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Is it easier to heft things up or down? (re storage of stand mixer)

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

Currently my kitchen mixer (not as heavy as a KA) is stored in the lower rack of an upper cabinet and I bring it down whenever I need to use it. I don't have space for kitchen garages so it needs to be stored somewhere. In my new kitchen plan, the options are to do as currently done, or store in the upper rack of a lower drawer/ pullout. Ergonomically, is it easier to heft things up or down?

The upper cabinet is 21 inches above the counter which is 35 inches high.

Many thanks

Comments (12)

Barb J
9 years ago
I keep mine in a base cabinet. I don't have any problems getting it in or out. Just thinking about hefting it into an upper cabinet makes my arms feel weary.
ci_lantro
9 years ago
Lower is better/ easier. You can use back/core muscles to heft stuff around when it's lower. Seems like when you're lifting an object much above waist level that you have to rely much more on just arm/ upper body strength.

The lower something is stored, should you lose grip and drop it, it's going to do less damage than it would if dropped from a high shelf.
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In my last kitchen I had the lift because there was no place on the perimeter counter to store it, so it had to go in the island. I didn't want it sitting out on the island, so I got the lift. I, too, make a mess and didn't like wiping up the floor after using it, so after lifting it, I would slide it off onto the counter. My mixer also walks when making bread, so this was a good solution. I also didn't like leaving the door open while the mixer was out because it was cumbersome to move around. It may seem like a waste to get the lift if you're just going to use it on the counter, but it is much easier to lift it up this way than to bend over and haul it up to the counter. I didn't get it for my current kitchen because now there is enough perimeter counter space to store it on the counter. It all comes down to if you like the look of having it out and if you have enough cabinet space to give up for it.
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Linelle, Thx! I will try the extra long mixing. I also chill my dough when I have time. My grandmother (96 and still making cookies) told me to use extra flour which also helps with the spreading. I watch my cookies like a hawk and take them out right before they look done :) I love the dough and the cookies! I have a gray KA mixer that I love but now that it's on my new counter, in my new kitchen, I really, really, really, want a pretty color!!! Oh but the guilt in getting something new when what I have works just fine.... hatethecold- I am stealing your screen name :)
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Buy a 25# bag of flour and carry it. I lift weights. MUCH heavier than 25# during my workouts. But I will say that there is something about the weight distribution and way you have to handle the KA mixer that makes it clumsy to carry, imho. I wouldn't want to do it regularly. As someone who is starting to get senior discounts, at those places with a slightly lower starting age for seniors, LOL, I also try to plan for a time when I may not be able to easily lift something like that. Of course, the importance of this depends on your age and whether you consider this your forever home. But what if you injure yourself and are using crutches or a walker during healing and have a sudden urge for chocolate chip cookies? Yikes! I wonder if your pantry should be built with a roll-out cart that the mixer sits on? That way you can use it next to the pantry or roll it to the middle area, where your stool is drawn now, and use it there?
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Okay, I'm assuming that first sentence is supposed to be "stand mixer" rather than "miser", since Googling didn't give me any new brand names. You didn't describe your installation or which accessories you mean. Are you talking about a swing out lift from a cupboard that pops up next to the island? Or the kind that rises on a motor through a hatch in the counter? Are you talking about a honkin' big almost commercial sized one? Or a standard KA Artisan or similar? How many pounds is the lift rated for? What are the clearances. What position will it be in when you use it? Some lifts are really meant to be the work surface, while others are really too flimsy and are just meant to get the mixer up to the correct height, so you can slide without really lifting. Some people put a mat under to make sliding easier, but then the mat has to be cleaned, also, and the mixer lifted on and off the mat. One issue with a lift is a lot of juddering. Vibration. My Artisan works so hard when it's kneading that the pin holding the head to the base wiggles out, and I keep having to press it back before it pops out entirely! And that's just the dough hook. So, will you be able to use the sausage maker, pasta roller, or ice cream bowl? Sure! Will you be happy about doing it on the lift? Maybe. Maybe not. For instance, the ice cream bowl is just a bowl and it's the freezer space that's at issue. Ice cream mix has the consistency of cream/custard, so there's no undue shaking. The grinder/sausage maker really expects you to have a big bowl or tray for catching your work, and it does it's share of clunk clunking. OTOH, with the mixer doing the cranking, you can put lump of pasta dough through and catch it in your other hand--if you have skills--and that might work great with it away from the island proper. Give you more leg room. BUT what about the flour? The bits of flingy meat? Etc. I'm not a clean freak, but I don't abide a dirty kitchen. I've never been able to figure out how to contain the mess while using the mixer on a lift. I mean, a quick batch of whipped cream is a nothing, but bread? Cookies? Sausage? I don't want that mess falling all over the place--what might be a minor sponge up could turn into a crawl into a cabinet with a multiplicity of tools trying to get it really clean. And on a lift base you can just shove the mixer over to clean underneath. So if I were going that direction, rather than just assuming it belongs on the counter ready to use, I'd be one who slides it off the base, and puts away the lift/covers the hole. And then you can use it for anything on the solidity of your counter...
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asm198 - Zone 6a (MO)
9 years ago
I would be concerned about dropping something as unwieldy as a mixer if I was taking it from a place higher than, let's say, my shoulders.
bpath
9 years ago
Well, what goes up must come down! And vice versa. That is, you lift down the KA to use, but you have to lift it up to put it away. So I guess you have to think about this: if it's too hard to put it away, will you put it off until it starts gathering dust on the counter? Or, if it's too hard to get it out, will you put off baking cookies?
ControlfreakECS
9 years ago
I have mine in a lower cabinet that has the only roll outs in my kitchen (as opposed to the drawers everywhere else.) I am only 4'11", so I can't even imagine storing it in an upper cab and being able to get it down, let alone put it back.
GreenDesigns
9 years ago
Get a mixer lift lower cabinet. It does the work for you! You can lock it in place and use it there on the shelf, or you can just pick it up the 6" or slide it over. How high the shelf lifts it is related to the lift mechanism and whether or not you have a drawer in the cabinet it's located in.
sena01
9 years ago
As far as I know best lifting zone is b/w shoulders and waist to avoid back injuries. So, it depends on how tall you and your mixer are imo.
camphappy
9 years ago
I have a KA mixer which is quite heavy. It is the only appliance I leave out on the counter. My teens use it a lot and I know it would be dinging up the cabinets in no time if it was taken in and out constantly.

My vote would be to leave it on a top shelf in the lower cabinets or use one of the lifts as greendesign described.
sprtphntc7a
9 years ago
I agree with other, lower is better....best scenario, a mixer lift as GD mentions
Iowacommute
9 years ago
As a very short person I can answer unequivocally lifting is better for heavy objects. Also I leave my KA on the postage stamp size counter because I use it often.
Gemcap
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you everybody for your thoughts. I will plan for a lower pullout. While I would love an appliance lift, wWith the prep sink as an afterthought, I am losing short supply cabinet space, so space for the lift is NA. Thanks again.
homechef59
9 years ago
The previous owner of my home renovated and installed a mixer lift cabinet. The only problem with it is the door won't open all the way because of an interfering adjacent cabinet. It's completely unusable. I've got an expensive void where I store cookie sheets. Only one of many reasons why this kitchen is being renovated.

I keep the KA mixer in the pantry on a lower shelf and bring it out when needed. It's better to put it on the floor. Then prepare to lift it properly. If it drops from above, your back might not be ready for the weight.

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