step one in setting this place up was cleaning and designing the kitchen because eating is one of two or three things that i have to do almost every single day, whether i like it or not, on threat of starving, which means dying. no thanks.

this is not a chef's kitchen, and it's not designed to feed a family, although i could feed a party in here rather than a family. i'm not much into family, but i don't tend to have parties, either. this is a one person kitchen in every way, but i'd challenge you to find me a better one, anywhere.

my new kitchen has three entry/exit points, so i'm going to start by posting pictures from each one. 

i need to acknowledge that my new vlog camera, which was cheap, is somewhat lacking in terms of picture quality, and that i need to address that. i've been considering buying a second polaroid, which was my old vlog camera. however, it gets the point across for now.

this is a shot walking in from the side entrance, looking towards the bathroom. the closed door is for the hot water heater for the whole house.

this is a shot walking in from the living room:

and this is a shot looking back from the bathroom, to the side entrance, with the to-be-installed walk-in laundry closet behind me:

that looks pretty good, right?

so, how did i get here?

first, let me say that i think i've got everything i need. am i missing something? send me an email; it's on the side. i might argue with you, but i'd like to hear as many ideas as you have.

walking in from the side, the first item is this three-tier console table, which is a hallway and not a kitchen item, and which i don't currently have a clear use for, but will probably remain where it is:

this is currently storing cleaning supplies, but i will move them to under the counter when i get a wood plank for it, soon. when i remove them, it will only have that coffee maker. i currently have three extra coffee makers, an extra toaster and a few extra scales, and they'll probably stay on this table. it's otherwise a big random shit table, which i definitely have and will retain a use for, as i always have a pile of things i can't organize or store in a clear way, yet.

i initially bought this on kijiji in june for $30 + $10 delivery to fit into a small area in the kitchen i just moved out of. it was supposed to have a voip phone and a media laptop for zoom on the top, and a stereo system and a chromebook in the middle, with whatever on the bottom. those items would feed out to the kvm peripherals on a small kitchen table. i was going to get some kitchen stools and roll back and forth. 

that place didn't work out, and this table doesn't work in that context in this apartment, but will be a great second entry table to throw shit on when you come in, and a kitchen overflow table if necessary. i will probably leave the voip phone in the bedroom and get a zoom videophone for the couch. i'm almost there with the latter but want to do some clear research to be sure, and i was a little turned off by the small video in the model i was looking at. i might want to run the videophone to an external monitor.

beside the console table is what i'm calling my ghetto hutch, which is two stacked cabinets i found on the curb, one of which has become a spice cabinet since i took the doors off and the other of which is a general use cabinet, with pasta and quinoa in tupperware.

this cost a total of $0 for me to recover and reclaim, and it is highly likely that i will continue to use the top cabinet as a spice rack indefinitely. i had previously placed it directly on the stove in order to replace the stovetop cabinets in my last basement, but i cannot do that here. the bottom cabinet, which retains it's doors, could be used for anything, but i like this particular use of pasta on the top shelf and quinoa on the bottom. the real function of the bottom shelf, however, is to keep the spice rack off the floor, which is why it's now a ghetto hutch.

the spices from the top shelf down, left to right, are:

bob's nutritional yeast / frank's hot sauce / garlic or onion salt

paprika / dried dill (empty space) / open baking soda for odours / black pepper

dried thyme / dried basil / dried oregano

cayenne pepper / ground cumin / raw, plain sunflower seeds

i keep my hemp seeds in the fridge nowadays.

next to the ghetto hutch is the start of the counter, and there is a cut out area under the counter that likely once had a garbage can but that i filled in with a plastic drawer system, instead:

i bought four of these modular, stackable drawers for $30 after moving in. i wanted to buy a $40 unit with five drawers, but it wouldn't let me, so i instead bought a four unit version and took a large drawer out of a similar broken drawer system that had been left here by the previous tenant. as can be seen, this unit fits perfectly into the space, which was carefully measured for that outcome, and the reason i purchased this unit, specifically. the tongs and juice maker were both left here; the cheese grater was purchased in roughly 2013. drawers are something you can always use more of, and can always be repurposed for some different purpose.

