My aunt did a FABULOUS job utilizing this under the stairs closet!
She even added cup hooks!
AND extra shelving units AND a plate divider rack!
Awesome use of space, Mary Pat!
Spring Cleaning Challenge – Refrigerator
April 18, 2013 By 2 Comments
I was excited when I saw that Money Saving Mom’s spring cleaning challenge for today was to clean out the refrigerator.
First, I was supposed to do that last week. And secondly, tonight is trash night and I have a LOT to throw out!
I love to use lazy susans in the refrigerator for pickles, cheeses and less frequently used sauces.
I have used the bottom drawers in my refrigerator differently over the years. Currently the bottom drawer is for extra bread and juice boxes. The middle drawer is for fruits and lunch items. The final drawer is for cheese and meats.
The top bins on the door are used for lunch drinks and cheese.
The rest of the door holds – drinks – lunch and salad dressings – and sauces and marinades.
How about you? How do you organize your refrigerator?
Spring Cleaning Challenge – Kitchen
April 15, 2013 By 6 Comments
Today Money Saving Mom has us cleaning the kicthen.
Ahem- See, I have messes!
I am sharing tomorrow about the Drop Zones I have created and I think it is evidenced that I do DROP stuff.
Hubby has been out of town and the kitchen has gotten away from me.
“Organization” really is all about maintenance once you get your systems set up.
This mess is not from a lack of systems, it’s from a lack of time, energy and diligence.
Ahhh… Much better.
It always feels so good to clean. Why do I keep putting it off?
Monday Makeover: Kitchens!
April 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Are the supplies in your kitchen multiplying?
In just 5 hours flat we had this kitchen streamlined and functioning efficiently!
We even had room for a puppy drawer!
Need a friend to come help you organize your kitchen?
Ask the Organizer: What can I do with all this Tupperware?
April 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Today I am blogging over at Stockpiling Mom’s and answering the question: What can I do with all this Tupperware?
Does your Tupperware cabinet look like this?
Or your drawer like this?
Stop for a minute. DO you LOVE your Tupperware? Or is this the one area in your house here you say to yourself, “It’s free and I could use it to store something someday, so I’ll keep it “just in case”
Seriously. We keep lids with no bottoms because we “might find them”. No we won’t.
We keep bottoms with no tops because “it was a really great set.”
But we won’t and we don’t and instead of “saved” money or “found” treasures we have this:
And it’s NOT YOU, it’s EVERYONE. If there is an area that can get out of control faster than anything else, it’s the Tupperware drawer!
I know I’ve told you all before, there is not a one size fits all organizing solution – EXCEPT in this case there is. I do organize everyone’s Tupperware the same way. Shocked?
Here’s the 5 step Tupperware Organization Solution!
Organize 365 Spring Cleaning & Organizing Challenge WEEK 4: Kitchen Cabinets
April 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Have you lived in your home more than 5 years?
In my estimation, the average woman’s home works for about 3-5 years before it is time to deep clean, reorganize and re-systemize.
I have lived in my home for almost 18 years.
Years 1-5 newly married no kids and beautiful lanscaping!
Years 6-10 little kids with big plastic toys, clothes they out grew weekly and a minivan!
Years 10-12 the preschool years – playdates, more home based businesses a fenced in yard and food allergies.
Years 13-14 school age kids with homework needs and a mommy at home.
Years 15-16 a fulltime working mommy and CHAOS!
Years 17- present a complete reorganization, career change and mommy back a home.
Yesterday I shared on Monday Makeover: A kitchen fro growing and grown children.
How about you? Is your kitchen in need of re-systematization?
Here are some of the products I use when organizing kitchen cabinets:
I like to put this shoe organizer in cabinets and pantries to add space. It comes in white or natural to match your cabinets.
Organize 365 Spring Cleaning and Organization Challenge WEEK 3 – Kitchen Drawers
April 2, 2013 By 2 Comments
When I redesigned my kitchen I added 2 whole units of drawers and a few drawers underneath the cabinets!
kitchen drawer organization
My past kitchen had too few drawers. While you may not be able to add drawers to your kitchen, you can always maximize what you do have!
Kitchen drawer Organization Process
I tend to organize ONE drawer at a time.
1. Empty the drawer.
2. clean the drawer well with a Clorox wipe or soapy water.
3. If your drawers are older, consider adding drawer liners.
See the difference?
4. Get rid of what you don’t want, or won’t use.
5. Set aside items that are used only once or twice a year into a bin.
6. Use Containers to corral items and make your space look more organized.
Drawer Categories
Here are the most typical drawer categories I use when organizing a pantry:
- silverware
- utensils
- paper lunch bags and wraps
- potholders and towels
- office supplies
- bread
Other drawers I have created:
- a wine drawer
- water bottles
- baby “stuff”
- grilling
- home improvment
- coffee
- spices
Here are my best kitchen drawer organization tips to maximize your storage.
This configuration on bins allows for smaller and longer items to reside in the same drawer.
Everyone needs an office supply drawer. However, you don’t need to house ALL your extra office supplies in the kitchen. House the excess office supplies in another location.
How many pot holders do you have? Honestly, most people have 12 or more. We have 4 and it’s 2 more than we “need”. Be ruthless here and really pair your potholders down. Many clients gain a whole drawer of space by doing so!
If you have the drawer space, I love to store spices in drawers. they fit so nicely and are easy to read!
