I have to admit, Weeks 3 & 4 are pretty simple for me since I cleaned out all of our “junk” when we moved last July. We donated a set of dishes (the hubs old stuff) and a bunch of plastic cups that we didn’t use. We also got rid of cooking utensils that were torn and scraped and had seen better days. We kept only what we used and got rid of the stuff we knew we would never need.
We have yet to be blessed with a big kitchen or a pantry or even storage for all of our serving pieces. Here is the layout of our kitchen right now. A few more bottom cabinets would actually be all the room we need!
Yes, my kitchen is a mess. And horrifically ugly. But it’ll only be another couple of months before we move again and I can hopefully find a house with a better designed kitchen.
This week I went back through all the cabinets that did not contain food and cleaned and made sure we would use everything we had. I also tried to organize everything the best I could without spending money. It seems that every kitchen has the same issue when it comes to pot/pans. The storage just isn’t efficient enough. Here is what we have…
I’m one of those lucky people that has to pretty much take everything out just to get to one pot or pan. Even better, this is an awkward corner cabinet in which you can only use about 1/3 of the space without crawling in there to get to the back. I did find some fabulous storage solutions on Pinterest though that I will keep in mind for the next house!
Source: designsponge.com via Samantha on Pinterest
Source: between3sisters.com via Samantha on Pinterest
Source: kevinandamanda.com via Samantha on Pinterest
Source: clippings.gardenweb.com via Samantha on Pinterest
Home Storage Solutions has a great post about organizing your kitchen cabinets, with lots of detail on what to keep and get rid of, how to organize your stuff according to how often you use it and even has suggestions about different organizers to help you get on the right track.
Our cabinets and drawers are all pretty small, and our budget right now is focused more on vacation then organizers for the kitchen, so using what we had we organized everything the best we could. My favorite cabinet is by far our dishes. Mostly because they are colorful and pretty. And Fiestaware (which I’m obsessed with).
We keep the extra set of white dishes for things like Christmas and when we have more than eight people over. And for when I am too lazy to wash dishes and we run out of the blue ones.
I could show you the inside of each drawer and cabinet, but I’ll spare you the agony. Have you come up with a functional way to organize your kitchen? How did you tackle the pots & pans issue?
To see more from our 26 Days to an Organized Home, be sure to check out:
1. Week 1: Family Calendar
2. Week 2: Holiday Decor & Wrapping
Pots and pans are the worst in a small kitchen. The take up so much space! We only use on or two pots, really, so we keep those on top of the stacks of other under out stove. Not so efficient
. I would love to have them hanging on the wall, or even hanging over an island.
Jenn recently posted..{inspired} creating your own style
I loooove that pegboard idea! I saw it on Design Star last season and wish I had a place in this house for it! Maybe one day in a future pantry
I second what Jenn said, pots and pans really are a beast. We’re lucky to have one huge drawer that we can put them in. But also, I have limited the number we have.
I am fanatical about not accumulating much kitchen stuff, btw. Because I have had so many small kitchens.
The pegboard hanging idea is brilliant, as is the hanging-in-the cupboard idea.
If you were going to be there longer, I’d suggest maybe a hanging pot rack to put above the island (if you have one).
Jane @ The Borrowed Abode recently posted..State of the Studio
I wish we had an island, but alas, that picture is all the space we have. I would love a hanging rack, but in this house, I’m pretty sure something that heavy hanging from the ceiling might make our house fall down!
[...] as you can probably guess, I couldn’t stand our kitchen before. Last week I went through and organized and decluttered all the cabinets (non-food containing) and Week 4 of my 26-week plan required me to clean the countertops. Which I [...]