A Little Inspiration.....

Most of you have probably heard of or watched the new series on Netflix called "Tidying Up with Marie Kondo." I think it's a great show and I hope many of you are drawing inspiration from it. While I plan to share my thoughts on that series in a later post, for now I wanted to share a little inspiration of my own....

This client wanted a kitchen update and I was happy to help! While her kitchen was by no means in total disarray, she was a busy working mom (with four kids!) who moved into her house in a hurry, placing things randomly in cabinets, and was finally ready to organize it in a more functional fashion. 

We first started with the pantry....categorizing goods, purging expired foods, and creating zones with labels on each bin (Ex: Breakfast, Grains, Canned Goods, etc).

One of my favorite organizing supplies is a Lazy Susan! Believe it or not, it works great in pantries. If you look in the picture above, I used a Lazy Susan to organize all of her kids' condiments & PBJ supplies. Makes it easy for adults (and kids) to find what they're looking for!

Another important step was to clear the clutter on the floor of the pantry. We corralled water bottles into a bin, as well as recyclable bags in another one. Once the bin gets full, it's time to let go of a few!

Then we moved onto the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen. This "before & after" is one of my favorites. Again, we purged a few items - duplicates and broken ones - and then used Dollar Store bins to create a holding place for each category (knives, cooking utensils, etc.)

I love when I come across a cabinet in a client's home that is pretty close to empty! This was the case here, as shown in the top picture. This cabinet was located above her fridge, and was very under-utilized. We moved some things around, and were able to free up this cabinet to act as a china storage spot! A few shelf helpers did the trick and now her china will be stored in a safe & very visible space.

One of my last favorite spaces in this client's kitchen was her narrow coffee cabinet. I added a few shelf helpers and moved her keepsake mugs to the top shelf. My client was even able to pull in a few mugs from other cabinets that had been placed sporadically throughout the kitchen. Now all of her coffee supplies & mugs are in the same place!

All in all, this kitchen makeover took close to 7 hours. We were able to completely update her walk-in pantry, as well as better organize all of her kitchen cabinets. 

Please let me know if you could use my help with a similar project! 

De-Cluttering Before a Move

A recent client called me because her realtor said she needed to organize her pantry before her house was put on the market. I was happy to help!!

This pantry was SUCH a great space to begin with; it just needed a bit of de-cluttering and categorizing. Plus, cute bins & labels always help :)

One of my favorite organizing supplies is mini hanging chalkboards. They are easy to use, and more importantly, easy to change as your family's needs change!

We grouped baking items together, as well as created a few easy-to-grab snack bins for her kids.

We grouped chips with chips and crackers with crackers, A "shelf helper" added space to an upper shelf where we placed all of her paper products and disposable utensils.

We checked for expired medicine, as well as grouped together lunch bags & reusable bags.

One more look at this updated & organized pantry!
Now this client is ready to put her house on the market and WOW some potential buyers!

I offer a variety of de-cluttering, staging, packing, and unpacking services.

Please let me know if I can assist you in your moving process.

Kitchen Makeover: Part 2

Today, I want to show you a pantry transformation for one of my recent clients. (If you missed Part 1 of the Makeover, which included the cabinets, countertops, and under the sink.....click here.)

 This pantry was a great space, but just not being utilized properly. In the upper shelves, there were odds & ends like rubbermaids, a mixer, and lots of cups not being used. The goal for this pantry was to ONLY house food & drinks, so we found those items a new home in the newly de-cluttered cabinets. (Well, some went into the "donate" pile :)

We were able to leave the upper shelf almost completely clear! Right now, it is storing a few (new) pyrex dishes that are not being used, but they wanted to keep. The 2nd shelf now holds all their cereals and breakfast items, while the 3rd shelf holds one of their daughter's medication, plus a turntable for their spices & oils.

 Let's take a close-up at this turntable! I love these for soooo many reasons....

 The biggest challenge for this pantry was to utilize the depth of it. (It is 18" deep!!) To do that, I used a "shelf helper" on the top shelf to hold some snack bars, and put other - larger - boxes of snacks at the back. Additionally, the kids now have a designated snack bin on the front of the shelf, and 2 small bins house miscellaneous items and sauces.

 The middle shelf now houses all of their baking items. A vacant jar now holds all of their baking chips, and we made a small bin for all of their sprinkles, toppings, etc.

Last but not least, on the bottom shelf, there is a designated bin for pastas & grains, and lots of overflow room on the right for baby items like formula, jugs of water, etc.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of the makeover!

A Pantry Transformation

I helped transform another pantry recently! Look at these amazing before & after pictures! (Yes, I'm aware that I sound like a broken record. I think I just need to change my business name to Pantry Organizing Plus :)

 

Just kidding....you know I love to organize pantries. And that seems to be the #1 space I'm doing these days, which is fine by me!

My recent client had a *great* pantry to work with.....very large space, good quality shelving, and L-shaped so it had plenty of room & depth. Her biggest issue was the floor, and how it was hard to walk in there to reach anything off the shelves. Though I wish I could have cleared her floors completely, I did tidy them up a bin with bins designated for: dog supplies, craft items, kid beverages and adult beverages :)

 And yet another client that likes to bake! (Seriously, I'm starting to get a complex. I own one type of flour and 2 types of sugar. My recent clients have about 10x that much, ha!) So clearly, we needed bins to store baking items. Plus her canned goods & jars of homemade jam needed a bit of purging and organizing. Same for adult & kid snacks.

