Ah, I get it. I have a dining room and a pantry, and therefore have places to put large things out of the way but still handy. Also, my compulsive mind doesn't let go of details like the existence of the Food-Saver and the lemon reamer. The blender and the kettle live in a cabinet, the food processor and the stand mixer have spots in the pantry, and if I could find a niche to accommodate the toaster oven, it too would get off the counter.

Over the last three years, I emptied the kitchen and dining room of a great deal of stuff that had accumulated over the previous four decades. Once all the duplicates were gone, and the gadgets that never worked out, along with Edmund's extensive collection of baking tackle that I never used and never will, suddenly I had acres of space in the cabinets and drawers and everything had a place to be. Relative serenity ensued.