I too decided this was the year to "get it together". I've let it slide far too long :( When I had my second son almost 6 years ago, life seemed to turn upside down. He had a double hernia operation at 4 months old so not sure if it contributed but he was extremely miserable for the first 4 months of life and he grew into a toddler with a very difficult personality (he's SO much better now). My personality wasn't able to cope very well with it. At some point during the difficult toddler years, we finished our basement. Everything that was down there had to come upstairs very quickly. Some of them boxes that hadn't been opened since we moved here several years prior. I'm sure I fell into some kind of depression. What I learned from Hoarders is that I think we do develop a sort of "clutter blindness". It's how we can survive living with stuff everywhere. I'm certainly not a level "5" or anything but I had stuff piled up in places and I was able to just live around it (like it didn't exsist). I also came to realize I hadn't thrown anything away in my many years. I still had stuff from when I was a teenager. I used to work in the beauty business and had SO much stuff I had acquired for free that wasn't being used. We started a couple years ago with a huge garage sale (sold $1,000). I had another one last spring (sold $500) but I still had stuff everywhere in certain spots. I'm keeping only certain things from my kids for the future. Who even knows if they'll need them? I kept a few special books and some special toys (like Playmobil) and that's it. I've stored them properly away and we'll see what happens with them. We save artwork for a year and then we go through it and pick only a special few pieces which I then store in special boxes I created for them. Like this one: http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/2010/11/school-paperwork-storage.html My Mom and I made a pact that this year we were going to get organized and help each other achieve it. That's been the best decision ever! It's so much better doing these projects with help. An outside eye that can help you make decisions and move forward. We tackled my lower landing which had become a catch all for stuff and my basement laundry room. My laundry room was new as part of our basement refinish and it's very large. It has a huge table in the middle on castors (ala Martha Stewart) and the kids and I can do crafts here, I wrap gifts here and fold laundry. It too had "caught" stuff and wasn't being utilized as I had intended. Anywho ... two full days of purging and cleaning ... one car load of stuff taken away to charity ... and they both look wonderful! I still have a few items in the laundry room that have significant value so I'm taking them to consignment this week and I have some laundry to work through. When we built the room, I had it wired for a wall mount tv so I'm finally going to get that set up. I'm excited about the possibilities now! I lie in bed at night thinking of what the next project will be. I have hope that finally this house will get in order. I think I may take your advice and hire a cleaning lady to keep things clean while I focus on getting things in order. Even if I just do it for this year, I think it would help a lot. I'm excited for my kids. I want them to grow up in organization and know how to do it for themselves when the time comes. I really think for some (like me) it's a skill you need to learn. It doesn't come naturally. I'll keep checking in to see how you're doing as I keep forging forward myself. My next project is at my mom's house. We are tackling her kitchen. She's already been out and bought some Oxo containers for her pantry and some other handy organizing pieces. We're going to whip her kitchen into shape! Best of luck! Looking forward to hearing how you accomplish your goals.

palimpsest, I didn't mean to offend you if I did. Everybody's experience is different. I come from a large family. My step mother has exactly that setup with the island, the size, the seating, the relationship to the range. Every time she entertains for any number - every single seat is filled and the person in the center behind the sink has to stay pulled back. There are people and dogs running up and down every aisle and clogging everything. And I'm talking about the adults! The bar flys wish the island was deeper. In her setup, the appetizers end up on the island while the rest is cooking and the bar flys would like to be able to reach all of them without moving. As kids grow, they get playmates and perhaps siblings. They all hang around the kitchen - get drinks and snacks, make their own sandwiches and become independent chefs. I regularly splash all over the my 15" tall backsplash. If I had that type of island - a permanent pond would develop back there complete with tadpoles... And I right now have a sleeve damp to the elbow and damp places across the tummy zone - prep for split pea and ham soup. This doesn't mean I think everyone splashes water everywhere (altho dh is actually worse than I). It's a simple statement for the op to hear or ignore. It's the same thing with prep time. If I entertain, nobody sees me do more than a last minute thing - like whipping cream. (might mean I'z control freak) But others in the same family do most things after the crowd arrives and usually with one or two others helping. The thing I like about this kitchen is that all that is possible. I never know if its possible to for anyone satisfy all the needs of whoever is posting until stuff is suggested and the poster accepts it.

