Pragmatic Compendium

inspiring the pragmatic practice of intimacy with Christ

freakish coffee station

I’m cheating a little bit this week by extracting this “Kitchen Tip” from within another post. It originally appeared as part of my response to a book study of The Excellent Wife, Chapter Eight, The Wife’s Domain, hosted by Leslie at Lux Venit.

Being “freakishly organized,” I followed the Underwear Principle and created a coffee “station” with all the supplies needed for coffee located in one spot. It’s a tiny bit of counter space next to the stove and it’s where we keep EVERYthing coffee related. (Thanks for the coffee pot recommendation, Lisa Writes!)

coffee station

The three cannisters hold creamer, Benefiber and Splenda. We used to keep all that inside the cabinet above, but they were annoying to access. I picked clear glass cannisters so we could tell at a glance when they were running low and we now keep them on the counter because it’s the most convenient. When we remember, we add Benefiber to our coffee. It’s a simple way to sneak in extra fiber. We can’t taste it and it doesn’t change the consistency of the coffee at all.

In the cabinet above are the coffee mugs, travel mugs, coffee filters and creamer refill. I bought identical plastic containers to store coffee in the freezer door (right behind this spot) and marked one of them “decaf.” I even decorated this area by purchasing multi-opening frames, finding, typing and printing coffee and tea “quotes” on pretty card stock and framing each one.

One of my favorite quotes is: “A man without a mustache is like a cup of tea without sugar.” (FirstHusband has had a mustache since I’ve met him.)

I especially love the quote by Cher in Moonstruck: “You make good coffee . . . you’re a slob, but you make good coffee.”

coffee art

(Please forgive the sideways photo.)

It’s very handy to have everything in one place. It’s easy for guests too. When I host my ladies circle, I set my “backup” coffee pot (with decaf) on the flat stove top, right next to the main coffee maker.


This post is part of Kitchen Tip Tuesdays over at Tammy’s Recipes. Check it out!

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May 27, 2008 - Posted by | caffeine, freakishly organized, Uncategorized | , , , , ,

9 Comments »

  1. Oooh, we have a hot drinks cabinet ourselves. Husband is a lover of hot drinks all year long. I keep it stocked with hot teas, hot chocolate, gourmet coffees, regular coffees, mugs, and the accoutrements. We actually overflowed the cabinet some time back and use the one beneath it as well.

    Comment by acompletethought | May 27, 2008 | Reply

  2. This is great! And I love the quotes. I always smile when I see “a day without coffee is like…sleep!”

    Comment by Mocha with Linda | May 27, 2008 | Reply

  3. Love the organization! We took it a step further a year and a half ago and bought for $70 a coffee maker that has a timer and grinds the beans fresh. Now I, the night owl, can “make” coffee for the early-riser DH (dear husband)by putting in the beans and water before I go to bed at night and setting the timer. It starts itself, grinds, and brews while he’s in the shower so it’s really fresh for him – and I don’t have to get up to do it!

    Comment by Debbie | May 27, 2008 | Reply

  4. I don’t have a coffee area b/c I don’t drink it much. But I do have a baking center. So establishing centers in your kitchen is a time saver.

    Comment by BarbaraLee Malikowski | May 29, 2008 | Reply

  5. Love my coffee pot too!

    Comment by lisa writes... | May 30, 2008 | Reply

  6. I think you people really need to get a life.

    Well that’s 5 minutes you’ll never get back! You should probably read and comment on blogs which are of interest to you.

    p.s. Did you ever find out the maker of your lithopane cup and saucer set? (by JSM)

    Comment by Pete | August 20, 2008 | Reply

  7. I love the clear jars. So neat and orderly. I should get something for my whitener. I am constantly bringing it in and out of the cabinet

    Comment by Niki | October 1, 2008 | Reply

  8. I know this post is old…

    I keep my Teavana tea maker on the counter, next to the tin of loose tea, the Benefiber, a jelly jar of sugar, and a teaspoon. Then all I need is my mug (from the dish drainer) and boiling water (from the teakettle on the stove).

    Amelia – I need to get some more Benefiber for our coffee – I can’t even tell it’s in there. It’s great stuff! (by JSM)

    Comment by Amelia | October 25, 2008 | Reply

  9. I too, have a coffee station and I love it!! I try so hard to be organized but it doesn’t always work out that way! LOL. I’m off to check out your other stolen thoughts! LOL
    Hugs
    Kim

    Comment by Kim | November 19, 2009 | Reply


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