Peek Inside: A Professional Organizer's House {Kitchen}

**Before I get started, I want to make it clear that by no means am I doing these "Peek Inside" posts as a way to brag, or to insinuate that I have a perfect home. In fact, it's far from perfect. (Hello, I do have two small kids!) In fact, I've actually heard that word a lot...."perfect"....and it really irks me. I do work hard to have a clutter-free home most of the time, but that's because I've spent a lot of time putting systems into place, and "training" my other family members to utilize these systems. It's a lot of work, but to me, it's worth it. So, hopefully, my "Peek Inside" series will inspire you, rather than irritate you!**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Ok...got that off my chest. Now we can begin!! :)

Since we've been talking about organization in the kitchen all month long, it's time to finally reveal MY kitchen and how I keep it organized....

1. Chore charts - I found these online here, and laminated them for the kids. We've had them for almost a year now, and they have been the best charts I've found to date. (Of course, Nate has to help his little sister read the chart every now & then, but usually he's happy to oblige.)

 2. Pantry - I did a post earlier in the month about pantry tips; click here to check that out. Since we have a narrow cabinet, the pull-out features are a must, and I also made sure to utilize the height of each cabinet. Click here to view the Etsy store where I got my custom red vinyl labels.

 3. Freezer - Click here to read my recent post with "before & after" pictures of my newly updated freezer. My new bins make all the difference!

4. Fridge - I'll be honest, when I at these pictures of my fridge, it looks kinda empty for a family of four. But then I remember, we are lucky in that we have a second fridge in our basement to store bulk quantities of water, juice boxes, beer, etc. With that being said, I still try to keep things in "zones"....yogurts in a bin, kids' applesauces in a bin, juice boxes in a bin, condiments together, lunch supplies together in a drawer, and breads together.

 5. The "Junk" Drawer - yes, even Professional Organizers have a junk drawer in the kitchen! Ours holds a bunch of miscellaneous items - pens, chip clips, wine stoppers, scotch tape, etc. But the key is to corral them with a few plastic organizers, so they don't get out of hand.

(All of mine are from the Dollar Store!)

 6. Baking dishes - Under our junk drawer is where we keep our recipe books & pyrex dishes. Pretty straightforward here....just stack the rectangle ones together and the square ones together!

 7. Tupperware - Oh, the dreaded Tupperware cabinet! We store ours in the (awkward) corner cabinet, and again, store them by shape. I think the key for us is to not have too many, and to make sure the lids are either stacked underneath them, or to the side.

 8. Appliances & Pot/Pan Lids - This corner cabinet holds our crockpots, rice cooker, mixer blender, mixing bowls, and pot/pan lids. So, a little bit of everything! :) The lid racks are key to keeping our pot/pan lids organized.

 9. Open Shelving - I would never imagined having open shelving in my "dream house," but....it has it. And I love it. Sure, it gets dusty more often, but goodness, it's pretty to look at! And since the dishwasher is almost right below the shelving, it makes unloading dishes go very quickly.

 10. Utensils - We use a mix of metal & mesh organizers for our utensils,

all from Bed, Bath & Beyond.

 11. Pots & Pans - Again, we were super lucky to move into a house that already had pull-out features for the pots & pans. We stack by size/type, and store the lids in a different cabinet (see #8).

 12. Miscellaneous Utensils - This drawer can easily get out of hand, so we try not to have duplicates of any item. (Exception: pizza cutter - we eat a lot of pizza in this house!) I store my cooking utensils in a bucket on the countertop by the stove, so this drawer just houses a few odds & ends. Again, drawer organizers are key!

 13. Paper goods & food wraps - We have a super deep drawer that holds our paper plates, cups, ziplocks, plastic utensils, and food wraps. Of course, only a small amount of paper plates & cups can fit at a time, so the remainder are stored in the basement.

 Now we move onto the right side of the kitchen, where I spend most of my time slaving over a hot stove :) Good thing it has 6 burners!!

