Sometimes décor means being better organized. After all, if you aren’t organized, you waste time and cannot enjoy your lovely décor because you are busy searching for that thing you know you have, but cannot find.
This condition is a problem for everyone except the compulsively organized, which, by the way doesn’t apply to me and probably doesn’t apply to you.
I recently gave a talk about organizing the spaces we live in; even I was surprised at what I found in my own home. The space under my kitchen sink was still organized, and everything that I use daily was in its place and easy to reach. Lesser used items were relegated to the rear of the cabinet, but were easily accessed with the pull out container in which they sat. The only improvement was a light cleaning; after the cleanser dust settles it just stays on everything until it is wiped away. Boy I could use an app for that!
One area that was recently improved upon was my spice storage. When we had our kitchen island replaced, I had one of those slick, narrow pull out spice cabinets installed. While I loved it in theory, I found it to be less than idea in practice. Small spice jars took up as much space as their taller ones, and I could not read the labels unless the top of the container was marked. I found myself having to lift each one out to see if it was the spice I needed, which was a huge waste of time.
I found a pantry door system that is fantastic for me. I counted the items I have stored on the back of my pantry door and discovered they numbered 73-- many more than I could store either in a drawer or in the pull-out cabinet. Not all the 73 items are spices, but they are pantry related items and free up valuable pantry real estate.
The one area the group I spoke with, was most impressed with was the ever-present “junk drawer”. Yes, mine was organized and does not deserve such a pejorative title; maybe it should be called the “odds and ends” drawer, but we all know every kitchen needs a junk drawer. Organizing it makes it far less frustrating and quite a time saver in the bargain. The key to avoiding this potential kitchen disaster is using small compartments that you can fit wall to wall and front-to-back, so there is no shifting about within the drawer. Empty space begs to be filled, and hurried people tend to drop an item in the empty space rather than find its designated spot, thus creating the junk drawer syndrome.
The pantry door hanging system took my husband only minutes to install, and I took over fitting the baskets to suit my height. From there it only took me less than an hour to complete. It is not a weekend long project; actually, it took under 2 hours including the pantry shifting.
Next time: Making the Most of Your Pantry and Under the Counter Cabinets