Organizational Challenge #2

This week's challenge was to clean and organize the kitchen drawers and cabinets.  Because my husband and I both lived on our own for years before finding each other, we brought a lot of kitchen gadgets into the marriage (not to mention all of those we received as wedding gifts six and a half years ago).  While we have worked hard on pairing down items, there are still some drawers and cabinets that you don't want to open for fear never being able to close them properly.  For instance, our knives drawer is still a point of contention.  I believe we only need a handful of very sharp knives, and he sees no point in getting rid of old knives that just need to be sharpened.  What we are left with is a drawer FULL of very dangerous knives (some very dull)....a drawer which will have to be battled in the near future because it was not even touched in this week's challenge. 

This week started off with a bang:  last Sunday morning I had three problem cabinets cleaned out with items all over the newly organized countertops.  (I would highly suggest only tackling one cabinet/drawer at a time so you aren't forced to stay in the kitchen until you find new homes for each item.)  As the days went on, I found that I am still not 100% satisfied and will be working to re-do some of the cabinets yet again.

Here are a few pictures of before and after, but note that I will be editing this blog in the coming weeks to show the new organizational systems I have in place for my pot lids, tuperware, and baking supplies.

As you can see, the baking items used to just get crammed back in the cabinet. 

This cabinet used to just get filled with miscellaneous items (the baby monitor and children's medicine).  I realized I had to keep the cd's in here because there is a cd player/radio mounted to the underside of this cabinet.

Here it is:  the notorious "junk drawer" that also housed the kiddie silverware.  Somehow it wound up looking like a goodie bag.  I couldn't believe all that I found in here when cleaning it out (that's what happens when it isn't child-proof latched and your four year old is responsible for it).

In these pictures you will see I have tried to find a better home for the pots and pans.  I thought the turntable cabinet would be better so I could easily get to all of the pots I needed instead of having to pull them out each and every time I needed to cook.  These cabinets will be redone in the next few weeks as I find the correct organizational tools I need to store the lids.

I vow to tackle the dreaded knives drawer in the coming weeks and get back to you on the pots and pans solution.  I just have to keep reminding myself that 2012 is going to be my most organized ever!