I had the house to myself and no plans so I took my time, listened to a few podcast episodes, sanitized everything, threw a lot of stuff away, and organized everything. IT FELT GREAT.
Since we didn't have any plans I was able to take my time, even leaving to run to the store to pick up a few baskets, and organize everything to work just for us. Now if I didn't have enough time I probably wouldn't have even started that project, because I hate being rushed when cleaning/organizing. If I'm rushed when it comes to organizing then it's just not going to get done the way I want it to be and will quickly turn into a mess again very soon after I finish, but with having time to take everything out, look at what works for us and what didn't (hello crazy big mess) I am able to change things up a bit. Below I'll share the steps to organizing a big mess using our pantry as an example since that's the big mess I tackled this past weekend.
Since I love seeing before and after pictures let's start with that
If you look at the 'before' picture then you will see a hot mess. Cans literally about to fall off the shelf, the shelves on the door are overflowing, things are everywhere and have no order whatsoever. If you look at the 'after' picture then you will see an organized pantry! Things are in their place, there are TWO empty shelves on the door, and I don't have to worry about anything falling out when I open the door.
Step ONE |
The first thing I did was find a podcast I wanted to listen to and then I began pulling everything out of our pantry. I laid everything out on our counters so that once I was finished I could go through and decide on what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to dispose of.
Step TWO |
We have a few of the 3-tier cabinet organizers and this 2- tier cabinet lazy susan in our pantry and they are a life saver for us!! I love them and use them all the time. After I emptied the pantry I took all of the organizers that I have and let them soak in hot soapy water while I went through everything else, and then washed them really well before putting them back in the pantry.
I also wiped down all the shelves in the pantry and then vacuumed the pantry floor.
Step THREE |
After that was done I went through everything on the counters. Some stuff was outdated, some stuff we didn't need anymore, some boxes had one thing left in it, and some things I have no idea how it ended up in our pantry.
Step FOUR |
Once that part was finished, I started putting things back in the pantry, but this time everything had a certain spot. I put the things we use daily at eye level an the things we don't use often on the very top shelf. This also helps when it comes tome to make my grocery list. If I can't see something in our pantry when I open the door then I sometimes assume we are out of it and will order more of it. Which in the long run wastes money and causes clutter in our pantry.
Two EMPTY shelves after I was finished...woo hoo! I plan on finding a small container to put on one of those shelves that will hold snacks, that we can just easily grab out of there on our way out the door.
The fourth shelf houses all of our pasta/rice items and chicken/beef broth (I buy it in bulk when it goes on sale!) I need a basket for my lemons!
On the bottom shelf I used containers similar to these (I found them at Home Goods for around $5 a piece) and placed certain items in them. Most of the bottom shelf/containers hold all of our baking items. I love those clear containers, they are the perfect size and since they are clear I can see everything in them.
The third shelf houses all of our canned goods. I have two of the 3-tier organizers on this shelf. I can see at all times what canned goods we have, makes it SO much easier when making out my grocery list!
On the second shelf is our bread/tortillas and our pantry lazy susan. Again, this thing is a life saver and I use it whenever I cook. I love being able to see every spice/seasoning mix that I have by just turning this thing. Behind it is our extra flour and sugar. I like to keep those things in a clear container above the stove, so I store the extra behind the pantry lazy susan since I don't use them daily.
Step FIVE |
After everything is back in the pantry and organized you'll probably need to wipe down your counters and vacuum your kitchen. I didn't realize stuff dropped out of certain boxes when moving everything back and forth and had sugar, flour, etc. on the counters and floor. Also, you'll probably need to empty your trash after! We had a ton of boxes and out dated items in ours.
