There is so much I love about the little galley I’ve prepared meals in for the past decade. I love the magnetic spice and knife racks, I love that my grandmother’s cutting board fits perfectly over our stove, I love the trivets from past travels displayed on the bulkhead, and I even sort of love the challenge of cooking a full holiday meal on two burners and in a tiny oven.
The galley “before,” ready to cook a holiday feast!
But then there’s the list of things I would improve upon:
- The fridge. Oh, how I would love a drawer fridge/freezer so that my prep space could be left alone when I need something from the fridge!
- The countertop. It’s not horrible, but it’s a boring, stained laminate, and I put a bunch of dings in it years ago when I was pounding chunks off a 5-pound chocolate bar.
- Pantry space/access. I need more stuff “at hand” to feed feed a family of four that includes teenagers! And I need a better way to store pantry staples in general.
- The sink. This has been a big sore spot for me. We have a double sink, and the way it is now I wash in the little half and have a drying rack in the larger side. Both sides are pretty small, but I make a huge mess splashing water around trying to wash pans and even some plates with the current set-up. We use a Pur water filter on the water spout as well, and sometimes that further crowds things.
- The oven. I used all sorts of spice, oil, and honey bottles this season to wedge the gas knob on the oven so it would stay lit.
- The microwave. I have wanted to ditch this thing for years! We hardly ever use it—I stored bread in it for a while!
So, what’s the plan? A mini-update! Some things were easy, like fixing the oven thermocouple. Some things just aren’t in the budget, like the new refrigerator and the new counter that would have to go with it. But here’s the loose plan:
- Tear out microwave (DONE!). Wow, that left a BIG space for me to play with! This will be some sort of pantry, but for now I’m just sort of playing with different set-ups.
- Pantry overhaul. With the new space we gained from the microwave and a bunch of air-tight storage containers, I hope to have better access to items we use the most. We may also add fruit baskets to the bulkhead to help store the loads of produce we pick up every few weeks while cruising.
- Countertop refinishing. My SIL is an interior designer and recommended Daich countertop refinishing products for a counter facelift. I’m nervous, but going for it! This project will allow us to repair the fridge door, and will also push us to remove our Keurig (we don’t use it any more, but it’s glued into place!).
- Sink. This is a big one! I want to flip the sink around. I’ve measured it a few times to see if the drain can clear the drawer and the faucet can reach, and I’m going to measure about 50 more times, but I plan to drop the sink when we do the counter anyway, so if I can flip it to have a “big” wash basin, I will. This will compress our dish drying space, of course, but I’ve done a few test runs and with a new dish drain I think it will work. Oh, and I may use this opportunity to get a new faucet with a pull-out head! Adulting is so exciting! Just need to figure out the water filtration...
So that’s the big plan! Not sure exactly when each part will get done, but I’ll post updates!
Goodbye, microwave!
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