We’ve been working for two days and even though the downstairs garage still isn’t the way I’d like it to be, the stove gets delivered tomorrow and we have a place to put it and a path to get it to said spot.
All the puppy pads and Solo cups will come off the top of the work bench and that’s space I’ll have to place jars that are going into the canner, and jars that come out of the canner. There are three nice drawers on each side of the work bench so I’ll be able to store some things in there.
The way I hope to have it set up is to get pots and pans hung on the peg board on the sides of the work bench. I have a set of Calphalon pots that I collected years ago. I’ll keep them down there or I could bring some extra cast iron downstairs. I’ll put some utensils (can opener, spatulas, large spoons, etc.) in another drawer. I’ll bring down extra dishes – a few plates, bowls, saucers and extra silverware. Those can all go in drawers.
How nice would it have been to have had this when we were living in the basement?
I looked at what we had set up and I told Vince .. now all I need is a recliner and a magnifying lamp in here. The look he gave me. I think the answer was NO!
There’s still a lot of stuff in the garage but we sure did get a lot moved out. There must have been 20 or more kitchen/pantry boxes still in there. Those are all unpacked . . not necessarily put where it all belongs but it’s all out of the garage and out of boxes.
The stove has to be switched from natural gas to propane. I think Vince can do that or . . Vince thinks he can do that. We need a splitter on the gas line because we’re using the line that’s for the emergency heater. Not sure if Vince can do that. He said if he isn’t comfortable doing it, he’ll hook up the stove, then have the plumber come back and change out the fitting so both the stove and the heater can be hooked up. If I had to guess, I’d say we’re not going to need the heater for a while but we do want to have it ready just in case.
I’m ready to start canning in there as soon as Vince says it’s ready.
Liz says
Way down the road, would you move your freeze-dryer to this area? The workbench would also work for doing that task.
BTW – do you have a small dolly with a basket attachment to help move these jars from the “production area” to the “storage area”?
judy.blog@gmail.com says
No. It’s in the room where I store food. It’s close to the downstairs bathroom so if I make a mess changing the oil, I have everything right there to clean it up. The freeze dryer takes up so much room and I don’t want give up that much space on the work bench top. Plus, the freeze dryer puts out a lot of heat. Lastly, the room where the freezer dryer is not stays clean (no outside doors or windows). Sometimes the downstairs garage door is open, we go through the walk thru door a million times a day taking the dogs out and going to the garden. So, all that to say, I’m happy with it where it is.
Actually, I will do all the prep work upstairs and have to bring the jars down to the canner but once the canner is done, it’s just around the corner to the storage room. I have a heavy duty wooden tray that has handles that will hold 6 quarts and about 8 pints so I put the jars in there to carry them down the stairs. Before now, I do all the canning upstairs and have to carry the finished jars downstairs so it isn’t going to be any different.
Usually, the most i’m doing is 14 quarts at a time so that’s not much to carry. I leave them on the counter to cool down before moving them so usually I can one day and move everything the next. My legs get too tired if I can two days in a row.