We May Not Have Clean Clothes, but I Know Where to Find the Cumin

This was originally posted at the end of February. Seven months later, I can say the system is still working well. It is one of the few things I've organized that hasn't be a mess two hours later. Truth be told, I sometimes open my spice cabinet and just stare at it. It makes me feel better about the stuff bomb that seems to constantly explode in all other areas of the house.

Please be sure to head over to Shannon's at Rocks in My Dryer for more "kitchen management" tips.

A while back, I wrote about joining in on Org Junkie's Monthly Organizational Round-Up. I love to organize, much to the frustration and humor of my husband. So, I thought this sounded like fun. Org Junkie has designated a room of the house for each month. I thought that couldn't be too hard.

I did that thinking before sweet Baby Girl became a part of our family. Now, Baby Girl, thus far, is a mellow little one. However, she does have this little habit of wanting to eat every 2-3 and sometimes, bless her, 4 hours. This happens around the clock. Then, there are those other munchkins who live here who need things like food, clean clothes, and special time with their mama.

So, you can see how what at first seemed so doable, quickly became not so doable. Well, somehow, I did it. It is a good thing it is leap year and I had one more day in February to get something in my kitchen organized.

I chose my spice cabinet.

Here is a before picture.

As I cooked, I had to sort through the cabinet to find what I needed. Of course, whatever I needed usually happened to be at the top and in the very back.

Also, I learned that I had multiple containers of garlic powder, curry powder, crushed red pepper, and nutmeg. To top it all off, they were all partially used.

Now, here is the after.

I placed the salt and pepper shakers, cooking spray, and salt and pepper refills on the bottom shelf. The middle shelf holds the spices I use most while the top shelf holds those spices that I seldom use.

Finally, here is a picture of what I hope will make finding the spices even easier.

I took a Sharpie and labeled the top of each container. This way, I can easily glance and find what I need. Notice I put the containers with black lids at the front. Obviously, the marker wouldn't work so well on those.

So there you have it. The laundry still isn't finished, my hair is greasy, and the kitchen floor is yucky, but my spices, oh, they are in order.