Steph, you are wasting paper towels, yeah buddy.
I had one that I bought years ago at Williams Sonoma. it was like Tupperware I suppose. It worked fine, but somehow I lost track of it.

Julia Child has one in her kitchen too. So it must be a good thing.

Bookcases to the ceiling is a good thing. But also, just so you keep the tops to the same height, I like to put art work at the top, just leaned against the wall, especially things which I don't want broken or touched, but which old folks like myself can view fairly well.

So 72 inch height would give another 24 inches above, so you might be able to stand up a 16 x 20 framed artwork with a few inches breathing room. When I finally move my 5 30 x 72 bookcases to their permanent spots, I will secure them to the walls to keep from tipping them over on someone.

My mom gave me a salad spinner and I used it a couple of times and donated it to the thrift store. It just took up a lot of room and lettuce had to be torn in half to fit it in well. We just wash lettuce, shake it, and put it in a lightly covered dish and it lasts a week or more.

desertsteph, I used to have a salad spinner--it wasn't very expensive or 'heavy-duty,' and eventually fell apart. Here's a hint that I read, and use when I don't have time to let lettuce drain in a colander:

Put your rinsed lettuce in a clean cotton pillowcase, hold the end closed, and twirl it around your head like a lasso. The centrifugal force dries the lettuce for you. Just watch out for ceiling fans and light fixtures. :)

thx moccasin! I figured I was way behind the times on cleaning my lettuce. but I'm real cheap and don't just toss those paper towels out! I reuse them - yeah, i do. to clean up the worst of a mess - like cleaning the 'test' tile I have in front of the sink (testing for future use (maybe) in new kitchen), or to do the first clean up of a spill, wipe out my little oven, wipe out the dog dish, etc. double duty for those towels!

I thought I was probably the only one (out of earthquake area) who wired tall heavy things to the wall behind it! I do that also.

i thought the to the ceiling ones for judithva on either side of her tv - but the idea of putting stuff on top is good also. good place for treasures to view but not be down where they might get in the way of every day life. or some photos. I'm not sure how high my ceilings will be tho. I doubt more that 7.5'. maybe shades knows what hers are and will post. they should be about the same.

I'm envious of your 5 bookcases tho. I have 2 shorter ones and plan to get 2 taller ones (each side of my desk). the 2 shorter ones short me a few shelves! I think I saw some tall ones on IKEA site with glass doors. those'll be something I'll deal with months after I get into the new place. books can stay packed for a few months. I'll be busy cleaning that place, repairing a few things and getting the necessities of life put away.

If I survive all of that, I'll move on to books, crafts etc - lol!

oh - 2 more posts while i was typing earlier...

marti - I usually clean some when I need it for a salad. then it's wet unless i dry it... but the spinner thing isn't sounding like it's the way to go...

mama - I don't think I have a pillowcase clean enough that i'd want to put my lettuce in it...i'm not so sure what's on the inside comes out totally in the wash...lol! I sleep with my dog... but maybe I should get 2 cotton dish towels JUST for drying my lettuce?

desertsteph, I am so out of it, I had no idea Kohls had an online store LOL! But, like you mentioned I will most likely go with full height bookcases to get the most out of my space. But you are right about the prices of the bookcases, especially for the Sauder bookcases, they were very high priced IMO.

I have a salad spinner, and I use it alot, I eat alot of salads when I am trying to behave and eat healthier, I don't like any water left on the leaves and the spinner does a great job of it. I will have to look at the name brand, because all are not built alike, this one really does a great job of it, plus when you are finished spinning and remove the excess water out of the bottom you just put the lid back on the spinner and you can store it with the lettuce in it in the ref. There is a mini version of the larger one that I have so that might be better suited to those that only want to use a little bit at a time.

oh tx judithva! I would really like to just clean it all and be done with it! I just recently switched back to buying a regular head of lettuce over the prepkged. the prepkged was tasting strange and the head is not that much more expensive really. I feel safer with it also. at least the inner parts of the head is not manhandled like the prepkged is.

I did not know Kohls had online store either. DANG I am gonna get in trouble on this one.

I never used a salad spinner either. I pat dry with cotton dish /lettuce towel when needing patting dry. Also can get by with rolling the fresh garden picked and washed lettuce up in cotton towel and placing in plastic bag for a head start on dinner later. but do not leave it this way too long. Over night or a picnic lunch take along will be fine . Not much longer.

I love book cases. But I also like glass doors on them.

Chris

steph, if you have a big square of muslin, that would probably work, too. I have a big piece that I use to cover rising bread, and another that I fold to hold hot potatoes while I peel them--very little lint on that old muslin! I don't wash it after use on the bread dough, but have to wash it to get sticky potato bits off. Note: don't use fabric softener. :P

Most hilarious discussion in a long time. Who'd a thunk you could laugh at a salad spinner! Thanks so much for the humor, folks.

I like Romaine the best, because I use long buns, hoagies or subs you know. One piece of Romaine covers the whole thing, and it never falls out.

When I do wash lettuce of any kind, I like to do the whole thing, and then I leave it in a bag with a wet piece of paper towel. I know I read somewhere that this kept it from going limp or whatever. I also TEAR lettuce and not cut it with a knife. Supposedly, this keeps the edges from RUSTING?

Now on to book cases. I like adjustable shelves. I line up my book cases against the wall and then like to put the sofa in front of it. Then I bring the sofa out a little bit and let it "breathe." I like to remove a shelf and then instead of all uniform spacing, there is a taller spot so I can set a small lamp or a painting or photograph.

IKEA has a lot of options, even those you can hang/suspend on your walls, to leave the floor area open. Then they also have the BILLY whatever which has been popular for about 20 years or so, and they just celebrated its birthday. I am having IKEA withdrawals, seriously, need my IKEA modular FIX. Most of the things I buy tend to be modular in style, so they function in many places. My DH thinks I like to move things for the joy of changing it up. And he could be right. My mind always is looking at options, at "what ifs."
Give me another day and I believe this congestion in my head and throat will be beat down. All the humidity is about to kill me...and it never used to bother me at all.
But oh my I am sleeping so soundly in our new bed. :)