One of the things I've learned about myself through the process of, well,
being me, is that having organized thoughts doesn't necessarily translate to being an organized person (and I am sure my husband would agree). Just because you own a label maker and spend obscene amounts of time and money at the Container Store does not mean that your things will just naturally put themselves away properly and attractively. I know, it's a harsh reality. And it's one I have come face to face with multiple times within the last three months as I stood before my pantry cabinets in utter despair and desperation. "Where oh where is the almond extract?," I cried, as I rummaged through cluttered and messy cabinet after cabinet. And, "I wonder if we have any canned tomatoes," I pondered as I stared into the daunting depths of my corner cabinet, before going out and buying three more cans which I promptly put into the abyss and could never find again. Well, today, I finally put a stop to all of that foolishness. I pulled everything out of my kitchen pantry cabinets and cleaned, consolidated, reorganized, re-shelved and labeled. I had some shaming moments (who knew we had
four honey bears?), and a big cathartic throwing-out of the expired, gross or nearly empty, and now I have cabinets that I actually think make sense.
After blowing the dust off of it, I used my label maker to label the tops of all of my spices where I can actually see them, so I don't have to pull them all out to find the one I need. I also made a list of what goes on each shelf, which I taped to the back of the cabinet door. I left space on it so I can make additions and notes, which I'll replace when they get too messy. So next time I'm headed to the store and I think "do I already have a jar of dried thyme leaves?" I can look at the list and see- ah, yes, I already have
two.
The kitchen mid-cleanup. I only show this to you as a form of penance, because the first step is admitting you have a problem. I'm not trying to candy-coat this for you, people- it was an ugly situation.
One of the things I've learned about myself through the process of, well, being me, is that having organized thoughts doesn't necessarily translate to being an organized person (and I am sure my husband would agree). Just because you own a label maker and spend obscene amounts of time and money at the Container Store does not mean that your things will just naturally put themselves away properly and attractively. I know, it's a harsh reality. And it's one I have come face to face with multiple times within the last three months as I stood before my pantry cabinets in utter despair and desperation. "Where oh where is the almond extract?," I cried, as I rummaged through cluttered and messy cabinet after cabinet. And, "I wonder if we have any canned tomatoes," I pondered as I stared into the daunting depths of my corner cabinet, before going out and buying three more cans which I promptly put into the abyss and could never find again. Well, today, I finally put a stop to all of that foolishness. I pulled everything out of my kitchen pantry cabinets and cleaned, consolidated, reorganized, re-shelved and labeled. I had some shaming moments (who knew we had four honey bears?), and a big cathartic throwing-out of the expired, gross or nearly empty, and now I have cabinets that I actually think make sense. 
After blowing the dust off of it, I used my label maker to label the tops of all of my spices where I can actually see them, so I don't have to pull them all out to find the one I need. I also made a list of what goes on each shelf, which I taped to the back of the cabinet door. I left space on it so I can make additions and notes, which I'll replace when they get too messy. So next time I'm headed to the store and I think "do I already have a jar of dried thyme leaves?" I can look at the list and see- ah, yes, I already have two.
The kitchen mid-cleanup. I only show this to you as a form of penance, because the first step is admitting you have a problem. I'm not trying to candy-coat this for you, people- it was an ugly situation.
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1 comment:
We just moved back into our house and I read did all the cabinets- As I did them I realized the more I got organized the less room I really had. HA- my mom is always saying you can't have enough storage...I always laughed because our house has a lot...not really if I want to be organized and happy with the way everything looks! I will take a pic and send it your way....all our spices expired- I am coveting the Dean and Deluca spice rack!!! The tube ones...they are awesome- love- C
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