A place for everything and everything in its place

1) OXO utensil organizer from the Bay
2) LUNS writing/magnetic board from Ikea
3) SLOM jar with lid from Ikea
4) Drinn wall mounted cell phone holder from Zone
5) Knape & Vogt spice drawer insert from Home Depot

I wanted to do a post showing before and after photos of some organizational projects I have on the go. Right now, the extent of the post would be before and midway. I'm having a little trouble... Unlike one of the bloggers I read, I cannot simply hire a personal organizer to tackle some of these issues. [Click to read more]

The first project: Drawer chaos. We have two major kitchen drawers. The main one has a nice tray that holds all of our cutlery. The secondary one contains everything else (spatulas, flippers, a garlic press, measuring cups and spoons, you name it) and it is so jammed full of stuff that we often cannot open/close it properly. One option that I'm pondering would be something like the OXO utensil organizer (1), which has adjustable dividers. Sounds like heaven to me.

The second project: Spice pandemonium. Over the years, I have amassed quite a few different spice jars. The collection now spans almost the entire shelf of my small food cupboard. In order to find a particular spice, I have to pull out all of the jars and spread out all over the already cramped counter space. With a little rearranging, I think I might move the spice jars into a drawer with a specialty insert (5).

Almost completed projects: Power cord disarray. Our office and bed-side tables used to be eyesores thanks to tons of cables and wires. Ryan managed to organize the areas by feeding the wires through clips and bands. Another interesting idea is the mounted cell phone holder (4), which neatly keeps wires under control and the phone off the floor.

Other kitchen craziness: Ryan and I have been using a chalkboard similar to (2) to keep track of our grocery list and meals that we are planning for the week. You'd be surprised how much time is wasted staring into the fridge (or ordering delivery) when you don't have a solid plan. I like this chalkboard because there is room for other items, like keys and mail, that can clutter counter tops.

Recently, we bought these glass jars (3) for our baking ingredients (flour, sugar, oats, etc). If you've ever had a problem with wheat weevils you will love this jar, as it has an excellent seal. I can also attest to the fact that the jars are much easier to sort (compared to bags) and that brown sugar stays moist.