Organizing the Kitchen

"This just in, Canon Point and Shoot has officially bit the dust. Owners mourn their loss as they continue to save for an SLR. Please bow your heads for a moment of silence. Memorial services will be held Thursday where the canon point and shoot will be laid to rest."

FYI: I have no camera other than the one on my phone, so the pictures are going to be either bad, fuzzy, or non-existent. Sorry for this, but I really appreciate your understanding.

Did you set any New Year resolutions? I did. It was to finish organizing my house and stop putting it off. I decided to do the kitchen first because it is where we spend the most time. Here it is in all it's messiness. Don't judge people;) I am really good at a lot of things, but organization is not one of them. So, I am working on it. A lot of it has to do with the inside of the cupboards.

Like Cupboard #1:

Cupboard #2 looks pretty good right now. It usually is way out of hand. I started working a little on it, but it still has a long ways to go.

Cupboard #3

But I also have this ledge that EVERY thing gets dumped on. I am still trying to figure out how to stop that.



















My sewing table is right by my back door. I like it here because then I can sew while the kids play outside or inside and still keep an eye on them. Unfortunately, it also gets very messy.















The top of the refrigerator is a clutter magnet too. I also hate how messy it looks with everything hanging on it.

This area use to house our microwave, but we put in one above the stove. Now it looks like this and I am on a mission to change that;)

AFTER:

The ledge: cleared off, but still not completely sure how to make sure it stays that way. I did fix something for hubby that you will see tomorrow that will help keep it cleaner. I will also be adding a big basket in the middle to put fruit and veggies in that don't need to be refrigerated so they aren't scattered along the counter.

Top of refrigerator and the outside of the refrigerator. How I did that will be explained below:)

Where microwave use to be.

This is a close up of how I organized the paper clutter on the refrigerator and any where else. I call it the "hanging folder center" It has folders for every person in the house. Coupons, mail, shred, recipes, misc. I got the idea HERE. Simplify 101 did a promo that if you signed up for their newsletter, you got one free. So, I have a command central binder, but it didn't cover all my needs/wants. The hanging folder center didn't cover all my needs/wants either. So, I use both and it is working out great for me:)

 













Cupboard #1

Cupboard #2
(still trying to figure out how best to organize it).

Cupboard #3















Here is my sewing table. When not in use I will cover it with the cover that came with my sewing machine. The cover has 3 very large pockets. I put everything I can into the pockets to clear off the table. I also pinned the excess wires up so you can no longer see them hanging at the bottom. Eventually this will get painted a different color and have new hardware. I am still deciding what color to do.

I still have a long ways to go, but I am feeling like I made a huge dent in the clutter/organizing department. I know a big step is to put things back immediately after we are finished, but sometimes that's easier said then done at my house;)