One house I grew up in had almost no closets, but we used the wooden "wardrobes" that were common when the house was built. Nicer examples of these are usually called armoires, but these were very basic painted pieces of furniture. The other house had very small closets in the bedrooms, but really huge walk-in closets at the front door, at the top of the stairs and in one room that may have originally been a bedroom or a children's playroom/family room. I know the house had been added on to over the years, but those large storage closets seemed to be original - at least the elaborate woodwork around the doors matched the rest of the house. I would give anything to be able to see that house in its original appearance. mrsd - your kitchen sounds much like another house I lived in as a child. The pantry was great. There was a counter in there that we did all the baking on. Enjoy your new space! btw, our DH's are kindred spirits. Mine has made more than one such gadget. I think he has more fun cobbling it together than buying the more normal components to make one - or even buying the thing itself.

I absolutely would not ever use a pressure cooker pot for anything other than its intended use. Too easy to get lax about it and have an accident. Here's a horror story a friend told me. Her sister in law was using a pressure cooker pot to boil water. She put the pressure cooker lid on it to speed up the process. She didn't lock the lid into place, just laid it on top. Well, unfortunately the pot pressurized anyway and when she lifted the lid, the water exploded everywhere. She suffered some bad burns. Now, it's easy to say, well I'd never do that! But my point is, a PC is good for one purpose and once you get away from that purpose, it's easy to do something without thinking that can have bad results.

Steph the jars need 1 to 2 inches of water over the top, and a rack between them and the bottom of the pan. A round wire cake cooler will work. So will extra lid rings tied together to form a trivet. You should find 4 oz jars at W. The very tiny 2.7oz jars I had to order directly from Weck or from amazon. They are pricey, with glass lids clipped on, and reusable rubber seals. Very cool, great for adding another layer of fancy to gifts. Chris, I used a new to me pectin last night. Pomona's Universal Pectin, uses calcium rather than sugar to set the gel. So you can use low or no sugar or Stevia or xylitol, fruit juice concentrates, even dried fruit for sweeteners. Because there is less sugar, they won't last as long once opened. There are directions in the box, as well as a book, which I suppose will end up in my kindle before long. I used it with coconut sugar last night to make strawberry cocoa jam. I didn't get a stiff set, but I kind of cut cooking short, since I thought this stuff would make an excellent saucey jam for stirring into yogurt or drizzling over pound cake. I haven't seen this stuff locally, I ordered it from Amz. Oven Peach butter I believe I got about 10-12 4 oz jars. heat oven to 350F. Halve the peaches and remove the pit. Place in a glass or ceramic pan (mine fit in one 9 by 13 with a little squeezing) cut side down. Bake about 1/2 hour. Remove from oven and turn it down to 250. Let the peaches cool a little, then remove the skins, they should lift right off. Mash the peaches with a fork or potato masher and return to the oven. Continue baking, checking occasionally to mash further and stir around, 2 to 3 hours. The peaches are done when they have darkened, they are not watery and they've reached a spreadable consistency. Add sugar to taste, up to 2 cups. Stir in the zest and juice of one lemon. spoon into jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space and process 15 minutes (plus any time needed for elevation..at 4500 feet I have to add ten minutes). This could be frozen. Because of the low sugar content jars should be used within 6 months. Peaches in raspberry jam I think I got about 13 4 oz jars 3 pounds peaches. cut an X in the skin at the bottom of each peach. Blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove and put into a cold water bath. When peaches have cooled, peel away the skin. cut the peach into about 12 slices and remove the pit. To fit into tiny jars, I diced the slices into ~ 1/2 inch sections. put the peaches in a ceramic bowl, drizzle with the juice of one lemon and stir. Put one pound of raspberries through a food mill over the bowl (or press through a fine strainer with the back of a spoon if you haven't got a mill). Add 3 cups of granulated sugar and stir well. Cover and refrigerate 8 to 12 hours. Next day, pour the fruit into a colander set over a bowl. Let it drain for about 20 minutes. Pour the syrup into a non-reactive pot. Set the colander over the bowl again to catch any remaining drippings. Cook over medium high heat until a candy thermometer reads 215F, gradually increasing the heat to high ( a very strong boil that won't stir down). Add the peaches and cook until thickened and the foam has cleared and the fruit starts sinking in the gel. About 25 minutes. If there is still a little foam, stir in a half teaspoon of butter to collect the foam and leave a very clear gel. Ladle into jars, leaving 1/2 inch headspace, wipe the rims and apply the lids and rings. Process in a water bath for 15 minutes, plus any extra needed for your elevation. This will keep on the shelf at least a year. After one year you'll start to lose color and some nutrition.

Not a pro. Just as new/modern is not always better, Antique/older is not always better -- what actually works for you is better. If you have a garage or basement with a wall that width, consider moving these there and build in closets that you find usable. If these don't have backs -- if the room's drywall is the back of the cabinet, you could have your carpenter/closet/cabinet maker add a plywood back to them and use them for storing stuff you rarely use -- or you might even be able to sell them An alternative to building in closets could be armoires or wardrobes. https://www.google.com/search?q=clothing+furniture+wardrobes+armoires&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwjWxpXt2ZvpAhWKMFMKHf8LDEYQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=clothing+furniture+wardrobes+armoires&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQA1DdhgFYjLYBYK-_AWgAcAB4AIABcIgB-AySAQQxNy4ymAEAoAEBqgELZ3dzLXdpei1pbWc&sclient=img&ei=39KwXpbbCIrhzAL_l7CwBA&bih=648&biw=1348&client=firefox-b-1-d .