No, not (in this case at least) peculiar Australians
I am looking for two things you trip over in Australia but I haven't been able to find here:
- Broom cupboard: Basically a relatively narrow cupboard, about 6 feet high x 2 feet wide, that is totally open (ie no shelves) for the bottom two thirds and in which you put your (go on guess) brooms, mops etc, with cleaning materials stored on a shelf at the top of the cupboard
- Toilet roll holder - basically a way of having 2-3 rolls of toilet paper sitting next to the toilet but not on display - just a toilet paper roll sized tube, sometimes with a lid - often sold with matching toilet brush and holder.
I can live without them but wonder if they even exist here.
Comments that I need to get out more gratefully received he says, heading off to the wine bar in anticipation - hey I am on holidays !!
Steve
Broom cupboards were built-in in NZ homes too! no door, just an opening - handy for all those taller items and a bulky vacuum cleaner. I'm lucky because I have a huge laundry area (which used to be a garage years before we bought the house...) and a hubby who can convert unused or ill-used space into a whole range of useful storage areas. I know what you mean about the loo roll holder too - just thinking, is it possible to buy a loo brush that comes with the cylinder and just take out the brush? or is that too narrow to fit loo rolls into? We bought a 'spike' one (ie you can see the rolls) from Ikea.
Yes, ours had doors and was built in :-) Very useful to have in the kitchen. I'm sure that Ikea or similar would have something that could adapt to this? Another useful point I found with it was that when the kids were small, I would keep potentially harmful cleaning fluids on the top shelf of the broom cupboard (or closet in the US!) which was a whole lot safer than having the stuff in the cupboard under the kitchen sink. This is very easily accessible to curious Little People.
Broom closets are very common in the States but usually have doors and are part of a built-in kitchen. You can probably find the cupboard dimensions you want at (surprise) IKEA.
I know what you mean. I was one of 8 kids though to be honest in those days (we were broke, as you are with 8 kids) there was more newspaper than toilet paper involved
Yes, re broom cupboards! And they were a standard fixture in South African kitchens too, so they aren't solely an Australian feature. There was a slot on a sort of shelf near the top, and you hung your broom heads through this. I remember too people there having really fancy things for holding toilet rolls such as poodles. I suppose if you have a large family, having lots of spare toilet rolls nearby is a must :-)