I was surprised to read the article about bread "staling" faster in the fridge. I live in Ohio - often hot and humid in the summer - and almost always keep regular sandwich bread (usually good quality whole grain of some sort, if that makes a difference), in the fridge. Yes, because it is chilled, it gets a bit hard, but once it comes back to room temp, I find it regains its softness - in my experience it doesn't need to go to 140 degrees to reverse the retrogradation referred to in the article. On the other hand, if the bread is left on top of the fridge or on the counter, it may begin to mold within a few days. I'm not sure I'd have the patience to thaw the bread as I need it....Also, years ago, it seemed frozen bread tended to have soggy spots when thawed - but that was before the days of microwaves (does that make me a dinosaur??). Does a microwave or toaster thaw it without soggy spots?

I designed the kitchen walls to have an open space at the end of one cabinet run, near the sink and prep. area, for my alltime favorite garbage can: metal with a step-on pedal. When working with something really messy I pile stuff in a bowl, on wax paper, or similar while working, then take the few steps away to the garbage can. I'm afraid that garbage cans and recyclables under the sink, in open or closed containers, attract bugs. We live in a buggy climate and I don't use pesticides. Recyclables get piled in one area near the outside door and taken outside daily, sorted if needed.

Hi 2meforester! I understand your physical limitations--I have rheumatoid arthritis. I'm doing a complete gut of the eat-in kitchen of the house I just bought, and ease of access is critical in my planning. Not just what is accessible today, but also looking 5, 10, 15 years out. I'm also a fan of having as close to nothing as possible on my countertops; it's simply a style/taste preference for me. The eat in kitchen and living room are one big open space, and that is about half my house. My house is a single wide manufactured home, so picture a big rectangle. The "great room" is the middle. Each end is bedrooms, bathrooms, and on one end is also laundry area. So when you walk into my house, bam! you're in the living room, but the dinette and kitchen are right there too. I hate clutter with a passion. I want the focus of my home to be the beauty of the interior design rather than the dish rack, the popcorn tin, and several small kitchen appliances that are sitting on the counters. There's nothing wrong with any of those things! It's purely a matter of personal preference. I occasionally help a realtor friend of mine stage houses, and just like your magazine photos, the first thing we do is de-clutter. Potential buyers can't picture themselves in your house if all your stuff is everywhere. It's all very minimalist. But as sushipup1 so rightly pointed out, most people don't actually live that way. Herbflavor pointed out how some warm, inviting things on the counters can make a house a home. But, as I said, I personally prefer clean counter space. For one, I have very, very little of it. Anything sitting on it is taking away space I need to prep and cook. Second, because it's such a tiny space, even a couple things sitting out make it look cluttered or messy. So here's a couple of things I'm planning to do. One, do a hood/microwave combo over the range. Microwaves take up a fair bit of counter space. Two, no base cabinets, all base drawers of various sizes, except the corner one. That will be a cabinet with a super susan. Drawers are so much easier to see what's in there and pull it out. No more crouching over with a flashlight and a yardstick trying to get something from the way back of the cabinet, haha! Three, I'm getting a farmhouse sink. Because they're totally cool, sure, but also because you don't have to lean over counter space to do anything in the sink; you can just belly up to it. That might be easier on your arms...just a thought. Four, I'm a sucker for drawer organizing systems. I'm doing an IKEA kitchen, but even if you're not, go on their website and look at all their cool drawer organizers. Besides flatware and knife inserts, they have things so you can keep all your spices in a drawer, plate stackers, etc. Also go on KitchenMaid's website; they have amazing kitchen organizers!! Five, I'm getting a portable dishwasher. This won't work for everyone. Because it's an eat-in kitchen, I actually have a space to "park" it unobtrusively when not in use. This means I get a whole other base cabinet drawers! Also, the one I'm getting intentionally has a butcher block top, creating a small but valuable food prep station! Last, You can also get cool pull out organizers for all your cleaning products; they're easy to pull out and then you're not trying to dig into a bucket under the sink. So, by creating as much useable space as possible, I can be totally, 100% organized in my drawers and cupboards and thus, don't need anything on my counters, with the exception of a shiny SS tea kettle on my cooktop, and maybe, maybe a coffee pot, if I find the perfect one. Oh, just to weigh in, other than toilet paper, I haven't used paper products in a couple of years. Microfiber cloths, cloth napkins, and handkerchiefs. And wash cloths and towels in the kitchen. :-) Hope this helps!

I think it's 6-1/2 or 7 x 10 including the attic stairs, so it's not teeny tiny, but not huge, either. There are lots of houses in this area from this era with this kitchen but they did a far better job of making it feel spacious and useful than the others. Here's a flip with the same basic kitchen: And yeah, I've been looking at another house where I could double the number of base cabinets by going down to a 24" range, all the way from one cabinet to two, whoohoo! I've lived with smaller kitchens than this, but I think they did a super job of making a small kitchen live large.