 14. Under the Kitchen Sink - Click here to see the "before & after" post about this cabinet. It was easy to simplify this cabinet, once I emptied it all and saw all the duplicates / junk / unnecessary items in there! My most favorite DIY project was recovering a wipes bin with contact paper to make a new trash bag dispenser :)

 15. Coffee Station - My husband is the only coffee drinker in our family, yet we have a whole cabinet dedicated to his obsession habit. (Well, I have a few measuring cups thrown in there on the bottom shelf, since I'm a shrimp and can't reach much higher!)

 16. Spices - Click here to read my recent post on our spice cabinet. Those spice clips are a lifesaver, since it's a narrow cabinet. As are the $1 baskets I found from Target and the white bins that hold cookie cutters and toppings on the higher shelves.

I attached the mini-chalkboard labels with Velcro!

 To the right of the stove & carport door, we have our family's command center. I wish we had a bigger area, but this house came with about a 2 feet wide wall there, so that's what we have to work with. I designate daily activities for each child on the wipe board (N=Nate & A=Abby), and then each child gets a wall pocket that holds their weekly work and things they bring home. I clean these out at the end of each week & change the wipe-board schedule when necessary.

 

**UPDATE: As of May 2016, our family command center has gotten a facelift. It's still in the same tiny spot, but now looks like this:

 I added a nail to hold 2 clipboards - each of my children has a clipboard with important announcements or homework assignments for the week. Plus, one of my fabulous clients told me about this Erin Condren schedule pad. It is amazing!! I've color-coded our family's activities. Abby=pink, Nate=purple, and Greg & I= teal. It's so nice to have everything all in one place, and I've found my husband using it quite a bit too! I usually post up 3 weeks at a time, and just have them pinned behind the current week.

 

 

 And here is our humble little kitchen table. It's perfectly suitable for our little family, but I have grand plans of building some shelving on this big open wall, as well as getting a custom farmhouse table & banquette seating. Who knows when that will happen, but a girl can dream, eh?!

 And that concludes my kitchen tour! Thanks for stopping by and hopefully you saw something that you can implement into your own kitchen.

 

Starting tomorrow, March 1st, I will be discussing kids' bedrooms (all month long), so make sure to check back for that!

 

 

 

 

Peek Inside: A Professional Organizer's House... {Abby's Room}

I got an overwhelming response last month when I had my first "Peek Inside" post. As a result, I've decided to go room-by-room in my house, and give you the specifics on what organizing methods I use. Today, my daughter's room is featured!

 

{Now, let me just give you a little background on Abby first. She is 5, going on 15. She's full of sass & personality, and has the most infectious laugh I've ever heard. She loves anything pink, dancing & singing in her room, playing dress-up, coloring, and pestering her older brother....}

The diva herself

Growing up, I was a huge tomboy - and still kinda am! - so the word "princess," and the color pink was just not in my vocabulary. It still isn't. But oh the things you will do for your daughter....

 

Zone 1: The Bed & Nightstands. I store a few space bags under Abby's bed, filled with clothes she has outgrown and I need to consign. As for the nightstands, I wanted them to have lots of storage, so each has a drawer and cabinet.

 The top right picture is Abby's "junk drawer".....I let her put whatever she wants in there, as long as it fits in that little bin. The top left picture has a container for all her bookmarks, and the purple case holds her Pokémon cards. (Yes, her brother is rubbing off on her a little bit!) The bird pillow is her Tooth Fairy pillow....haven't had to use it yet though. The books on the bottom left are ones we have been reading lately, and the picture on the bottom right holds her piggy bank, wallet, and cds (her clock doubles as a cd player/radio.)

 Zone 2: The Dresser. I'm pretty proud of this beauty, because I refinished it with a friend. (She even did a fabulous stencil on the side; look 2 pictures up!) We painted it a light gray with white hardware, and then I purchased the glass knobs at Hobby Lobby.

 I lined the drawers with metallic wrapping paper, just because I thought it was pretty! (And my daughter loves all things shiny.) I glued it on with a spray-on adhesive, like this one. The bins are from IKEA, and help to organize socks, leotards, underwear, and tights.

