Organizing Fiasco
So, since the new year started you may be just dying to know what I've been doing (HA! I know you are so busy and I am clearly being sarcastic, but I thought I would fill you in anyway because you may get inspired.)! I've been on an organizing fiasco. I call it a fiasco because it has just led from one area to another, from one cabinet to another, to one drawer to another, etc....I know what you're thinking.... you're thinking you'd rather walk through WalMart at 5:30 PM on a Friday during cold and flu season than to do that.... Ya, I know. Me too...well... kinda. See, organizing is a sort of weird, OCD sickness that I have where I really get this strange, overwhelming sensation of joy and satisfaction whenever an area of my home looks 10x better that it did before the new and improved organizing fiasco happened. Does this happen to you? Am I normal? ....Wait, don't answer that. I feel like that's a whole other post or ten for another day... So, back to it... Whenever this organizing fiasco takes me over, there is sure to be money spent. Have you ever been searching for storage tubs or plastic drawers or baskets? That crap is expensive! While this is always annoying to me that I have to pay to be tidy, it is money well spent in my opinion. However, I lucked out and found some really great deals this time at my favorite store, TJ Maxx. I also "shopped" my house for the perfect storage solution in my pantry (I'll show you more about this in a minute). I don't really know what spurred my organizing fiasco THIS time other than our pantry was a complete disaster zone after the holidays and I did my fair share of "Pinteresting" over Christmas break, but whatever the reason, I am glad that I got bit by the bug because now, every time I open my pantry, the angels of Heaven sing the Hallelujah chorus. Seriously. It's that good. Sometimes I just open the door and stare in dumbfounded disbelief that my pantry is so tidy and neat.
As I was browsing Pinterest one day it was like The Good Lord was telling me to organize my pantry because on my feed all of these beautiful pantrys kept popping up and I was in awe that people could be so organized. I mean, some real person, with real life children, who live in some beautifully organized house, has and keeps a beautiful, organized pantry. I said SOMEWHERE. Those people do not, however, live in my house.
As I got to reading some of the articles I noticed that they all kept talking about clear, storage bins and accessories for your pantry and refrigerator. I certainly liked all of the beautiful pictures of how people used them in their spaces, so I just had to see for myself what all the fuss was about. I checked Amazon and they varied in price but, because I'm cheap, I decided to check at TJ Maxx to see if they had any that were cheaper. I was in luck!!!! I found some on clearance for dirt cheap.
I found two similar bins like this for $3.50 each
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| Here's a similar one on Amazon. |
a lazy susan for $10
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| Here's a similar one on Amazon. |
and a small bin for $2.00.
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| These are similar to the one that I found. |
I put them all to use in my refrigerator which I must say looks AMAZING now. I would like to have another lazy susan to put our milk and juice on though. The one I bought is being used for dressings and condiments. This is just a side note, but whoever thought up the lazy susan is a frickin genius! Such a simple idea but seriously life changing! No more digging through bottles to find what I need! AMAZING! Also, I really like this particular one because if I get overly excited with spinning my condiments around too vigorously, they won't go flying all over the refrigerator. HA!
I used the two larger bins to store some of Picky Eater's things. Little juice boxes and packets look so much nicer and fit in there perfectly. The other one I put yogurts and lunchbox things in it. It makes morning lunchbox packing a snap!
As I mentioned, I used the lazy susan to hold dressings and condiments. It is just a turn away from anything that I might need.
The smaller bin I used in our refrigerator drawer to house Lunchables, cheeses, and lunch meats. Now that I'm looking at this picture there is also an egg storage that I might need to. So, that organizing fiasco also led to cleaning out and organizing the pantry.
I've had the galvanized tin bins for some time and I love them. They are from the Better Homes and Gardens Collection from WalMart. The two larger ones (only sold in stores) hold baking supplies and spices and the smaller on on the top holds my bread and protects if from getting squished. On the floor level of my pantry I have four stacking bins (linked are similar ones) that also came from WalMart. One holds larger lidded bowls and containers, one holds lunchboxes, and two catch all of the "kid" dishes and sippy cups.
Notice that I also put a handy-dandy Command Hook to hang a couple of aprons within close reach.
This mesh, stackable basket is perfect for organizing beans, noodles, and various baking mixes.
The first shelf houses the baskets that I shopped from the Tiny Terrorist's changing table. I had some other baskets that would work fine in that spot and I knew these would be a better fit in my pantry. I love them because they are large enough to hold all the like things AND they are straight up and down on the sides so there is no wasted space.
On the other wall, I incorporated a shelf so that I could organize my cans and a stacking drawer that holds various little snacks.
I have had this two tier lazy susan forever. I shopped it from my Nana's garage sale several years ago. It is perfect for storing things like oils, sprays and baking supplies.
I hope this may give you some momentum for tackling some of those areas in your home that need a little bit of sprucing and cleaning out. While my pantry may still not be "Pinterest-worthy," I'm OK with that because, hey, we live here and this is a system that we can live with and keep tidy for awhile. Lord only knows I can only do so much! Whew!
XOXO,
Danielle
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