Originally published August 2007
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.
H... says
you are swell. i would not do that while visiting. thought it might offend host. if zhe order me, no problem. lol i tend not to stay too long.
Teri says
Wow – I wish you were my sister and would come to my house…honestly – I just have no idea how to make the best use of my space in my kitchen 🙁
Bonnie says
Oh how fun that she LET YOU reorganize her kitchen !!!
Mrs. Wilson says
Wow! Looks great!!!
I’ll have to fly you out to Regina in August to do my kitchen!
hehe
Mikki says
How great is that. And what a great family – Do you hire yourself out?
LOL
Dot says
Have you ever wanted to visit Illinois? *wink*
Sandra says
I know you’re tired of the snow, maybe you can come to Arizona for the heat and to organize my cabinets? LOL
Becky says
I just cleaned out my pantry and all of the kitchen cabinets 2 weeks ago. It is such a wonderful feeling to have it done even though it took me 2 days to finish it! (I have a big pantry….it’s bigger than my downstairs bathroom). Thanks for the motivation I needed to get it done.
GiBee says
Her cabinets looked organized to me!!! lol!
I’ve posted my messy cabinets, blurry pictures and all…
I agree about the wire racks. I use them in the only organized cabinets I have… my dishes. I can stack dinner dishes on the bottom, bowls on the top, and you can get to everything without any problem.
Maybe I’ll post a picture of that, instead?
Chelsea says
Very nice! I reorganized our kitchen cupboards a couple months ago. They are lovely. Now, the pantry on the other hand…
Sarah says
Hi Laura, I read a tip in Good Housekeeping recently that I thought you’d appreciate. It recommended using the cheapest grade of peel&stick vinyl floor tiles instead of contact paper (Mac Tac?) for lining cabinets, especially under sinks. It said this eliminates the eventual problem of the contact paper peeling up and making a gummy mess. My MIL said she knew that tip years ago (thanks for telling me…) and watches for leftover boxes of cheap vinyl peel&stick floor tiles at yard sales.
Mel says
When I got engaged, I took on the task of organizing 2000 sq ft of BACHLOR! To make room for, “MY STUFF”, I need to do something with “HIS STUFF!” Only, he’s a total pack rat, down to the t-shirts that he wore in high school 32 yrs ago!
He has given up half of his t-shirts to give me 1/4th of his 20 ft long closet. He has given up a couch and recliner that only the dogs sat in since his last girlfriend moved out 3 yrs ago. He has allowed me to toss, 1/4th of the old pillows that haven’t been used in the last 20 yrs. And he even allowed me to donate his 6 person spa, that he hadn’t used in the last 10 yrs!
I say this because I want to show he is TRYING. However, he has enough books to fill a library. LITERALLY! There are at least 24 book cases of various sizes in the house. Most books that he has read, as he can go through one book a day easily. He is not willing to give up even a single of these old friends, so my challenge is to get them out of every room in the house, and along EVERY hall way, into a more condenced area.
He has lovely art and collectible items throughout the house, but you can’t see or appreciate them, because the books and cluter are overwelming.
When we retire, him in less then two years, and me some time in the next seven to ten, we will purchase a new home, that has room for a library large enough to hold our bountiful collection of military history, along with a dozen other topics. But until then we need a solution so that I do not have to keep my home in addition to his, just to house MY STUFF, while his fills 2000 sq feet floor to ceiling!
HELP!
L. says
where can I get those wire shelves from?