 This bow organizer was another DIY project of mine. I bought an old frame from Goodwill, spray- painted it, removed the glass, and hot glued pieces of thick white ribbon on the back. (The reason I used hot glue was because the frame is plastic. If you have a wood frame, I would recommend using a staple gun.)

 Zone 3: The Kitchen & Art Wall. I feel like this kitchen is a bit of an eyesore (Thanks Nanny!), but Abby loves it and plays with it constantly. When she outgrows it in another year or two, I'm picturing a white desk or maybe even a vanity in it's place.

Abby is pretty good about keeping the kitchen organized, so this is what it looks like on a good day! All the white bins are from The Dollar Store, and do a great job containing all of her "food."

 I created an Art Wall for Abby because she is constantly drawing pictures for her family, friends, and strangers on the street :) These are some of her current favorites, and the frames are super easy to change out at a moment's notice. Another great IKEA purchase! (Or you could get similar ones at Michael's when they are on sale.)

I purchased the watercolor in the middle from a friend...
let me know if you want her contact information!

 

Zone 4: The Closet. Wow, that's a lot of pink! I have Abby's dresses, and out-of-season short-sleeve shirts on the top bar, since she can't reach that high. Down below, I have her dress-up clothes (tucked in the left corner) and her long-sleeve shirts. She insists on picking out her clothes each day (and it's always a very colorful ensemble to say the least!), so it's important that she can reach the clothes herself. I also think *every* kids' closet needs a hanging organizer (far right). Abby's holds extra hangers, large & small blankets, and an extra set of sheets.

 The pink bins on the middle shelf are a lifesaver. In fact, I blogged about them a few months ago, in my "Tuesday Tip" post.  I've found that the easiest way to deal with the constant influx of clothes is to designate two bins in Abby's closet as follows: "Too Big" and "Too Small." Since I am a mom that loves to shop at consignment sales, as well as sell/consign my kids' clothes, these bins are a tremendous help with in those two areas! For example: when I buy something for the next season, it goes in the "Too Big" bin. And when I've decided those shorts are just toooo short, they go in the "Too Small" bin. (I previously mentioned that I have space bags under Abby's bed with out-of-season clothes. The pink bins will eventually be emptied into those; they just serve as a temporary holding spot when I'm in a rush.)

 

If you're wondering, I got the canvas bins from Target. And I created the labels using these name badges, Microsoft Word, and some scrapbook paper!

 

The first bin on the left is labeled "Summer," and holds swim suits & sandals.

 Looking up into Abby's closet, you will see a box labeled "cards", a basket for "quilts," and then the one on the far right is a memory box I gave to Abby on her first birthday. It holds a few special pictures, my hankie from my wedding, and a lock of hair from her first haircut.

 As previously mentioned, my daughter loooooves to play dress-up! I have her costumes tucked away into the left corner of her closet. She loves the easy access, but we are still working on her being able to correctly hang them back up. (Right now, I just ask her to put them in a pile when she's done with them.)

And here are her two bins - one has miscellaneous items like wands, boas, tiaras, etc. And the white bin holds all of her dress-up shoes. These she can definitely pick up & put back on her own.

 Zone 5: Bookshelf & Table Set. On the top shelf, I have hardback books of Abby's that are keepsakes or gifts (translation: she's not allowed to mess with them!). The bottom shelf holds the rest of her books, and her jewelry box. (Oh, how my girl loves to accessorize!) Again, these are right at her level and provide easy access.

The cabinet underneath holds her Legos. The two white bins are from The Dollar Tree, and I just cut up part of the boxes from each set so they could be easily identified. (If you've already thrown away the original packaging, just stick a chalkboard label on there with the name of the set, or print a picture off the internet.) The two clear bins inside the gray box hold Lego sets as well, just smaller ones.

 

Now, I know a lot of people tend to store Legos by color, but I have found that my kids prefer to store them in sets, so they don't have to go hunting around for pieces. To each his own! (When I feature my son's room, you will see that it was more of a challenge to create his Lego storage, since he has a gazillion sets!)

