Pantry

While I am doing the Organization Revolution from A Bowl Full of Lemons, I am also trying to do the Organization 101. Revolution is a 4 week competition and the 101 is a 14 week total revamp. Last week I was supposed to do the garage or storage area but I am afraid that I will make a giant mess and didn't want it all spread everywhere when we were having a birthday party. So I skipped ahead and did the pantry this last week and I will do my storage this week.  

If you haven't already, check out here blog. Its really a great resource. You can find the pantry page here. 

I did my lazy susan with the pantry, I moved a lot back and forth so it worked out to do them at the same time. 

BEFORE: 

Pulled all the can goods out of the lazy susan. Almost half
of them were expired. I moved them all to the can storage so
they might actually get used.

In progress. 

AFTER:

The Office

I missed week one of the New Years Organizing Revolution, which was the office. Even though I missed it I still wanted to get it done. I also wanted to share my results! 

I don't officially have an office. I have a computer desk in the living room. We are pretty tight on space around here so its the best we can do. My desk is an armoire, so it closes up when people are around. Which means it gets disturbingly messy. I'm not proud.

The shelf above the screen is where "important" papers go...

I don't even know what to say. Sorry you have to see this...

But you wouldn't tell from the top!

Pulling everything out

Awww! Now its so pretty! I put all my camera stuff in that
cute chevron basket on top. The drawers hold all my pens and
stuff. 

A FILE FOLDER! For important paper! OMG. Why didn't anyone
tell me thats what they are for! 

Hall Closet

  This week for the New Year's Organizing Revolution we are doing closets. You can check out the assignment post here. 

I really needed someone to make me do the closet. Really, its not like its that big of a job. Especially compared to the KITCHEN. But I just haven't dealt with the closet in a long time. Every so often (read: 2 years or so) I get tired of it and decide to organize it. Then over time it, again, turns into what you are about to see. I've always organized with lids. Get a container, fill it with cold meds or bandaids or whatever and throw the lid on it. It made the most sense to me. It will stay where it is supposed to be. Plus you can stack them. I have (slowly) learned though that it doesn't work that way. Of course you will do the work to get OUT what you want/need. But when its time to put it back you have to pull out the container you want, open it, put the thing back where it fits, put the lid on, put the container back where it belongs.... OR you can put whatever goes in the container in a stack NEXT to it and hope whoever gets into the container next will toss your crap in. 

So for the first time ever, I am doing baskets! First of all, the baskets look SOOO much better than containers with lids! Hopefully it will work out a lot better for us too.

This is also our game closet. We love games. Lots of games. We have so many. I did filter through them though! Already dropped them at the donation center. Not my easiest thing to purge but some of them we really don't play. Games are my big what-if thing though, what if we REALLY want to play it?? I sucked it up and did it though! Be very proud.

Hall Closet - DONE! I'm loving it too. It looks so pretty with all the bright colored baskets and the shelf paper! 

Kitchen organization

Please take a second to vote for my blog in the New Years Organization Revolution. Look for Crystal Walker. Thank you! Vote here!

I found this pretty awesome blog on Pinterest. And I spent hours looking at it. Seriously, the best pin I have ever stumbled across. It was a link to A Bowl Full of Lemons. She has a fantastic program set up to help people get their homes organized. And I was lucky enough to discover it just a couple of days after the current session started. So I joined up! Check her out here. 

Anyone who has been to my house knows it has gotten away from me. I really, seriously, hate STUFF. But my husband loves stuff. And my kids have sooo much STUFF. Just things that no one really needs or uses. But you cant get rid of it because, what if? Or because someone gave it to you and thats RUDE. Ok, that has been the excuse around here for much too long. I get so cranky trying to fight through all the stuff. Stuff that doesn't have a place of its own because all the places are filled with other stuff. (I have major stuff issues...)  But its not going to rule my life anymore. I am so done with it. The only catch is, I have to get it out of the house when my hubby isn't home! =)

So, week 1 in this lovely program was the kitchen. Sadly, I don't have before pictures. My camera was being used away from home while I was working. But I didn't want that to be a reason to wait. So I have after pictures is all. You are going to have to take my word on this, it is a HUGE improvement. I took 3 bags to the trash and a giant box to the donation center. 

The ziplock drawer. We use a lot of ziplocks and they were spread
from here to the end of creation. 

My husband opened this drawer and asked where I stashed everything.
I said the trash, where it belongs! It was awful. 

The biggest thing I did here was get all the cookie cutters out.
They were getting mangled. Every time we tried to close the drawer
a cookie cutter would get smashed. Poor poor cookie cutters!

The utensil drawer. It opens now...

This is my favorite part. I have lived in this house for 9 years
and have never used this cupboard. We have so little storage
and this one was unusable. The hassle just made it not worth it.
So I pulled the doors off and made it functional. I walk by and
smile at it all the time. 

Our cup cupboard. We have a problem with glasses
and cups. We like to collect them. They wouldn't all
fit any more. We had them stashed on the counter underneath
the cupboard. It was ridiculous. I got rid of sooooo many glasses
and cups. 

That is my kitchen so far. It makes me happy that it is so taken care of. Its really the best it has been since I moved in I think. I am quite determined to keep it this way too. It is absolutely the heart of my house, you walk into my house and you are in the kitchen. Its where everything happens. Our lives revolve around this room. It is so important that everything in the kitchen now has a place to call home. That is going to make such a difference for us!