And now - something a little bit different... First, I'll be honest and say that it violates several best practices/recommended guidelines for Kitchen design - in particular, aisle width. However, you insist that you have it now and that it works for you; that you in fact prefer the narrow aisle b/w the island and the cooktop/range. OK, I'll take you at your word... The other guideline that's been bent is workflow - but just the refrigerator location. Because of the short side walls (especially the one with the pass-through), the refrigerator needs to go on the long wall. Normal workflow is Refrigerator --> Sink --> Prep space --> Range/Cooktop. The distance isn't that great, so I think it will be fine. This is actually one of those compromises frequently made b/c of just this situation - short on sidewall space (or space inside the workflow). The only other option is to put the refrigerator b/w the range and sink, but that causes even bigger issues - namely sticking a tall object b/w the primary work zones (Prep & Cooking, in this case) and drawing traffic into the working part of the Kitchen if an "outsider" wanted something out of the refrigerator. Next, are you willing to consider a range instead of a cooktop + wall oven? If so, how about something like this? It gives you your fairly large pantry, including a counter to store small appliances and, if desired, use them on the counter. In addition, there is plenty of shelf space plus either shelves or base cabinets under the counter. The doorway is 42" and has sliding doors. Sliding doors don't get in the way plus you can leave them open most of the time, or at least when you're using your small appliances in the pantry on the counter - it gives you more "floor space" in the pantry. There are two seats at the island - one on each end. The seat on the right will have a tight aisle - but it's not on a busy aisle and it probably won't be used much as you say that other than your husband or MIL, no one sits there. If it's just you and your DH, I think the left seat will be fine. You could reduce the depth of the pantry or the width of the island to get a bigger aisle - I'll let you decide if you would like to. The aisle b/w the island and the wall is 35.5". Since there are no seats there and it's not really a work aisle, that's wide enough. Most doorways are narrower than that. Note that the primary Prep Zone - b/w the sink and range, has 45" of workspace - plenty of space! If you need even more, there's the island - 60" wide and 42" deep. Since you prefer working b/w the sink and range, there's no real reason to add water the island. In fact, adding a prep sink will take 18" of that workspace away - reducing the workspace to 42" - less than you now have b/w the sink and range. If you want to put one in, that's fine. 42" is a nice amount of workspace, but you will have to rearrange the island to fit it in. Notice the arrangement of cabinets...15" wide facing each end of the island with a 9"W x 15"D cabinet b/w them for cutting boards or tray storage. There are two cabinets that are non-standard sizes - 13.5" b/w the sink and DW and 28.5" in the island. I don't know if you will be getting semi-custom or custom, but if not, then just adjust those two cabinets to standard sizes. In the case of the 28.5", reducing it to 27" will add 3/4" to each overhang. In the case of the 13.5", reducing it to 12" will probably mean adding filler - I recommend putting it b/w the sink and the now 12" cabinet for extra space b/w the DW and sink. The sink - it's a 30" single-bowl sink in a 42" corner sink base. Since this is a one-person kitchen, having your sink in the corner should not be an issue (unless you don't like corner sinks.) The window is both in front of the sink and in front of part of the Prep Zone's prep space. You could make it bigger and reduce the 30" cabinet correspondingly - but be sure you have sufficient dish storage convenient to the DW. There's a MW Drawer b/w the refrigerator and range. This location puts it out of the main work zones so, like the refrigerator, it isn't drawing non-cook traffic into the Prep, Cooking, or Cleanup Zones. Finally, there's a 12" tall utility pullout b/w the refrigerator and the pantry. It serves two purposes - provides a place for a broom/dustpan, Swifter, etc. It also provides the space you need b/w the wall and the refrigerator to allow the doors of the refrigerator to open fully. OK, here it is! . Zone Map: .

Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond. I am so impressed with all you ability to use software to draw plans. I wish I knew how to do that. Let me address your points: The range and fridge size is a placeholder as I am still deciding between 36 & 48. I too would love bigger windows but I think there will be plenty of light in the kitchen with the bay windows looking out to south side. I think moving pantry door to either the passage or make it recessed is great and I toyed with it towards the passage to DR but I liked an idea I saw on houzz: https://www.houzz.com/photos/farinelli-construction-inc-traditional-kitchen-phvw-vp~622304 with that chalkboard that I really liked. I was hoping to have something like that. My reasoning for fridge- pantry- bar in that order was due to the need for pantry to be closer to cooking space. If I put it to end, I feel it is much out of the way. Moreover, I can use the island as landing place to put grocery that need to be put in fridge. In addition, there will be a beverage refrigerator in the bar area and if someone needs a drink, they can get that without blocking the flow of the cooking area (with range, prep sink, fridge and pantry all being very accessible).