 Abby's table & chair set was a present from "Santa" this year, so we are still getting used to it. Right now, she's using it to display (& play with) her Lego sets after she assembles them. In the future, I see her using this for tea parties as well.

 

And the large basket in the corner holds all of Abby's "friends." Whenever the basket reaches capacity (which it pretty much is right now!), I tell her we have to donate a few or find a new home for them.

 Zone 6: The Bathroom. I told you my daughter was a diva, and she a bathroom attached to her room. (It was put in by the previous owners, right before we moved in 2 years ago. Score!)

 

I refinished the cabinet on the right, by painting it white and then giving the interior cabinet a coat of sea foam blue. I removed the glass from the cabinet doors and added chicken wire. And 300 cuts on my hands later, it was complete! :) The baskets are mostly used for extra hair accessories, nail polish, and combs/brushes.

And that concludes the tour of Abby's room. Stay tuned for more rooms in the upcoming months!


**I want to make it clear that - for the most part - these are staged pictures. My daughter is five years old, so her room is not this spotless all of the time! The main things I have her do to stay organized is to make her bed every morning, and then clean up her toys/dress-up clothes before bedtime. I'm happy with just those two chores, and I don't feel like it's asking too much of a five year old. So please just keep that in mind when you're viewing these pictures!**

If you'd like to share how your kids' keep their rooms clean, please leave a comment below. I'd love to hear from you!

Peek Inside: A Professional Organizer's House

If you're nosy....then you will LOVE this post!! :)

 

I get told very often that my house must be immaculate, since I'm a Professional Organizer. It's true that my house is not cluttered. But clean & un-cluttered are two v.e.r.y different things!

 

You see, I have a little dirty secret: I hate to clean.

 

Yep, you read that right. I love to organize, but I hate to clean! So if you come by my house sometime, please don't look at the dust bunnies in the foyer. Or the crumbs under the kitchen table. Or the dirty breakfast dishes in the sink.

 

But if you're curious to see my un-cluttered house, click here to check out the new "House Tour" slideshow on my sidebar.

Enjoy!

 

Holiday Decor Storage

When it comes to storing holiday décor, my philosophy is "the simpler, the better." Because let's face it, we can't all have garages that look like this:

 Instead, a more realistic example may be my basement:

 It contains mismatched colors/sizes of tubs, a random cord hanging from the ceiling, and some extra light fixtures and boards to throw in as well. It's still pretty organized in my opinion, though it may  not be the "prettiest" space! :)

 

I have one tub for Halloween/Fall décor.....

 .....two tubs for Easter/Spring décor, and then about 10 tubs for Christmas decorations. I used a simple label-maker to mark each tub, and for now, that is good enough.

 

I'll be honest though, I'd love for my storage space to look like this, with all matching clear tubs so you can see the contents:

I can blame my OCD for that!

 However, I have stumbled upon this idea as a better way to label your holiday décor tubs, and I can't wait to implement it this Christmas! Simply create a Word document that can serve as an inventory sheet for each tub. Then laminate the label, and list each tub's contents with a dry erase marker, as shown here:

{Source}

I would even add a little section at the bottom called "Need for Next Year," as a quick reference if something broke or you didn't use it to decorate that year. For example when stores - Hobby Lobby, I'm talking to you! - put their Christmas décor out in September, you can see at a moment's glance if you need something new for the upcoming holiday.

 

Another great idea: hanging wreath storage. Now, I only own about 3 wreaths, because like I said, I'm a minimalist. But I realize that some people - especially for Christmas - hang wreaths on multiple windows and door. If that sounds like you, here ya go!

{Source}

 I've had my fall decorations out for about a week now, and nothing make me happier than walking into my living room and seeing this!!

 And here is some of my favorite décor around the house:

One more tip concerning holiday décor.... as I was decorating last week, I realized I couldn't remember where I had put certain things the previous year. So, I decided to pictures of my house fully decorated, and can easily refer back to them in the future.

 

Let me know if you have any tips for storing holiday décor!

 

Happy Decorating!!