Hello... I am long overdue to start creating a garden workspace and organizing all my garden junk. I thought I would resurrect this old post and see if anyone had any more to add to it. I could start a new thread if that is a better idea? So....I have too much junk scattered all over the place..the basement, the garage, seeds in my bedroom...lol. I am sure you get the picture and perhaps there is someone else out there who has the same problem. I just don't know where to start, it is a little overwhelming. What gives me the most trouble? Large containers 22" and where to put them for the winter. Large bags of potting soil or soil amendments....storing and having easy access to them. POTS! Having tools handy when out in the garden without making 10 trips to the garage for something I forgot, yet not dragging everything around with me. Leftover materials from past projects...a pile of broken pavers, a small pile each of stonedust and pea gravel. The COMPOST BINS! I need to get them out of sight. We have a small yard. I was hoping to create an area where I had everything garden related so it is not in a number of different places. My problem is the only area available is on the side of my garage but the main entrance to the backyard from the front is there and you would have to pass through my 'workarea' to get to it. I really love a pretty organized, neat area anyway....I am just not coming up with creative ideas for what I have to work with to make it that way. If someone has had similar issues that they have resolved successfully, I would love to hear about how you did it. Thank you! :-) pm2 I would love to see photos of how you have handled any aspect of this project in your garden if you have any.

BTW this is the interior of the Maytag dishwasher I had; made in the early '90s (from a pic i found online of a similar model). Note that the lower rack is configured for glasses, with fold-down cup racks on both sides; and the top rack for large plates and cookware so that loading/unloading heavy items don't require reaching down, a boon to anyone with back pain: They revisited that layout in the mid-2000s with their 3-rack dishwashers sold under the Maytag and Jenn-Air brands. Some of them had height adjustments for both the upper and middle racks; if the top rack was lowered, it would have ample height for dinner plates on the right side, and the center rack (like the top rack) was shaped so it could hold either glasses or plates as needed. What's more, both the top and center racks were terraced (slanted left to right) but in in opposite directions, so it could hold large dinner plates in the top rack (at the right) and the center rack (at the left) at the same time. And there was still enough height left for a lower rack mainly for utensils, but with the center rack raised there was enough room on the right side of the lowest rack to hold saucepans and the like. A brilliant design I wish they still made, but these were discontinued shortly before the remains of Maytag was bought out by Whirlpool, after which both Maytag and Jenn-Air appliances were replaced by Whirlpool-based designs. This photo shows the racks loaded with the glasses on top and large plates underneath, but with the top rack lowered it could be arranged in the reverse as with the Miele DW i have now. This post was edited by lee676 on Sun, Nov 17, 13 at 20:02

Christie, I have one of the older models of the Gagg combi-steam that I bought for about $2500 US as a showroom sample in the summer of 2008. (That was a lot of money on our budget!) It stayed in the showroom for six months, then in the garage for another six months until we were ready to install in the kitchen reno. I was pretty intimidated by it at first so procrastinated on actually using it, happy just to admire how pretty it looked! I finally got brave a few weeks ago, dug out that little paper wheel cooking guide from my box of appliance manuals, took a wild guess as to the settings, and cooked brown rice in it. WOW! Great texture and no boilover gunk on the stove! Then a few days later reheated half a quiche that had been sitting in my fridge for a few days. AMAZING! Crust was crisp, filling piping hot and still moist, like I had just baked it (maybe better!) I have also reheated dinner plates full of various leftovers, and each item comes out great with no stirring. Now, every time I think about popping something in my microwave, I consider the steam oven. I am not a gourmet cook but this unit is really interesting and inspires me to experiment. The neatest thing for me is my husband's enthusiasm about this unit. He actually has very little sense of taste and substantially reduced saliva due to radiation treatments 3 years ago. His enjoyment of food is based mostly on its texture and whether it "goes down easy." He has complimented me on every item I have prepared using the combi-steam and that made it worth every penny! Have fun deciding!

Have you checked the Finished Kitchen Blog? You'll see some great ones there. I love Cali_Wendy's wooden valance over her sink. You can do a search for it below on this page or use the more reliable Google search if you can't find it here. There was also a thread not too long ago about WT (window treatments) in the kitchen. You might search for that too.