 Up top, we tucked away a few items in the corners of those L-shaped shelves that aren't used often. Plus, left some room for easy-to-reach cereal boxes and cookbooks.

 Down below, the name of the game was *containment!* If you have a bin designated for a certain item like juice & soda, it helps prevent you from going to the store to buy more until that bin is almost empty! Because if you know you only have a certain amount of room to store that item, than it will cut down on over-buying.

 A few last things to point out:

 

-I used two Lazy Susans to corral all their salad dressings, oils, marinades, etc. These are a great choice, especially for corner shelves!

 

-I put all of the peanuts & nut products in one bin because one of their children has an allergy. It was important to keep these away from the snack bin!

 

-I created a bin for rice & noodles, as well as one for dried beans, quinoa, etc. This is one healthy family!

Another pantry transformation in the books! I think my count is up to 7,462 now............ :)

Another Pantry Reveal!

I've already helped with two pantry transformations this week, and could not have asked for better clients!!

 

Check out this before & after of my first pantry of the week:

This client informed me I have a "signature" look for pantries that I organize. If she means that I use the same white bins for all of them, then yes, that is true, ha! You can't go wrong with these bins from Target...they are inexpensive yet great quality and the perfect size for most standard pantries.

Some of these shelves were a little precarious, so it was a challenge to not only place items where it made sense, but also, I had to take into consideration the weight of each item/basket. I'm pretty happy with the results though, and even more so that we ended up with some blank shelves! :)

Left side of the pantry

 This client already had many items grouped together (i.e: baking supplies, snacks, etc) but just needed a little help tweaking some areas :)

Top part of the pantry

 The floors of pantries are NOTORIOUS for collecting clutter. It's so easy to just throw stuff in there when you're in hurry. Which is.....always! (Am I right??) So it was my goal to get as much stuff off the floor as possible and tucked away, so there was room to walk & stand in there! :)

We designated bins for things like snacks, grains, baking, and oils & marinades so that it was easy to find each "zone."

Right side of the pantry

 This client had quite the collection of baking items, so it was only natural that we needed to upgrade & organize her existing canisters. I even found a few extra when I was clearing out the pantry! Now everything is nice & labeled, thanks to my favorite adhesive chalk labels.

 Does your pantry need some TLC?!

A Quick Pantry Makeover

A recent client needed some help with her pantry, and we got the whole thing done in just 2 hours! This pantry was not that bad to start with; just needed a little tweaking. My client already have a ton of great containers and bins, but they weren't being used properly.

The most cluttered shelf was the top one, where all of the baking items were stored. Let me tell you, I have never seen so many different varieties of sugar & flour! This woman is quite a baker. Once we repurposed some of her current bins, threw out some expired items, and added some chalkboard labels, there was quite a transformation!

Down below, we categorized items like snacks, breakfast items, pastas, etc. Each got their own bin, as did paper products and lunch items for school.

 Let's take one more look at this "after" photo. It's amazing what a few hours and some old containers can do for a pantry!

Another Pantry Transformation!

By now, I think you guys know that organizing pantries is my most favorite thing to do. Ever.

So, I was giddy when my recent client asked for help with her pantry! :)

 

It was a great space to begin with, but just was not being used properly. We took everything out, categorized it, checked for expired food, and found a new home for a few items (ex. light bulbs and watering can!). We were pretty pleased with the results:

This client requested that we use clear bins, so she can see everything well. But she already have these white canvas bins that I was dying to use! Once I got the green light, I put them on the top shelf to store paper products, water bottles, and Tupperware.

What a difference a few bins & labels can make!

 In the bottom half of the pantry, there were a lot of appliances and a super heavy punch bowl. We decided to leave those on the bottom shelf for easy access. Then, recyclable bags were placed into an oversized basket, as were a few Game Day entertaining items. #rolltide

Another pantry transformation in the books!

Pantry: Before & After

Remember a few weeks ago when I referred to myself as the Pantry Queen?!

Well, here is one of my latest masterpieces....

 

I have helped transform multiple spaces in this client's home, but her pantry may be my favorite!! She had a really large space to work with (it even had a window on one wall!) and I adore the custom shelves. Possibilities for days! 

Ahhhh, how I love a "before & after!" (And I apologize for the crooked "After" picture....not sure what happened there!)

We created a few snack bins for her kids, on lower shelves so they can reach them easily!

On the right side of the pantry, we created a few bins for her husband. His snacks, drink mixes, and even a bin for his Big Green Egg utensils & supplies!

Like I mentioned earlier, this client's beautiful pantry had a window inside! She used the shelf as an office area, so her kitchen countertops would not be cluttered. (Brilliant!) We transformed it with a few paper sorters and some blue mason jars she already had on hand.

Close-up. Oh how I love organized office supplies!

The spices got an little help from a cabinet stair-step shelf. Now they are so much easier to see!

Another great before & after

Look at all of those paper products, now organized and much more accessible!

 

One more before & after.

 

 I've mentioned it before, but pantries are my *absolute favorite* spaces to help organized.

Please comment or email me if I can help transform yours!