Wednesday

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.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are a complete dork.

Laura said...

I totally get the obsession LOL. I loved your hubby's comment, mine says the same thing about me :)

Great job!

Lylah Ledner said...

great job...yes...i agree with larua...your hubby's comment made me laugh...so sweet.

Anonymous said...

And organized spices is truly the key to a happy kitchen!!

Michele said...

I love the use of the Sharpie! I keep one in my kitchen for things like this - it works great for so many purposes.

mom2triplets04 said...

Great idea. I started to label my spices as well with little stickers on top that were circle stickers and then wrote on the sticker what it was. I hated picking up each spice to figure out what it was. Congratulations on making top 12.

Susan said...

Smacking my head here - I never. even. thought. of using a Sharpie to label my spices! Duh! Here I thought I needed to buy one of those label makers, and I don't have the money to do that . . . when I have a Sharpie right in my pencil cup on my desk. Thank you!

And congrats making it to OrgJunkie's top 12!

Jena Webber said...

Hubby's comment is hilarious! My "organizing stuff" is labeled "stupid stuff" on the computer--as you can imagine who labeled it. Good job. Love the blog also.

Becky @ BoysRuleMyLife said...

Wish my hubby would comment on my blog... I'm jealous... :)

Love, love, love organized spices! You and me? We thought very similarly on this project! :)

Great job. Now let's see who can find the cumin first... ready... GO!

Have a great day!

Ter said...

my hubby won't even READ my blog (well he doesn't use the computer at all!)

But way to go! I'm proud of you for getting your spices organized! Keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

I loved the title of your post. It made me laugh.

Samara Link said...

That's a great idea. Thanks for sharing. :) I'm browsing online, getting ready to re-org my pantry in August. My spices aren't in my pantry, but I think I'll add them to my list of things to do.