next, this is a picture of the entirety of the counter:

there are items here that are old, that are new and that were found, but i want to point out that i drink a lot of coffee and that's what you're seeing here - two floating shelves i connected to the walls and the cabinet with oversized pegs and packing tape (it's sturdy, but don't push on it) that have coffee cups and dried coffee/tea respectively,  a single serve coffee maker i use with cappucino grounds, a 12 cup or big pot coffee maker and a kettle, along with a knife holder, a new toaster, a new scale and an old blender, the latter three on a microwave.

i discarded a gross old toaster oven when i moved in here, partly because it hadn't been cleaned in eons. i have a toaster and i have a microwave and i have an actual oven, too. i don't quite the point of the toaster oven; my mom liked them for making sandwiches, but i actually tend to avoid toasting sandwich bread because it decreases the nutrients in the bread. i'll toast white bread, and i like to toast bagels, hence the new bagel toaster.

my counter items are all inexpensive small appliances.

i've had this microwave for over 20 years. it followed my from my parents' basement to my first apartment, and i've had it ever since, with no reason to upgrade it. i guess my parents ultimately bought it. microwaves used to be a lot more expensive in the 90s than they are now.

this new scale came in recently in the mail for about $20.

i bought this single person small blender on sale in 2013 at best buy, for around $20.

the bagel toaster came in this month, for around $15. it replaces a toaster in bought in 2014 for around $10.

this very large kettle has a heating component under it and is plugged into the power bar behind it. this was abandoned in the unit, and something i was looking to pick up, although i planned to get a $5 stove kettle.

this $10 knife holder came in this month.

this $20 full coffee maker was purchase in june, and is the first full coffee maker i've had since i dropped a carafe in 2020 and had to bike down to walmart to get a single serve.

i also bought this $20 single serve maker in june, and it replaces a single serve of the same model because the long shaky electrical finally shorted. i can't get the proprietary screw out of the back. i bought some italian cappucino a few weeks ago when imported coffee was $30/tin, and i realized it works better with those types of grounds. that's how i'll be making coffee with this device from now on.

i know i've had this cutting board since 2006. i don't remember how i acquired it.

you can see the pegs and the tape i used to keep the shelf in place. the pegs are enough support for the shelf; the tape is to stop the shelf from moving around and keep it flush against the wall.

this lower shelf has coffee grounds, coffee filters and tea. it will also have espresso grounds, and more coffee ground and more tea.

 i found these shelves on the curb with some bookshelves they didn't fit into around 2021.

the higher shelf has mugs and other coffee (and tea) cups. i use the beer mugs for big cups of coffee.

so, that together, then, is my coffee station, which takes up a lot of my time in the kitchen.

i don't currently grid my own beans. i might one day soon if it's cost effective. i could add that.

under the counter are two drawers:

i have had too much cutlery for a while now, and the fact that i found a pile of it when i moved in here exacerbated it. i need two cutlery drawers, at this point.

under the drawers is a pretty big cabinet, currently full of cereal and dried foods.

when i get a plank of wood for in there. i'll put the cans on top and the cereal under it, along with cleaning supplies.

moving over, is a regular sink and cabinet.

the single cabinet is big enough for all of my actual dishes, i just have a lot of tupperware, and i use it because i eat a lot of vegetables.

this is under the sink, which has been cleaned.

this drain was leaking, but i tightened it, and now it's fine.

i also dumped a bottle of bleach down the drain here:

the last thing i did was scrub the floor, although it had been washed in bursts as i was doing other things (like cleaning the stove). i had also already scrubbed under and behind the fridge and stove, and under the kitchen table.

that, then, is the north side of the kitchen, proper:

next is a short hallway leading from the kitchen into the bathroom that i first wanted to extend the counter into but realized was really the best place to build a one person eat in space. if you removed the second plastic drawer system, which contains an assortment of tools and plastic bags, you could maybe seat two people at this table, but i don't need that. i want somewhere where i can sit down with a big salad or plate of pasta and watch a lengthy documentary, or participate in a lecture series. this does that extremely well.

