I have slowly been changing things around in my kitchen because I love it and want to spend all my time in there and once took a day off of work to make chili.

These things are absolutely essential to my kitchen-related happiness:

• Mason jars of various sizes for dry goods, nuts, etc.

I’ve also used a half-pint mason jar to make a shaker for this delicious popcorn seasoning recipe I took from the Seventh Day Adventist Church (http://lads.t1005.com/popcorn.asp). Just take a screwdriver (or knife) and a hammer and violently poke holes in the lid of the jar.

• A lazy susan reserved for hot sauce.

• A sweet spice rack, preferably an imperfect one that you’ve made yourself. 

Or you can just buy a magnetic spice rack. I had fun making one, but the difference in cost is negligible.

• A good collection of rarely-used cookbooks, making sure to have a few funny ones

• A stuffed animal of unknown origin sitting on a shelf reserved for alcohol

I’m sure there’s more but I’ll stop there for now.