Yes we only want a cheap option for a year or so before we upgrade the kitchen. The upgrade will be new countertops and possibly new cabinets. We don't know if we will sell within 5 years. We like this house, the neighborhood and the schools but I've learned to never say never. And to never count on a house being a forever house. As our children get older we might find that our needs change. With that in mind, I don't want to make any changes that will make it harder to sell. Most of the houses that go on the market in this neighborhood have painted or stained builder grade oak cabinets topped with new granite. It's not that I don't want to paint the countertops but that I'd rather not mess with it. Based on what I've read online many people paint/stain their cabinets and have good results. However, it seems that fewer people paint their countertops and that the outcomes are mixed. Painting the cabinets seems much more of a sure thing. Especially given that it's so common in this neighborhood and all of the homes have the same cabinets.

I'm sorry to hear about your hand. I hope it is healing well and quickly too. I agree with Amy about cowpeas. They're pretty much foolproof and grow so fast in our heat that they are likely to give you a crop before you need to make space for your fall plantings. Some of the southern pea varieties that produce quickly in our climate include Fast Lady Northern Southern Pea (58), Queen Anne (DTM 60 days), White Acre (62 days) Knuckle Pink Eye Purple Hull (62), Colossus (62), and Pink Eye Purple Hull (65). I don't track maturity dates carefully, but in my garden I think I usually get to start harvesting 30-40 days after the seeds sprout---I just think they outdo themselves in our heat in terms of speed. I also like the suggestion of Buckwheat. Otherwise, I often sow seeds of zinnias or cosmos for quick summer flowers when I have a space to fill. Like cowpeas, they grow so fast in the heat that you'll usually get blooms in as little as 5 or 6 weeks from the time that the seeds sprout. You also could grow summer squash, which goes into production quickly and while the plants are relatively small. There are some cucumbers which are quick to go into production. You also could take a chance with bush snap beans. Some of them have DTMs in the 40s and low 50s, and you might luck out and get a crop before it gets so hot that they start suffering from blossom drop. They are not a sure thing like southern peas, but some years they produce well despite the summer heat---just as long as the heat isn't too extreme. It also isn't too late to sow seeds of cantaloupe, muskmelons and other types of melons if you don't have those growing already. Winter squash can be planted now, and any type that is a C. moschata normally aren't bothered by squash vine borers. You also could get a harvest in July from icebox melons if seeds are sown before the end of May. They go crazy in the heat and set fruit fairly young and while the plants are small (none of these plants get really huge). I grow a lot of icebox melons, including Blacktail Mountain, Sugar Baby, Bush Sugar Baby, Yellow Doll, Yellow Baby, Tiger Baby and New Orchid. Renee's Garden Seeds sells two different packs of icebox melons that contain multiple varieties per pack and she ships quickly. Icebox watermelons produce in about 60 days.

divingcardinal, they have these things made out of cloth called "curtains". You pull them closed when things get too shiny. Or this other weird thing called a "blind" that goes straight up and down. Also very effective at blocking the light sometimes while letting it stream in unimpeded at others. To the OP - while the idea of enclosing the porch isn't horrible, it really doesn't look all that wide, enough to make it practical as a laundry room, unless you could put stacked units at the far end. Not sure where that is in relation to the window, which I absolutely WOULD NOT want to lose in the kitchen. However a better solution seems to me to be to fix the basement stairs. If they are SO narrow and/or shallow that a young person such as yourself wouldn't feel safe going up and down them with a basket of laundry, they're too narrow/shallow to be safe in any case. I would rather invest the reno money in fixing those stairs, give them a landing and a turn if necessary. I don't know what kind of space you have down there but if the stairs are as bad as you seem to imply, you won't use that space much, if at all. Plus I would worry about little kids and steep/narrow stairs. I'm 60 and if I had a basement that is where I would want the laundry area to be. Preferably with a built in floor drain. That would give me the space to have an actual laundry tub for the washer to drain into instead of those stupid little plastic bins they mount behind the drywall these days. Plus, laundry tubs are SOOOO useful for so many reasons. Even if they are in the basement.

As others said, I can't really tell what's going on in that space from those two pictures. But in general, it's good to put an entry table or piece of furniture in an entry way. It's also good to hang a mirror over it. A lamp is nice as well. And yes, you should extend the wood flooring if you can. But to me that table looks too short for that space.