i might have bought an actual computer desk for twice the rice of the table, but i instead spent the extra money on building the table into a custom desk, using an industrial side table and a cheap monitor stand.

the table itself was $60 and purchased this month.

this is a different angle on the three component composite computer table, including the side table.

i purchased the chair in june on kijiji for $5. it's also made of metal, with leather cushions.

this is a shot of the industrial strength metal side table ($40) and the stereo system on it:

then, this is just the computer model, which was $20:

in total, it was $120 + hst, which is about the price of a computer desk, but it would not have been as customized for this space.

here is the stereo:

the receiver is a vintage nad 3020e that my father gave me when i was looking to pa my pod:

the dvd player is a sony player that also plays mp3 discs and my dad also gave me at some point, although it's less clear when; i think it was about 2009.

the video source is a falling apart mini lenovo thinkpad chromebook i bought brand new in 2018 for $100 from factory direct because it was end of life, then. it needs a mouse and keyboard to be plugged in. this model could be converted into a laptop and, because the chrome os is end of life, i might do that. for now, it just streams youtube, and it does it fine. i may need to replace this soon, probably with the busted dell chromebook i'm typing on.

and, there's an ethernet switch on the bottom that i bought for $10 about 2022ish:

this is the mini keyboard i just got for $15:

the monitor is a philips. it does not have high end specs, and takes a vga in, but these fall of civilizations videos are vibrant, if you ask me. if i'm watching a lecture, it doesn't matter, and this is a good size without getting too big, which is the actual concern. but if i'm watching some vivid film with vibrant production, the goal is reproduction, and this monitor will do fine. what this monitor won't do is make dull source material glow, via over saturation.

these are 6 ohm yamaha ns-e55s that are rated at 50 watts. they pair well with the low powered nad, which can do about 35-40sh at 6 ohms (much lower at 8 ohms). there's also a button to cut your input volume from cd or digital media, which is helpful for cds mxed during the loudness era or youtube videos mixed into the red.

these speakers were sold with subwoofers, which i don't have.

there's the $5 chair i bought in june. nice chair, but it was dirty when i bought it, and i take it nobody wanted to clean it.

in the far corner next to the computer table/desk, is my first plastic organizer, which i bought in 2018 because the previous basement had no drawer of any sort at all. i have taken the cutlery, pills and other kitchen things out of it and distributed it more loosely, so that at this point it's largely a tool box, but with a lot of plastic bags in the bottom shelf.

above the toolbox is a small floating shelf with a bottle of vodka and a little tin container with rolling material in it, along with an assortment of lighters. the pill bottle is a shot glass, but i haven't touched that bottle of vodka since the start of 2020.

this is a combo shot of the northwest wall of the kitchen/hall/dining room.

this is the south wall of the kitchen, facing towards the living room. it's much shorter, and contains only the two fridges and the one stove.

this is the new mini fridge i bought for $100, to store produce in, mostly:

this is the fourth floating shelf, right above the mini fridge, connected to the two walls, and with an old scale as a weight to keep it put. it will just hold light plastic containers. i keep margarine containers for storage, specifically.

this is the big fridge that came with the apartment:

the fridge was dirty and required effort to clean it, but it's otherwise fine, besides the missing piece of plastic. i added a piece of wood and really just taped it to the side. the bottom drawer was from a different fridge or not from a fridge at all and i just took it out as i don't need it.

the stove was far worse than the fridge, but look at it now. i scrubbed it inside and out. i added a shelving unit to the side of the stove to hold two items i want to plug into the stove, namely a coffee warmer and an indoor grill / panini maker. the idea is you move the grill to the stove top when using it. 

not all of the elements worked, but i cleaned them and that fixed it.

the stove was particularly gross, but i got most of the grease out.

this pans compartment was one of the grossest things i've ever seen, but i cleaned it up:

here is a picture of the shelving unit from the side. this is another $0 curb pickup. it's mostly full of food bank food now, but it should eventually be full of items like doritos, when i get back to my normal diet.

this is the coffee warmer, with a coffee on it. this was left by the previous tenant.

this is a picture of the grill, open

if i can find a very tall, skinny bookshelf, i will