Once you start looking you will see drawer organizers everywhere. Here are some I picked up this week all for under a $10 each.
1. Ikea (about $4?)
2. Target ($2?)
3. The dollar store ($1!)
4. Meijer
Here is a video from last summer of a clients kitchen drawer reorganization. Including that wine drawer.
So what about you? Are you going to tackle your kitchen drawers this week?
Leave a comment when you do and let me know how it goes!
Organization 365: Pantry Organization Round Up
April 1, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Organization 365: Pantry Organization Round Up
There are SO many GREAT pantry ideas in the Blogosphere! Here are some of my favorites.
Evernote.com Spring Made Simple: Tips to Organize your Pantry
I am such a paper pencil gal, but Brandie even has me thinking about using Evernote to keep track of my pantry staples.
I Heart Organizing Kitchen Pantry Update
I love how Jen “decorates” the inside of her pantry! She even has a great idea for covering the wire shelves inyour pantry.
Organizing Military Mommy How to Organize Your Kitchen part 2
Kaui does a great job of using portable shelves in her cabinets and pantry to add extra room for bins. I also like how she labels her baskets.
Motherhood Support Let’s Get Organized: Food Pantry & Mudroom
Kimberly got her pantry under control by moving a lot of her items to the basement!
Stockpiling Moms: Stockpiling Moms Get Organized ~ The Pantry
I am a contributor to Stockpiling Moms. This is a post compiling all my best pantry organization tips!
Motherhood Support Snack Bins
Jennie created snack bins for her kids. An idea I do in EVERY pantry I professionally organize!
Do you have a favorite pantry organization blog post? Share it!
Stockpiling Moms’ Pantry Organization
March 29, 2013 By 2 Comments
I am SUPER excited to share my friend Melissa’s guest post with you today. Melissa and I met at a blogging conference in Cincinnati and have been partnering together ever since {I guest post over on Melissa’s blog Stockpiling Moms every Friday} .
Take a look at what Melissa did in just 2 hours!
I am excited to share Pantry Organization with you today! Hi, My name is Melissa and I blog at Stockpiling Moms. Lisa recently challenged me to organize my pantry! As a busy Mom who stockpiles my pantry, it can easily get out of control. This pantry re-organization took me approximately two hours.
I decided to tackle this project on a Saturday morning. First I removed everything from my pantry and placed it on my counter. I made two bags. A garbage for any products that I found that were expired and a donate bag. I was able, in the end, to donate a huge bag to our local food pantry and threw away items that were expired or opened but that we wouldn’t use.
I then replaced items back into our pantry in an organized manner. At the end of the day this process was great for me! It gives me peace of mind to have an organized pantry and actually allows me to know what I need to add to my stockpile. You may find this post Organize Your Stockpile helpful too!
About Melissa Jennings
Prior to leaving her career, Melissa taught Home Economics on the high school level for 11 years and holds a Masters Degree in Education. During her teaching career she taught professional development on the regional, state and national level and served as President of the Kentucky Association of Family and Consumer Science. She was a National Award winner and top recruiter in Direct Sales for 11 years. Melissa has been gluten-free since 2011 when she was diagnosed with Celiac disease. She turned her passion for saving money into being dedicated to helping others living a gluten-free lifestyle save money too. Melissa is a Stockpiling Expert, experienced teacher, author and spokesperson.
Kitchen Organization Installation Ideas
March 27, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Kitchen Organization Installation Ideas
Today I am sharing a guest post from Grace. She has some great out of the box ideas for maximizing space in your kitchen!
Are you having issues with the amount of space in your kitchen? Is every single corner of your pantry filled with canned food, supplies and more with no discernible pattern? You can work toward improving that and creating order out of chaos with some simple tips that we will gladly share. Let’s begin with:
- T-molding for stemware glasses
The T-moldings are made for transitions between wood floors, though they can also work as a very nice rack for hanging up stemware. You can cut them to length, then drilling screw holes so you can attach them to the underside of your chosen shelf. This will allow the stemware to dry out in this position, letting you avoid the spots on the bottom of a glass that occur from water.
- Make a plastic bag organizer
You can create one by simply using a tissue box and affixing it to a surface with thumbtacks or something similar. A rectangular box will serve as a nice way of organizing and holding grocery bags, small bags and anything else you want stored there.
- Use angled shelving
If you have far too many spices laying around your drawers, you can use the angled shelving in question to organize them appropriately. This will allow easy access and an orderly look. It can be done by using plywood scraps of the right size.
- Using plywood panels
The problem with the majority of kitchen cabinets is the particular lack of proper vertical storage for flat cookware such as cookie sheets, pizza pans and more. You can provide that by removing the shelves, then cutting a panel of plywood. Use the panel and affix it with furniture braces to the bottom of the cabinet in a vertical position. Drill holes for the adjusting pins for additional support and you have now created brand new shelving.
- Keeping your measuring cups organized
This can be done by hanging them inside the kitchen cabinet. You can position and mount them on a wooden strip so they will hang between shelves, allowing the doors to close. You can use several for measuring spoons and more.
- Organize your manuals
You can do that either by placing them in a folder whose location you are well aware of or by putting them in a plastic bag and placing it under your kitchen sink. You will always know where they are and you will have easy access to their instructions.
Grace is a desperate housewife and a writer keen on home organizing and decoration at home. Read also some of her stories on Clapham moving house and spring decluttering.
