Since moving into our new home, food and spices have been piling up and sometimes it's hard to find what we need. Yesterday, Jeremy and I spent some time purging and organizing. It was fun. Every once in a while we really enjoy getting geeky about organizing.
First we took everything out and threw away any expired or unusable food. We separated the non-perishable foods into drawers beside the fridge. I labeled the front of the drawers with paint. In the future it will be much easier to find things and put them away correctly.
Snack storage was a big problem in the past. Since a lot of people work from our home we needed a designated spot to keep quick snacks for working hours. Everyone always makes fun of me for not having any food (except cheese!), so I'm hoping this will help! :)
Spices were another problem area for us. Since Jeremy started cooking (mostly Vietnamese and Indian dishes) we've acquired a pretty big collection of spices in a short amount of time. They looked cluttered in the drawer and you had to pull out every single spice jar to see if we had something. This caused a lot of accidental repeat purchases. We used Martha Stewart for Avery labels to organize the tops of each spice. SO helpful! Now we can find what we are looking for at a glance!
The last area that we tackled was my tea collection. I've shared about my obsession in the past. Buying and trying new teas is one of my guilty pleasures. They have added up. I frequently go through and clear out flavors that aren't my favorites and pass them along to friends to try. Even still, it's an insanely stuffed cabinet. To make it easier to find the tea I am looking for I labeled all of the tops of the lids, and organized them by container. I hope to have a more beautiful system in the future, but this is an improvement for now. :)
Yay! Labeling stuff makes me happy.
I still have quite a few kitchen organization projects to tackle, including storage for pots and pans, a solution for small kitchen tools (like cookie cutters, can openers etc) and inside the fridge organization. If you have any tips and tricks that have worked for you I'd love to hear them!
Happy Sunday, Elsie
Love this! Labeling for some reason always makes me happy. So much fun!
Posted by: LARY@InspirationNook | March 03, 2013 at 11:26 AM
Love tea too! I put my tea into mason jars and cut out the label of the tea to put on the lid. This way I can see what it is from the top and also they look beautiful through the mason jars.
Posted by: Holly | March 03, 2013 at 11:31 AM
we recintly moved and i am having the same problem trying to find a space for everything. i did come across an little old lazy susan i had stored away, i decided to use it to store all my baking items, such as baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa, vanilla, and anything else i use while baking. it makes it a lot easier (since i bake A LOT) to find just what i need. i also have a drawer dedicated to all things cookies/cupcakes (it includes, cupcake liners, tips, bags, cookie cutters, and sprinkles!) i find it also helps to store flour and sugar in large jars, i do this and labeled them with Martha Stewart chalkboard labels, so cute and so fun! oh and i got the large jars at target! hope i inspired someone! :D happy nesting! xoxo
Posted by: Jess | March 03, 2013 at 11:37 AM
This is such a lovely post!! great pantry!! xx
Alice Barton ♥ TheMowWay
Posted by: Alice Barton | March 03, 2013 at 11:46 AM
Yay label-making!!!
http://aclosetintellectual.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Tabetha | March 03, 2013 at 11:51 AM
This is so smart! I love the look of handwriting on the drawers and spices, too.
Allyson
http://allysonwonderlandphotography.com
Posted by: Allyson | March 03, 2013 at 11:56 AM
A hanging pan rack has REVOLUTIONIZED my kitchen experience. I highly recommend!
Posted by: lizzie | March 03, 2013 at 12:02 PM
gorgeous! the prettiest type of nesting, surely!
kw, http://www.ladiesinnavy.con
Posted by: kelsey | March 03, 2013 at 12:05 PM
I love the labelling on the drawers!
http://erstwhilefelicity.blogspot.co.uk/
Posted by: Sonia | March 03, 2013 at 12:06 PM
How have I never thought to label the lids of my herbs and spices before - it would make my cooking life so much easier as I never plan ahead and always end up tipping out my jars on the work top to find the one I need! Thanks for sharing your ideas :)
Posted by: Hannah | March 03, 2013 at 12:19 PM
Great idea, I can't wait to get my own place and decorate it!
http://beblacknblue.blogspot.co.uk
Posted by: Anna | March 03, 2013 at 12:22 PM
This is such a good idea, dividing herbs and spices by their flavour. I'm always looking forever to find the stuff I need!
-Kati
Posted by: Kati | March 03, 2013 at 12:30 PM
labeling on the spice tops! Duh, so simple so brilliant! Time saver too!
Posted by: Kelly Wilkniss | March 03, 2013 at 12:33 PM
Lovely! I like the idea of making labels on drawers. I should do the same with my herbs;)
Julia
http://www.thesheerstories.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Julia | March 03, 2013 at 12:38 PM
You have some smashing organization skills :)
Posted by: Rachael | March 03, 2013 at 12:47 PM
Did you ladies (especially Emma) see that David's Tea Tea-Of-The-Month for February was Red Velvet cake? I'm really considering trying it out because I'm also a big Red Velvet fan!
xo,
Katie
Posted by: Katie | March 03, 2013 at 01:06 PM
That is so cute! I really have to try that one day
Posted by: Mette | March 03, 2013 at 01:07 PM
i love labels! this is cute!
http://iamturquoise.com
Posted by: I AM TURQUOISE | March 03, 2013 at 01:09 PM
Eeeeee SO cute! I love your handwriting too :)
Posted by: Bec | March 03, 2013 at 01:09 PM
Organizing my kitchen is honestly one of my favorite things to do. I love when all of the spices and specialty ingredients look organized together because it inspires me to cook/bake more :)
David's Tea <3 I love how they give you a metal tin with a colored label, making it perfect for organization!
M.
Posted by: Monica | March 03, 2013 at 01:13 PM