View Full Version : Reserving drawer (in kitchen) for dishcloths/dishtowels...
Even though we reside in a small home, I count my blessings as to having a considerable amount of storage space for things like towels, etc. Still, for as long as I can remember, I have always reserved one special drawer in my kitchen for clean folded dishcloths/dishtowels. So handy and convenient!
How about you? Where do you keep the bulk of your supply of kitchen linens?
I only have 5 drawers, but don't really need more than that. One has the backstock of folded dishcloths and towels. I've got a little pottery bowl next to the sink that will hold 5 of my dishcloths (all knitted by me in black), a pottery bowl at the end of the counter usually holds 3 or so dishtowels as well. A pottery bowl on the table holds the cloth napkins (not all 300 that I've made but whatever the season calls for - the others live in the bottom drawer of the buffet).
Back to the other drawers:One has our daily silver. One holds the wraps, baggies, and plastic spoons/forks (needed items for lunches) as well as wood kabob sticks for grilling. The other two drawers hold all the measuring cups, spoons, graters, serving spoons, knives, corn-on-the cob holders, chopsticks, an electric knife and hand held mixer. Thats it.
I have a pantry in the hallway. Technically its supposed to be a linen closet for the downstairs bath, but we only use the upstairs bath for showers and so only need towels on the 2nd floor. In the bottom of the pantry, I have a plastic bucket that holds clean dishtowels and dishcloths.
herbgeek, the linen closet at the end of the hall serves as my pantry as well. I'd never have enough linens to fill it and didn't have enough cabinet space in the kitchen. Works great.
I have one drawer for all my kitchen towels and they fit if I roll them (shallow drawer). My pot holders live in the utensil drawer.
I did until a major spice reorg, and that took over the linens drawer. Sooo, I found a groovy wine bottle holder at GW to put them in, and they reside, rolled up, in a corner by the sink.
iris lily
2-23-12, 11:56pm
Yes, a drawer stores kitchen linens, including aprons.
Speaking of towels, has anyone purchased those new-fangled microfiber bath towels? I bought two of them and while they are freaky soft, I'm not sure that they are any more absorbent than regular cotton towels.
Float On. The pottery bowls sound delightful! I especially like your idea of keeping a pottery bowl on the table for cloth napkins!!!
Herbgeek. What a nifty idea re-purposing your linen closet into a pantry!
Tradd. Do you have room in your kitchen for a little decorative woven basket? I know how much you appreciate nice things and I was thinking a basket would allow you to keep your towels, cloths, and potholders, all together.
Redfox. What a great idea utilizing a wine-holder as a towel-holder/display!
Iris Lily. I keep a secondary drawer for my potholders and aprons, but how I wish I had more room to store/display. Both drawers are crammed! Re: Microfibre bath towels, never heard of them before. Are they the same size as an average ordinary sized bath towel? http://dunkorator.franken.de/smileys/towel.gif
My 3 aprons that I made hang on a hook next to a door at the end of my galley kitchen. That door hides the recycling.
Love the idea of a wine-holder Redfox. I've thought about putting one on one of the bathroom walls to hold handtowels/washcloths but I think I'm going to go with picking up a couple of sono-tubes in different sizes (those things you pour concrete into) and saw them and paint them and arrange them on the bathroom wall instead. I like circles.
Small drawer in kitchen holds dishcloths and, in a separate, labeled area, kitchen rags (which are old dishcloths of a different design so they are easy to differentiate). Had to label them to keep DH from using dishcloths for wiping up the floor and stuff in the garage! In the adjacent dining room I have a large drawer where I keep cloth napkins, dish towels, and kitchen hand towels. Our house is small - our kitchen + dining rooms together are smaller than the kitchen of many new houses.
goldensmom
2-24-12, 9:41am
I have a drawer on either side of the sink for dishcloths/towels but need more space. Aprons are on hooks as well as one of my husbands old white shirts that I use like a chef's coat for particularly messy situations (it's big like your dad's shirt used in kindergarten for craft days). Dining linens are in a closet in the laundry room. Good ideas here for alternative storage.
Originally posted by Float On.
I think I'm going to go with picking up a couple of sono-tubes in different sizes (those things you pour concrete into) and saw them and paint them and arrange them on the bathroom wallWhat a nifty idea!!! I like!
Rosemary. Sounds like a great system. Household wipers (as I call them), are kept under the sink cupboard, and are out of bounds for anything other than household cleaning/chores.
Goldensmom. I love the hook idea for aprons, problem is, our home doesn't have the room/space for such.
I keep all my kitchen linens in the dishwasher (which I never use).
Now that's what I call repurposing, Jania! Good on you!
Sad Eyed Lady
2-25-12, 9:36am
In my kitchen there are 9 drawers total but 2 of these are deep. In one of the deep drawers I keep all my dish towels and dish clothes (like Float On I knit mine too), and the other deep drawer I used for a bread drawer. Then my dining room table has 4 small drawers made into it and they hold my cloth napkins and a few odds & ends.
Hmm don't know about linens but I have a tiny house (I shared photos at one point). For silverware I have a caddy like you use for picnics, but nice wood. I put silverware on one side and cloth napkins on the other. Then I have a few more dishtowels in a drawer but I can share a drawer with other things that way.
Originally posted by Sad Eyed Lady.
Then my dining room table has 4 small drawers made into it and they hold my cloth napkins and a few odds & ends.You mentioned that just to make me jealous didn't you! :)
The wooden caddy sounds delightful, Zoe Girl! I wish I had a separate place for (special occasions) silverware and napkins. Like an antique oak buffet or something, but like yourself, small-home living simply does not allow for such extravagance.
catherine
2-25-12, 10:56am
I have a very small drawer where I keep dishtowels and dishcloths. I can fit about 4 towels and 4 cloths in it and that's about it. My kitchen is pretty mish-mosh with repurposed furniture to make everything fit: I have a big plate rack and shelving unit, and underneath that I have a chest that's deep enough for paper towels and tall bottles and then we needed a microwave stand at one point, so we bought a second hand dry bar in a pine armoire that has a stemware rack and a drawer and then an underneath cabinet where I keep my KitchenAid, coffee grinder, and other small appliances. The kitchen is really too crowded, and I"m trying to figure out how to eliminate the armoire, even though I like it.
Last week I had an urge to update my dishtowels: I love dishtowels that are still clean-looking, and my dishcloths had pretty much disappeared and I was down to three. So I went to Target where they had a clearance sale on towels that match my kitchen to a T! So I got 4 brand new dishtowels, all crisp and clean, and 8 new dishcloths for only $12!
One of the Flylady practices that I really like is the one day/one dishtowel thing. So that last thing you do every night after cleaning your sink is wipe it down with the dishtowel you've used that day and then throw it in the laundry. So every morning you have a nice wiped down kitchen, and a fresh, clean dishtowel. What better way to start the day?
Catherine. The armoire sounds beautiful, as does your kitchen. I have a dishtowel fetish (for sure). Silly me, I bought several really nice scenery ones quite a few years back, but have yet to use them, but I do pull them out and look at them every now and then. Is that crazy or what. Nevertheless, way to go on the sale! Don't you just love the feeling that comes about when you buy that special something for yourself that makes your heart go pitter-patter! Eye-candy for the home is the best!
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