The Kitchen

 This is another room in my house that was a nightmare and needed the organization.  I really didn't have any flow to our kitchen since it is so small. We just threw things in a spot where it fit, but then could never find anything or we forgot we bought it.  Not anymore!!!  Bare with me, this is a long post, but I organized everything in this room.

BEFORE

AFTER

My kitchen drawer had NO organization before.  We just threw the utensil in and usually had to take everything out to find it when we needed to use it. I put down a piece of brown liner to help things stay put.

We don't really have a "true" pantry and since our kitchen is small I used our skinny cabinet for our most common meals, Italian and Mexican.  The top shelf is where we I store my broth and breading since these are the other items we use most frequently when cooking.

  I moved everything devoted to drinks over to one end of kitchen so it is now my tea/coffee/drink station :)

Having everything together makes the morning a breeze.  No reaching or searching.  My Keurig just became more beautiful! I love my coffee/sugar basket because not only does it make my life easier, but it is nice to have out for guests!

My lazy susan used to have TONS of food in it that had no organization what so ever. Now I use it strictly for our most used kitchen tools/pots.  

My skinny drawer, which nothing really fits in....I used to store my most used utensils for the stove since this drawer is right next to it.  My spatulas and spoons now have their own home.

Nothing exciting here, but I will note I put my bowls and plates close to the dishwasher because it makes putting dishes away a breeze.  

My cleaning section is all located underneath my sink.  I just bought a cheap rubbermaid organizer and labeled my drawers:  towels, scrub pads, and lint rollers.

Since I use my gloves and towels often I got a Martha Stewart towel rack to store them behind the cabinet door.

On the left side I keep my cleaning bin so I can take it anywhere in the house.  I also keep my dishwasher cleaner and trash bags here.  As for my hot pads, I took two wall hooks and put them behind the cabinet door.  No more searching for the hot pads!!!

My baking/lunch cabinet.  All of my baking supplies are now in one location...WOO HOO!!! The top two sections of the cabinet are strictly baking supplies.  The bottom section, which is the closest one to reach, is devoted to my lunch packing routine.  

My new lovely Wal Mart glass containers for all my baking needs!  I can now visually see how much I have of a particular item and everything is clearly labeled.  Instead of spending a lot on labels I created my own, you can check it out here. These jars also help to cut down on the mess when trying to get out the amount I need out.  With the scoop, I also purchased at WalMart, it makes for less mess.

I can't wait to show my new containers off at the next cookie baking event!!!

Our free pantry, we made by using old cabinets that my aunt gave to us since we don't have much cabinet space in our kitchen.  I don't turn down free, especially when it can expand my shelf space!

Pretty much everything you see in here are things I already had in the house and just found a new and better use for them.  For example, the three baskets, if you notice in the before picture, I had these cute little guys sitting on top of my cabinets not serving a purpose. Not any more!  They are now put to good use!  I also used the chalk paint we have on hand and created our shopping list on the cabinets.

More of the labels I created hanging from cute mini cloths pins I found from Wal Mart.

On the lower half of my "new" pantry I placed mostly canned goods.  I also have extra condiments, different kinds of vinegar, nuts for cooking, and my onions and potatoes.  I also stored the onions and potatoes in bins since they can make such a mess.

Another, "new" addition is our island.  I know the chairs don't match well, but I took them from the dining room set until we get new ones.  Like I said, our kitchen is very small and we didn't have anywhere for a small table so we created our own island using free stuff we got from family.  To see how click here. 

Not only is the island now a place to eat, but it serves for much needed storage.  I now have a space that is large enough for all my stoneware.  I also placed all my baking pans, cooling racks, mixer, mixing bowls and all of my measuring cups in this central location since these are all of my most used cooking supplies.

Our fridge was awful before.  To see more on our fridge organization click here.

Lastly, this is our menu/mail/to-do area.  We can't afford a nice mail station so we bought cheap ones from Wal Mart that have magnets.  One for incoming and one outgoing.  I also got a white board with day of the week magnets and created our menu board.  To see more about our menu board click here. I also bought a Martha Stewart to-do list with a magnet so I can keep my husband on track with my never ending list.  Then, the last thing we keep close is our local take out menus.

My small kitchen is now completely organized and has flow. I actually love being in my kitchen now! I can't wait to paint the cabinets/counter tops, get new bar stools, a new sink and faucet...... :)  I think I just made my husband cringe a bit!