)

The biggest thing this kitchen has taught us is how to live without things that we do not need.  The cabinets are big, but shallow.  Cabinets and drawers and cupboards are stacked full with pots, pans, roasting dishes, measuring cups, and mixing bowls.  

We fit whatever we can into every little crevice available.

We could conceivably stand to shed some things that don’t get used as often, but who knows when you are going to need the long rectangular roasting dish instead of the small square one?

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Totally delicious, huh?  You have to love how Joel makes his old, cute kitchen work.  Thanks for the tour, Joel.  If any of you have a little space you’d love to share, give me a shout.  You know how I love small spaces.

All older German women seem to love two things: lace window treatments and white china with blue onions, flowers, and birds on them.  These things are sold everywhere in Berlin from the one euro store and thrift shops to KaDeWe, Europe’s second largest department store.

I know nothing about the lace.

My knowledge of the dishes is about as strong as my German.  I do know that the onions vary in size and color depending on where your dishes come from.  Some are from countries that don’t even exist (like East Germany and Czechoslovakia); others are hot off the press.  None of the manufacturers seem to make their dishes in the same size.

We don’t have curtains yet, and we certainly don’t plan on the lace.  Yet somehow, we have several of the blue onion-flower-bird dishes in our kitchen.  The egg cups are useful, so is the little candy dish.  The thing is, I have no idea what this onion fella is:

The other question, of course, is why we have it.  I don’t know.

Can you help us identify it?  Or better yet, have any creative ideas on how it could be used?  Martin says it’s a napkin holder, so the thingamagigger is posing with a fork.  I say it’s too small for napkins.

Please, oh please.  What do you say?

No birthday is complete without food and cake.  If you’re planning on dishing it onto disposable plates, wait.  Green options abound.  Green… and cheap.  So lets dive into some different solutions right here in the next segment of our Green Birthday Guide now that the green invitations are sent, shall we?

Plates and cups

1. Use real dishes.  I know that’s pretty obvious.  It’s just so cheap, though.  Martin did the math.  It costs us 25 cents in electricity use to run our dishwasher.  Utilities in Germany are 3x higher than the US, so imagine your savings.  Cheaper than a pack of disposables, no?

2. Try Preserve plates and cups.   Made from 100% recycled plastic, these guys are a great in-between when you don’t want to use your real dishes and hate the one-time use of disposables.  Preserve plates and cups are durable enough to survive the dishwasher so you can keep reusing them.  If you simply must ditch ‘em, they’re #5 plastic.  Snag them at Amazon.

3.  Buy recycled paper products.  If you have to turn to the one-use items, try to spare the virgin trees.  Most paper dishes contain no recycled materials, yet companies like Seventh Generation offer 100% recycled plates.  Read the packaging for specifics on each product.  If it says “made with recycled materials”, that’s not quite enough.  They should tell you just how much… lest we assume 1% so they can add that emphasis on recycled content and mislead us.

Silverware

1. Get fancy with the real stuff.  I’ll never forget the day my grandma turned 90.  We were taking a pottery class, and she decided that she wanted to bring a birthday cake (she didn’t know my dad and I were making cupcakes).  My grandma did not want to drive to the store to get plastic silverware.  I know what you’re thinking: a 90-year-old driving?  Anyway, to save an extra drive and cost, she packed up her silver and brought it to our class in an old plastic bag.  Real silver!  And no waste.  I dished out a big birthday kiss for that one.

2. Plan finger food.  Did you spot above that I made cupcakes instead of cake?  No silverware needed.  Simple little adjustments in your food plans and poof – less waste.  Sneaky.

Martin wants to model how well this can work for you:

3. Snatch up biodegradable silverware.  Use and toss, knowing that this silverware won’t be sitting in a landfill for hundreds of years.  It breaks down.  Jaya products outperform most plastic silverware (which are petroleum-based), so you don’t end up using multiple forks if they keep breaking.   Amazon offers great deals on these fun fellas. 

Napkins

1.  Use real deals.  Cut up a piece of fabric into 12″ squares and sew around the edges for quick napkins that won’t fray.  You could even use old dresses or stained tablecloths.  Kids could decorate them. Or check out the handmade options available at etsy like these ones:

2. Scoop up a pack of recycled napkins.  Again, just check the recycled content.  Avoid a lot of unnecessary dyes and inks in your napkins.  I know – not so theme-oriented.  So much better for the environment, though.

