{My Organizing Craze}

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but the end of December flew by.  This is kind of how it went...Prepare for Christmas, recover and remove decorations from Christmas, prep to cater my mom's wedding on New Year's Day, recover from wedding, not do much for a couple of weeks because of exhaustion.  Before I knew it, it was almost the middle of January.

I was in need of some serious motivation.  Fortunately, the day came and I found this link from A Bowl Full of Lemons while perusing Pinterest. 

Hallelujah!  It was just what I needed.  I didn't go in order and many of the days didn't actually apply to me, but I started browsing and getting ideas on what to tackle and how to go about it.  I immediately ran to the store and got some supplies.  While I'm not usually a fan of contact paper, I loved the one used in her post (below) and was lucky enough to find it at Target.  I arrived home with my new loot and organized the cabinet under our sink as well as our two highly used kitchen drawers.

When that was complete, I skipped to Day 17 of the challenge and completed my own mail station like the one below.  I love this idea because you can quickly organize any paper as it comes in and reduce clutter on the kitchen table.  I went with the following tabs: Incoming Mail, Outgoing Mail, Pay, File, Shred, and Coupons.

Over the last month or so, I have picked an area or two to overhaul each weekend.  I have completed the coat closet, linen closet, laundry room, bathroom cabinets, shower (loving the new dispenser I bought and not having soap bottles in the shower) and finally the pantry.  If it sounds like I've gone crazy...I have.  I could use an intervention.

I actually completed the majority of the pantry project last weekend but finished up some of the labeling with my Silhouette this weekend.  Here are some of my favorite items.

I already had a small and large jar for my sugar and flour, but I added two more for my wheat and bread flours and relabeled all of them with my Silhouette.

I had the sugar and AP flour labeled the same way previously, but since it was one of my first Silhouette projects it looks better now that I'm not such a rookie.

I found a great tip on Pinterest for leveling flour and now keep a chopstick in each of the containers.

Reinforcing the shelves may need to be a project on the "Honey Do" list very soon.  I can't imagine all that weight is good for the shelves.  I love how they turned out though.

One of my other favorite buys is the container our Bisquick now lives in.  We buy a large box from Costco so this helps to keep it fresh.

It is also easier to use since you have the option of the small pour spout, larger spout, or pulling off the top to reach in with a measuring cup.

I have tried to cut down on the number of bags in the pantry so that things stay fresh and I don't have to worry about them spilling.  As you can see, I am in love with mason jars, my label maker and these new containers I found....They are enablers of my addiction.

The containers are similar to the OXO ones, but much cheaper.  You flip the handle up on top to open them and it seals when you push it back down so the contents stay fresh.

This was also one of my first Silhouette projects, but I thought I'd throw in a picture.  I knocked off a project from my friend Lauren over at All Things Homie. 

Another favorite is the new containers for cereal and snacks.  We usually have a bulk size of each in the house so I bought some flip top containers to make them easier to grab while keeping them fresh.

I also bought a large set of bins for bread, crackers and snacks.

I love these because the handles flip down allowing them to stack.

I containerized quite a few other things that we always have around like granola and croutons.  I have used wire shelves like this all throughout the house to organize cabinets. 

I am also quite fond of the hanging baskets I found for kitchen towels.  Notice the small stacking bins and another wire shelf.

Finally, I wanted something to corral the onions and potatoes.  These stacking shelves are perfect and had one extra level for our coffee.

I'm loving the new organization throughout the house (despite the feeling yesterday of crawling out of a cave and realizing February is almost over).  I have a couple more spaces to purge and overhaul.  I might have withdrawals after I'm finished and run out of things to organize and containerize though!  Fortunately, I think I have found something to keep myself busy.