He said no. My handyman said no. I knew he wasn’t sold on my brilliant idea to replace my kitchen pantry drawers with shelves, but I didn’t think he would completely reject the project. Oh, but he did.
Some of you may recall Part I of this saga which I wrote about in my post, What I Learned About Love From My Kitchen Pantry Renovation, and all the brain drama I went through deciding to replace my “highly desired” pantry drawers with shelves, which many might consider a downgrade. I ended Part 1 with the handyman leaving my house and – I imagined – heading to the nearest bar to drink his way to a yes.
However, that’s not how this kitchen pantry story played out.
He called me later and told me he’d discussed my project with two interior designers AND an architect, and they all agreed it wouldn’t “work.” He only had one possible solution to the problem – more drawers!! To put a partition down the middle of the pantry and do eight drawers. I explained that although that would solve the problem of having to open both cabinet doors to pull out the drawer, my family would still have to … pull out the drawer. (He probably thinks I live with aliens.)
Given that eight drawers weren’t an acceptable solution to me, he turned down my project.
I called my mom, because that’s what forty-somethings do when the handyman rejects them, right? After a few moments of self-pity, I recommitted to MY truth. Many people may perceive pull-out shelves as “more valuable” than standard shelves, but that’s just their opinion. I know in my heart they are not more valuable to me.
It’s amazing how one simple thought can cause us hours of spinning.
One thought – “pantry drawers are superior to shelves” – kept me living in kitchen chaos for 15 years. I was trying to make something work for my family that just didn’t work.
And what happens when we finally change those thoughts?
When I changed the thought to “maybe kitchen pantry shelves are better for US” – it opened up a world of opportunity. But changing that thought wasn’t easy.
First, I had to buy into it myself.
Read the rest of the article at OC Mom Collective.