Avoid, Avoid, Avoid!

Forbid Styrofoam.  Stomp your feet.  Kick and scream.  Just don’t use styrofoam.  That stuff takes millions of years to break down.  Just think:  if Jesus had gotten a piece of cake for his first birthday, and it was served on a styrofoam plate… his plate would still be sitting in our landfill.  I honestly don’t know why this stuff is legal dish-ware in so many developed countries.

So what do you say we dig in?  If there’s anything you’d add to this list, please let us know in the comments.  You all think of so many creative things, and I eat them up.  Right after this:

(Images from Amazon, etsy, and Flickr)

Getting back to the basics in our lives holds a lot of rewards.  Today’s tip for our Simpler Life Series came to me as I was trying my best to keep hydrated and fight a cold.  I think you’ll like this one.  It saves money, reduces your trash pile, and is better for your health.  Ready?

Make water your go-to thirst quencher.

I don’t have to tell you that soda is bad for you or all those millions of other things we hear about alcohol, caffeine, and on and on.  You already know that.

Yet have you ever looked at how many of the items in your grocery cart are beverages?

Martin and I quickly became big tap water drinkers when we moved to Germany.  Every week, I walk to the grocery store and carry our groceries home.  I get a lot pickier about the things I buy when I have to carry them.  Bottled drinks?  Those were the last thing I wanted to haul eight blocks.  So we quit buying them.  Our food expenses went down.

Think of all that packaging that heads to the garbage from our beverages.  Even if it can be recycled, it’s still a lot of energy to transform the packaging.

If you did nothing but substitute water for everything else you drink, you could lose 10-15 pounds in one year according to some experts.  All that – just for switching drinks.

Reaching for tap water all the time gets kind of old, though, if you ask me.  We’ve been trying to mix it up with other low-calorie, low production drinks like lemon water and loose leaf tea.  

Here’s what we’re doing to simplify our beverage consumption.  Feel free to join us.

     1. Watching how many drinks go into our shopping cart

     2. Reading the labels on those drinks (especially with juices – most juices have added sugar.  A lot of added sugar.)

     3. Picking containers with the least amount of excess packaging (in Germany, we get glass bottles and put down a deposit so they can be washed and reused)

     4. Drinking water with most meals

     5. Sipping tea and water throughout the day

 
What’s your take on water versus other beverages?  We’d love to have you on board with us if you’re up for the challenge. (And if you’re already a big water drinker, we’d love some pointers!)

(Images from Flickr and Internet128)

Today I’m pleased to be a guest writer at The Inspired Room.  My guest article is about finding pleasure in smaller things instead of feeling like things in our lives need to be bigger to make us happier.  I think you’ll enjoy it… you might even chuckle when you see my greatest little inspiration.  

Thank you for all the kind thoughts and emails while I was feeling so ill.

I’ve also been wanting to share this cute little car with you.  The license plate says BEE, which fits it just perfectly.  Don’t you think?  That bike looks like it could flatten the car instead of the other way around.  

(Image by Katie for Making This Home)

Hallways don’t exactly scream “hang out here”.  Our families usually charge right through them without giving it much thought.  It’s an easy thing to do.  Especially if your hallway is an entryway looks something like this:

These things are from the last tenants.  We didn’t think to take a picture of the space when it was full of our stuff (or maybe we were too embarrassed).  Instead of the drying rack in the back, we had Martin’s bike.  And my bike.  Instead of the metal furniture in the front, we had boxes of kitchen remodel supplies and gadgets waiting for their new home.

Then we built a hanging bike rack.  We finished the kitchen.  It was time for an overhaul.  Here it is (from the opposite direction):

It’s far from being magazine perfect.  

Could we really call a place home if it were?  Martin and I don’t have a place for our keys or umbrellas.  We can’t put a cute little rug in this space like the experts say.  Can you see my bike handlebar poking out on the upper right?  Our hallway is a high traffic – high bike – area.  What we do have is a place for guests to take off their shoes and store them, which is essential in a country where people take off their shoes inside.

We also didn’t buy anything new except paint.  The print is from a flea shop.  The bookcase is almost 40 years old.  We built the bench/shoe rack from leftover kitchen materials.  The white item in front is our heater.

It’s nice to come home to a warm, welcoming entry instead of boxes and unfinished projects.  What do you think?

Now all I have to do is remind Martin to stop hanging his coat on my handlebar.

(Images by Katie for Making This Home)