Sunday, November 22, 2015

A Day of Organizing

In anticipation of the busy holiday season ahead I spent the day today organizing some 'behind the scenes' spaces in my house. 

When I moved in (back in April) there were a few areas that weren't organized properly to start with. The house was under construction for a long, LONG time so as I was unpacking I was sticking things in here and there, wherever they fit. 

Now I've been trying to re-do those spaces. To make them work more efficiently, now that I know the house better. 

However, I was NOT feeling it today. This was a busy, busy week with only 1 day off work and that doesn't sit well with me at all. I really need 2 days off in order to be able to take care of everything I need to do around here. 

I felt a little overwhelmed and didn't know where to begin. I  knew I had to spend some time on my pantry - it had gotten out of control and I needed to take everything out and start from scratch. 

So I turned to Pinterest for some inspiration! 

Via
Isn't it amazing how seeing a beautifully organized space can inspire you to get up off your butt and get busy?

This is a dream pantry. 

Mine is not. However, I'm lucky to have one so I'm not complaining!

Via
I browsed around for a while finding motivation and inspiration and then got up and opened the door to my pantry. 

Sigh. Here we go. 

This is what I started with today. 


And this. 


Pretty, right?


Yup. Real life, right there.

Maybe it's not as bad as some but it was definitely not working for me. 

I am absolutely a bit of a neat-nick as I told you here and here. Oh, and also here.  

I need to be able to open doors and drawers and see things lined up neatly and efficiently....not this jumble of bags and boxes and random stuff. 

I started with an over the door shoe organizer I found downstairs that wasn't being used anywhere else at the moment. 


And then I took just about everything out of the pantry and spread it out on the counters. Anything that was out of date got tossed, and everything else went back in....but better. 


The shoe bag was great for gathering some smaller items together where we can find them easily. 

PS - do you think we really NEED 8 containers of nut butter? 

Hmmmm. 


After about an hour or so I had things under control. 

Those little red bins with the labels were actually already in there...buried behind a pile of other bags and boxes. 

The basket on the left is full of containers that hold puppy treats. Spoiled, much?

The little set of drawers under the basket holds backup puppy treats and k-cups for my Keurig. 

Let's face it...running out of either would be a catastrophe. 

It felt so good to get that done I went on to organize the linen closet and tidy up the fridge. 

Whew! I feel much better now! 








20 comments:

  1. Yes, organized spaces are my happy places, but like everyone (who will admit it) I too fight clutter. We moved into our new-to-us house recently. The house was larger, but for some odd reason the pantry was much smaller. What an adjustment it continues to be for me. BTW, your blog is one of my favorites. I enjoy it so much. I made your spaghetti sauce and we love it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for your amazingly sweet comment - you brought a big smile to my Monday morning!!

      I would love a larger pantry and someday perhaps....but for now as long as I stay on top of it and keep it organized it's ok. Ahhh but some of those pantries I saw on Pinterest made me drool!!!

      So glad you loved the sauce - I'm assuming the butter-onion sauce? It's so easy and SOOOO good, isn't it? :)

      xo

      Delete
  2. My, you're efficient! I'm jealous. I don't have a pantry!
    Brenda

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ahhhh but you don't really cook, Brenda, so you can get by without one. That was a must-have on my house hunt list. I can't imagine what I'd do with all my supplies otherwise!

      Delete
  3. Aren't those over-the-door organizers a great idea? I have one in my bathroom for keeping items organized. Great idea to use on in the pantry - wish I had one! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've seen people use them for cleaning supplies on Pinterest which always made me smile....if I had a laundry room with a door on it I'd probably do that. Great idea to use it in the bathroom - I used to, also, in a bathroom I had with a large linen closet in it - it was PERFECT for keeping medicines and small items in - which worked out well since there was no medicine cabinet in that bathroom. I had forgotten about that until you mentioned it! I have two more of these shoe bags downstairs and now I'm going to be looking for places to use them! Thanks!! :)

      Delete
  4. Ok, I have to tell you that I thought the first pic was YOUR pantry, then I cracked up when I saw the real thing ;).

    Those door thingies are the best. I store small things in mine like snacks, teabags, etc. and no silly, you don't need that much nut butter! Lol

    Kudos to you for getting all this done in one day. I know how much work that is, and it looks great now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha Doreen I absolutely WISH that was my pantry!!! Nope, mine's a little pantry but it does the trick....most of the time.

      Honestly I was a little taken aback when I found all the nut butter in there....that's what happens when things get out of control in the pantry - I have no idea what I already have! Also, in fairness...living on the mountaintop means some products aren't always available to us in our little market....so when I'm off the mountain if I see something I love that isn't carried up here I might go a little bonkers and stock up.

      Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Doreen!!

      Delete
  5. LOL i know, mines not much better but luckily i have less space so i have to stockpile much less. I still love your house tho :)
    XO Ellen from Ask Away
    www.askawayblog.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Awww, thanks, Ellen!! I'm such a foodie that I get very excited when I go into a good food shop and I get a little out of control! ha ha - oh well - as long as I have a place to store everything it's all good! I keep saying I'm going to do a "no spend month" after the holidays and use up some of the food in the pantry, the cupboards, and the 3 freezers! Let's see if it really happens!!

      Delete
  6. I really need to do this before my kids come home for the holidays. I can already hear the, "Mother!" I thought I'd be so organized once the kids left home... Ha!

    I love what you did with the space. Bonus points for using what you already have!

    P.S. My daughter would say you can never have too much nut butter. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha Mimi - it sounds like your daughter is just like mine - she's the reason we end up with so much nut butter! She uses it in her smoothies in the mornings....and she's even picked up a container or two in the last few months when she's been out and about! And how could I resist the "White Chocolate Wonderful" nut butter that was on sale the other day? :)

      Delete
  7. Love the shoe rack on the back of the door idea! genius! I wish I had a pantry!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Replies
    1. Thanks, Deb - it was one of those things that came to me in the wee hours when I couldn't sleep. Bizarre what pops into my head!!

      Delete
  9. Looks great. Very organized and love the shoe organizer idea. Happy Thanksgiving.
    Kris

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Kris!! It was a heck of a lot easier to find things in there this morning, that's for sure!!

      Delete
  10. I love having things organized. Our pantry is tiny, tiny, so it forces me to clean out the clutter in there daily. I do like the idea of the shoe organizer for some extra storage space...thanks for that tip!! Hope you and your family have a most wonderful Thanksgiving! Hugs!!

    ReplyDelete

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking time out of your busy day to leave a comment...I truly love reading your comments and I try to respond to each and every one of your sweet comments right here on my blog page!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
09 10