Chasing Davies: A Year of Organized Living, 1.1

January 8, 2013

A Year of Organized Living, 1.1

 
I'm not sure if Real Simple intended for this to be a challenge, but I'm following along (therefore, challenging myself to stick with it) with their "A Year of Organized Living".  Each month they will feature a room or area to re-organize with tips from the pros, product recommendations and suggestions. 
 
The first issue introduced simple tips for organizing your kitchen cabinets and spices. I read it during the Holiday travels and immediately added the challenge to my 2013 resolutions.  I thought, starting in the kitchen will also be a great place to begin because it is something I can do while the babe eats his meals right next to me.  
 
So on January 1st (kicking these resolutions right in the face), while little man ate his lunch, I spent part of the last day of my holiday break cleaning out and reorganizing a cluttery cabinet! I forgot to take a before photo (d'oh!), but caught the organizing in action (hi Liam!).
 

With a little help from Target (always), I used 3 in cabinet wire shelves (similar and this one would be great if you have tall cabinets) and according to the article put the items I use most on the bottom, least on the top.

{Ta-da!}
 
The second half of this month's challenge is spice organization. This I also need to do (we have 5 - that's FIVE - hardly ever used, not needed but one, boxes of baking soda. And yes I know this isn't a spice, justing using this situation as an example).  We also have multiples of the same spices and they're all crammed into a different cabinet.  In the Real Simple article, organizing pro, Chip Cordelli recommends storing your top 12 (or so) spices in clear jars in a drawer. 
 
I am not sure I have a drawer I can give up for this, but I do love the idea of clear jars and just refilling. Using jars helps you see how much of something you have left (and also allows you to combine the multiples you already own) and keeps them looking neat and uniformed no matter where they are stored.  If I can't free up a drawer, I might look for something like this in cabinet, pull down spice rack (looks cool, no?) OR just attach them to the wall!
 
Kitchen Organizing Essentials:



Do tell me any of your Kitchen organizing tricks or if you plan to follow Real Simple's a Year of Organized Living, too? {and wish me luck...}
 
P.S. Remember to vote today!  Click here, and thank you!
 
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