On the road to simplicity this year (Simplicity being my one-little-word for 2012!), it was a given that I’d have to focus on organizing. If my home is cluttered and messy, the chaos in my surroundings seeps into me. If everything is streamlined and orderly I feel serene.
It’s January, what better time to start!
I walked through the house the other day and looked at things through a different filter. Did it make sense to have the pots and pans in this cabinet? Why are half my food items in a spinning cabinet and the other half in the pantry?
The placement (misplacement) of things astounded me! Looking at each room with new eyes has been kinda fun and I’m in the process of making a to-do list to help me know what to tackle first!
In the mean-time, I’ve been hanging out on Pinterest getting a bit of organization inspiration for the upcoming projects and I wanted to share a bit with you!
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This little cupboard is perfect with all the jars for storage! Jars are my favorite way to store pantry items! (Storage and Glee)
Here are a couple more great looking pantries from Pinterest, I love that they are neat and orderly as well as pretty! I could care less about order without pretty!
( couldn’t find the original source)
Look at this linen keeper where the sheets are stored inside pillowcases! Brilliant idea! (thank you Martha!)
Here’s another bright idea from Martha’s website!
We buy some things in bulk (toilet paper, paper towels, baggies, coffee…) and store them on shelves in the basement. I’m forever forgetting what we have and buy more when I’m at Costco. The Husband would be so impressed if I had a list!
More pretty storage from Crafty Storage…I absolutely love those little tiny drawers.
Bet I don’t need to tell you that this is also from Martha~ I could never get The Husband to keep our rakes that clean but I love the way everything is hanging in it’s proper place!
And speaking of Martha, I just heard that the Hallmark Channel canceled her show. I’ve gotta tell you, sometimes Martha annoys me with all her perfection, but I’m sad about her show getting canceled. Sniff, sniff, sniff.
(Also, to add insult to injury… The Home Depot is going to stop selling Martha’s paint! If you know me at all, you know I only use Behr Ultra Paint with Primer, nevertheless I’m feeling very sorry for little ole Martha)
Anyhoo…
Okay, are you doing any organizing this month? If so, in what area of the house will you start???
~Have an simply organized day my friends~
Do you make housecalls????
Okay, the storing of the sheets in the pillowcase gave me an AHA moment! What a GREAT idea!! I just heard on the radio that the Hallmark channel has cancelled Martha’s show….that is sad! She is SO smart!
Thanks for sharing! I feel a linen closet reorganization coming on!
Lou Cinda
Love this “stuff”! Simplicity is such a beautiful word. We actually discussed in our small group last night that ORDER was one of God’s gifts to us – it is an extension or attribute of his holiness. SOOOOO, that means I can be an uber-organization crazy tool-buying person….right? Right? Ha ha ha. Kidding. Love your pins about; I’ve eyed the same or similar ones. And the bedding in pillowcases – yep! Done that (thanks, Mom); and I’ve also used pretty ribbons (from gifts or packaging or whatever), to tie them together or tie guest towels and washcloths in a nice cute little bundle, too 🙂 I enjoy reading your blog!
I have to chuckle a wee bit, when I was younger my mom would store our sheets in our pillowcases. However, they were not folded as neat lol. So funny ! Talk about patience of folding the fitted sheet. That always annoys me.
Love the organizations that you are showing here. Great great ideas.
I am a recent follower of yours, come on over my way too kokopelia.blogspot.com
Don’t you just love pinterest? It’s like my file folder of crumpled, jammed torn out magazine pages on the screen and taking up no extra room. Just a click away.
Love the pantry inspiration. I’ve got pantry envy. 🙂
My organization yesterday was to clean out the freezer and the extra freezer. I inventoried everything in them and wrote it down, consolidated, tossed, and even pre-cooked some things for this week’s menu. Now when I open the door I can see everything that’s in there in one glance! Of course I’m not really sure how long that will last…
Oh, wow, I REALLY should have chosen organized as my one word….I need to cut clutter and get healthily organized…I am closer to hoarder than pretty on this scale…thanks for the reminder.
Why yes, I am cleaning out and organizing this month…and every month. 😉 Seriously, I love organizing!! I would dare say it is one of my favorite things to do. One thing that has helped me through the years (I saw it on Oprah years ago) is the acronym SPACE. S – sort, P – purge, A – assign, C – containerize, E -equalize. I did the same thing as you a few years ago…analyzing where I store things, etc. (and I moved in my house 23 years ago this year too) and it really helped. My pantry is organized but I would like to paint it and make it “prettier.” 😉 Today, I am working on my closet though. Believe me I still have some real trouble spots though…my upstairs. My son moved out this year so his room, playroom (which is basically a junk room) and my attic (scary) are on my list for this year and it might just take a whole year to get them cleaned and organized! =O
i knew this is where your word would lead you first! and i’m over here with peace, which one of its meanings is BE STILL!
i love the martha idea of storing the sheets inside a pillowcase, but i really need to know how she folds bottom sheets so that they lay all nice and flat like that. come on! perhaps she’s like my mother, who uses two top sheets so that she doesn’t have to contend with this! i’m not kidding.
i’m going to organize my craft room right now so that i can put together card kits for 20 ladies i’m meeting with this saturday!
My word is “learn” and boy am I learning how much STUFF I have! I am iin serious need of some elves right now:) I am trying to get all the Christmas away and also get the house ready for our daughter and SIL to MOVE IN! I am ORGANIZING every inch of this place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is a daunting and exhausting proposition!!!!:):) XO, Pinky PS, how do you SEARCH on Pinterest??? Is there a way to FIND organizing tips?????
My vast array of glad ware has over run my kitchen. Its spilling out doors when we open cupboards and the odd shapes and sizes have me baffled as to how to organize/store them. I also know once I start pulling them out- I won’t stop till the complete kitchen is done… which pretty much keeps me from even starting 🙂 We did buy bins yesterday and I know we will start purging soon!
Loved the pillow case with the sheets stored in them. I have already started that one. What an awesome idea.
Thanks for sharing all these great ideas:)
Tiffanie
Your coffee mug story made me laugh. I was cooking one day and after digging through my spices I couldn’t find the chili powder. Now seriously, who doesn’t have that? I was so annoyed (because I knew it was in there somewhere), I pulled everything out of the shelf, lined them up according to category and emptied the drawer right next to the stove. I put them all lying flat in the drawer and now I can see everything at once, while I am cooking. It took 10 minutes to do and 5 years of annoyance to push me to do it!
I love the entire act of organizing, from planning to fruition. January always seems like the perfect time to organize & get the year off to a good start. I’m kind of nuts over Pinterest, too, and also adore the Crafty Storage site. Our pantry is a biggy on my list. I saw that “sheets in the pillow cases” thing quite some time ago & implemented that & love it. Martha can certainly be annoying, but she definitely has some good ideas! I’ve been gradually working through our home we moved into a bit over 4 months ago. It really does take a while to figure out where you want things to be.
Thanks for sharing that great-sounding Tortilla Soup recipe. I must try that!
CAS
I have personally had a “love/hate” relationship with Martha for many years! But, I really need to work on organization…..feeling the chaos of clutter right now.