As much as I love a relaxing holiday I’m pretty sure I would go mental if I didn’t organize anything for a whole month! My brother and sister are well aware of my little obsession habit and are so nice to allow me to get my “fix” while staying in their homes. It’s kind of like “thanks for letting me stay with you, now what can I organize”. I don’t think they minded so much but really the alternative was watching me roam their houses like a mad woman, pulling my hair out and frothing at the mouth. Not a pretty site….far better to put me out of my misery and give me a shelf or two. So they did. Below are the pictures of my sister’s kitchen cabinets that we did a couple of weeks ago and I’m only getting around to showing you the pictures of now.
Top cabinets before:
Top cabinets after:
Bottom cabinets before:
Bottom cabinets after:
My sister has a few issues with her kitchen, one being that the top shelf in the top cabinets is really hard to reach and therefore really annoying. By following my PROCESS steps we were able to re-arrange her kitchen to allow for better flow and ease of use.
All the “only sometimes used” appliances were moved from the very bottom left hand side to the out of reach top shelf. A beverage station was created for them in the top cabinet on the left hand side. Their coffee maker is in the cabinet because they aren’t coffee drinkers themselves and only bring it out when they have guests.
Tons of space was saved by consolidating boxes into a snack basket (red one in front on top right hand side). Wire racks were used to create more space as well.
Another cabinet on the other side of the fridge (sorry I forgot to take a before picture) was used to create a spice shelf and baking centre.
We also got a little Mac Tac happy, check it out:
I had great fun and so far it seems to be working out for them. I would expect that some adjustments will have to be made as they use the space and get a feel for the new system but so far so good.
Next up: my brother’s bookcase!
29 Comments
Always enjoy reading you blog and getting new ideas. Sorry I don’t always leave a comment. I jost got a new diswasher and spent all weekend in the kitchen, organizing.
You can come to my house for a visit anytime you want, but only if you promise to orgonize my stuff while you here.
Enjoyed reading the different Monday menus. Great idea!
Lovely work!!
love Sonja
i love it!
Looks great! Love reading your blog…I always come away with new ideas to try :)
feel free to organise my cupboards anytime!! :)
*snort* You must have VERY understanding family or I have a very uptight one! LOL Because it would N-E-V-E-R occur to me to offer to organize cabinets for them!
If you ever want to visit Nashville {I’m an hour away} you can come stay with me and I’ll happily let you have your fix. I’d be interested to see what you would do with my too small to stand up a bottle of window cleaner shelves above my washer & dryer and the rest of the kitchen. Oh and you would just love all of the storage space in my bathroom, it’s crazy - who has that many bathroom supplies? Oh and I live on post so if your kids were with you it could be an educational sort of visit as well.
I just want to say… Want to come visit me for a while? :-)
If you’d like to come here for a holiday next, I promise I’ll let you organize all you want. ;v)
you wanna vacation in Oregon?
I could be your student!!
~Amy
lovely work!
You absolutely crack me up! But having said that…we’re really close to Niagara Falls, you could easily visit your family, and the girls would have a ball together, so next vacation why don’t you consider upstate NY?
Looks great!
LOL! I can just imagine you banging your head into walls while chanting “containerize”…
Beatiful results, as always!
I thought their cabinets looked great to begin with. Doesn’t look like they needed help.
Dear Laura-
I would like to invite you to be my guest here in Connecticut. I’m sure you’d love it, and I’d love to have you, and I’d be sure to make you feel comfortable.
Your friend, Jennifer
Looks gorgeous!
I’ve been wanting to tackle my kitchen cabinets and especially pantry for some time now. I just have to find the shelves that we removed a few years ago, and I’ll be ready to rock.
Laura, Plz!!! come and visit me! (Seriously, I’d love your help)
Great job! Lucky family member :)
Sandy
Thank goodness you’re not running out of things to organize, Laura. I’d be seriously worried about you if I thought you were bored! LOL
Organizing just feels so GOOD!!!
I miss you.
Come home.
Your good ideas and hands on help are needed here in BC
Hi…I’m new to your blog and I love it. It’s so fresh and inspiring.
I’m wondering how to work Menu Plan Monday… could you give me some tips on how to set myself up as a participant please…
Thanks and blessings,
Maree…
wow - my cabinests are no where near your before photos! i found this site, not a minute too soon!
Jill
LOVE the polka dot shelf paper. I just replaced all my paper last summer but now I want dots!
I love it! It all looks great!
Great inspiration..
LOVE the Kitchen Art Spice Carousel.. I couldn’t live without them!
It is my favorite kitchen “tool”..
~Heidi
Woo Hoo, looks SPIFFY!
Maree, for Menu Planning help please read How I Menu Plan in my sidebar on the left under Org Love. Hope it helps!
No matter how often I work on organizing the kitchen, it needs to be done again in 4-6 months!
Several years ago I read an organizing book, and have used the tip on putting things away closest to where you use them. This works Great!!!(That is in the kitchen.)