Lets get organized! - The Ribbon In My Journal

Let’s Get Organized!

Phyllis Inspiration 15 Comments

January is the month to get organized, as well as to simplify our minds and lives. For me, this means I start cleaning out my kitchen. After the holidays I find extra tools, pans, and books cluttering my cooking space. Those over sized pans are essential when serving the family come Christmas dinner, but during the rest of the year they just need to be packed away! I don’t think I’m alone when I say that I have too many seasonal dishes in my collection. Though some would argue, I know that I need them all!

After clearing out the non-essential dishes, I try to take inventory of what all is in my pantry. During the holidays I tend to by options and extra! Better to have too much than not enough. These organization pieces are great options to help you bring order to your kitchen and mind.

  1. Use these hyacinth woven baskets to organize the smaller items in your pantry. These beautiful baskets come in a variety of shapes and sizes making it easy to find the perfect fit for any cabinet or shelf! Attach erasable black chalkboard clip labels to these baskets for added ease.
  1. Even in the deepest of cupboards, when you group set canned goods on organizing racks, accessing goods becomes much easier. Especially when the wire racks have sliding drawers!
  1. Make adding spices to your cooking easier by storing your dried herbs and spices in these clever clamp-top jars. Better yet, display them on a tiered rack. I keep mine in the cabinet closest to the stovetop, that way they are never far from reach.
  1. Corral your favorite mugs, coffee, and teabags in a beautiful iron basket. A mug caddy is a great way to show off your favorite cups. By displaying your cups and setting the basket of coffee and tea beside them you create a bistro retreat within the comfort of your own home!

What are your organizing tips?

Comments 15

  1. All of you are great! I have been disabled for a long time and
    unable to do many “normal” things. So much has piled up but I
    have derived so much inspiration from all of you. Think I will start with “project” for the week & see where it takes me.
    God bless you all❣️

  2. I keep all of my staples (flour, sugar, macaroni’s, soup crackers, snacks -like various types of nuts, banana chips, pretzel sticks, etc in antique jars and some newer in my kitchen pantry cupboard. On the floor of that cupboard, I have a rectangular plastic basket where I keep extra jars to use for that purpose. On one of our counters, I have 3 large antique jars that hold crackers, potato chips and taco chips. On the center counter bar is another jar for teabags and one for cookies. In another pantry cupboard in the laundry room, I organize all of my extra – canned goods by kind, soups, condiments, and a n entire shelf for cake and other mixes. In another cupboard, in the kitchen, I keep all of my baking supplies in small plastic containers or glass jars – like chocolate chips, coconut, nuts, etc. I like everything organized and this has worked for me for years. However, I have to admit, I have never found a way that I like to organize my spices. I favor getting one of those 3 tiered racks that turn, with all of the spice jars in them, but that also means I have to empty my spices out of their original jars into the others-not sure I want to do that. I see some of you have found better ways. Keep those ideas coming. I like the glass jars for everything because you can easily see what is in them and I know every item is basically sealed and always fresh. I basically clean out my refrigerator on a daily basis, but do a bigger one when I grocery shop. The same goes for my freezer.

  3. A very useful strategy I use is to do a small task every morning before I do anything else. I call this my “morning task”. I plan it the night before. Examples are cleaning one drawer, going through one pile, dusting one room, organizing one or two frig shelves, etc. It is amazing how much gets accomplished with little effort.

  4. We have a tiny kitchen apartment and no additional storage areas so I avoid uni-taskers, (those annoying gadgets that do only one job), at all costs. I always look for tools that serve as many purposes as possible and I keep my dinnerware simple so it works for all occasions and types of settings. I can dress my table up or down with flowers and/or favors for my guests. I was lucky enough to get my mom’s old lazy susans to store my spices on so I don’t have to reach behind other jars to get what I need. Also, we check our cabinets before shopping to make sure we use up what we already have before buying more stuff that will only clutter the cupboards.

  5. Michelle/Warm quilts…

    I keep mine separated like that as well.
    i just purchased a reasonable spice organizer at the Container Store. They are
    heavy duty foam strips that lay in your drawer. this way you can alphabetize by size of jar mixing tall and short. Loveee them!

  6. Donna….what a great idea!!!!!
    I have been tackling a few projects too…but often find myself distracted with another idea/project. I think I will try this maybe even by room

  7. Not trying to be a spoiled sport, but remember to store spices in an area that doesn’t get overheated! I have always stored mine in alphabetical order so that I can find my choice quickly.
    Also, my canned goods are stored by how I genneraly combine them; i.e., sliced potatos, sliced carrots, Kentucky wonder green beans are my base for a quick soup (with whatever leftover meat or vegetables are available).
    Say, could each of you send me a bit of your organizational skill to supplement my lack?

  8. I started the same resolution that I did last year in regards to getting organized.
    every Sunday I pick a project for that week. I give myself the entire week to finish the project. By the end of the year I will have accomplished 52 projects.

    Did great last year until August. Family health issue interfered and I never went back to the idea.

    Am eager to start again this year because I did accomplish so much until August.

    1. Hello, Warm Quilts!
      I might have an idea for you to try:
      I put my savory herbs/spices in a drawer, next to the stove and my “sweet spices” and extracts in a drawer in my island, because that is where I keep all of my baking utensils, cake pans, etc.!
      It works for me 🙂 I usually have to keep reorganizing things, but those two drawers have never had to be redone since I set them up that way!

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