Measure twice, cut once...

In this new place of mine, the one thing that desperately needs updating is the cabinetry, both in the kitchen and the bathrooms. Yesterday, my focus was on the kitchen cabinets, putting in shelf liner. Shelf liner/contact paper is the stuff I remember my mom putting into the silverware drawers when I was little, so it's rather amusing to find myself doing this same ritual like a grown-up.

A lot of people like the sticky or rubbery shelf stuff, but I hate that, actually. When I slide my glasses into the cupboard, I want them to slide, not get caught up on the rubber! So I found some adhesive, smooth-sided shelf liner at Walmart. It was absolutely the only semi-attractive print. I say that with complete seriousness. I don't understand why the masses would be interested in beige gingham or fake granite. If you went to Walmart, saw the selection and were overwhelmed by the great choices: I'm judging you. So. Hard.

 So the first step was clearing a large counter space. The paper roll is 20" long so you need at least that much to spread out. Then, I set up Independence Day on my laptop, and grabbed a measuring tape and sharp scissors. I recommend getting a yardstick as well. Mine was packed and I was too lazy to dig it out, but as the night wore on, I wished I had taken half an hour to find it.

 

Many of the cabinets and drawers already had a lovely shelf liner that made me feel like I was living in a camping cabin. Plus, it was pretty gross and covered in stains and spills. If the shelf liner were in good condition, I probably would have just wiped it down or applied the new liner over the top, but this stuff had to go. Tip: if you have trouble peeling off old liner, use a hair dryer on low heat for a few minutes to loosen the adhesive. Mine was easy though as the particleboard was shedding pulp like mad. Here's hoping my landlord will install new cabinetry while I'm still living here.

As I did each drawer, I pulled it out and shook out the loose particles, then did a quite wipedown. I measured and cut, then peeled the backing off a corner of the liner, stuck it into the drawer, and then held the corner down as I peeled the backing away from the rest of the piece. It was pretty easy. Really, the hard part was measuring and drawing the cut line onto the paper before cutting. Like I said, get a yard stick, they're a dollar at the hardware store.

I still have three more drawers to do, so once I find my yardstick, I'll do those. Overall, it was time consuming, but really not that challenging once I got started.