how to give your kitchen a makeover for 15 bucks or less

I’m home today with my still-sick Rosie, watching the ice fall outside. I’m doing laundry and scrubbing bathrooms, hoping the sickness is making its exit. I hope so, because I’m not sure how many more times I can watch African Cats, and we’re running out of movies.
Really, truly, this post is an excuse to talk about my salt pig. That’s it, up there, dashing and handsome in blue.
Yesterday (taking a break from African Cats), I was admiring my salt pig, and thinking about the day I bought it. I was standing in my favorite kitchen store, trying to convince myself out of it. I told myself that I didn’t need a wonderful little fancy container for my salt, that the cylinder that it came in was just plenty fine for me. But luckily the better me triumphed, and 9 bucks later, I was the owner of a salt pig. I’ve never looked back. In fact, I’ve bought them for other people, too.
I only bring this all up, because I think that this particular moment of mid-January has the capability to bring up the desire for newness. And as that newness coincides with winter hibernation and depleted bank accounts after the holidays, sometimes a little special thing just does the trick. And so I’d like to bring up a few ideas for bringing new life into your kitchen, just in case you might need them.
1. Buy a salt pig.
Again with the salt pig! I don’t know why this thing has so much magic, but it does. It will transform your counter.
2. Treat your wooden utensils and cutting boards with a beeswax rubdown.
Oh, the satisfaction in this one! All wooden utensils (including rolling pins) and cutting boards will be happy for a beeswax treatment. Everything will look like new, and your kitchen will smell fantastic. You can make your own beeswax oil, or you can buy it.
3. Buy a new food-themed calendar, just for the kitchen.
This is my Wild Edibles calendar by my friend Laurie Coyle, and it inspires me every time I look at it.
4. Buy fancy sponges.
These are made by Twist, and honestly, I just love the look of them. The top is natural loofah, and somehow even though the whole thing is white, it stays pretty clean. And when you’ve used a sponge to the fullest, you can compost them!
5. Organize your spices.
Seriously. You know how good you’ll feel. Throw out random bags of red spice (cayenne? paprika? that sumac I bought forever ago because I thought it seemed interesting?), make sure everything is labeled, and not entirely ancient. Then (optional, of course), alphabetize.
6. Find a surface in your kitchen to cover in chalkboard paint.
This was a Christmas day activity for us, and it’s been a source of happiness for us all ever since. Every week, someone gets to draw the week’s monster. And I use it for shopping lists, too.
That’s my list for today… I hope it brings something new into your kitchen. I’m going back to African Cats  (the baby cheetahs!), but I’d love to hear your ideas on how to breathe new life into the kitchen in these dark days of January.