Have you missed any of our prior days’ tasks so far? Click here to view all the daily challenges through this one!
It’s day #7 of the 30-day organization challenge. We are still in the beloved center of the home – the kitchen! Today’s challenge is going to knock a good chunk of your kitchen out of the way in just a short amount of time today!
Day #7 Challenge – Organize the Upper Cabinets/Cupboards in the Kitchen
So just like a previous challenge, I will just take you around my kitchen and show my progress. I also found some treasures along the way…. I always like nice surprises when I am cleaning/organizing!
Plate/bowl cupboard before
Mid-point. The very top shelf that had a bag of leaking potpourri and other miscellaneous. I cannot see the top unless I am standing on a chair, and although I used this same method for the other cupboards, for some reason, this one was super dusty and dirty! Maybe I forgot to wipe it last time I did this as the other top shelves weren’t this icky!
Plate/bowl cupboard after
For this cupboard, I actually did something that just occurred to me today that has never occurred to me in the 8 years we have been here. I have always had the big plates on the bottom right and the bowls on the bottom left and the small plates top right. Well, they were always a little tough to fit, not to mention the never ending supply of teas. So I cleared the top shelf and found plenty of room in other cupboards now (since organizing) for that specialty baking/cooking stuff, teas to the top and now an official bowl shelf and plate shelf. Truthfully, the small plates are missing because they were in the dishwasher after breakfast, but imagine a pile of small purple plates on the bottom left now. I am hoping this arrangement is more sensible and easier for everyone to keep in order.
Also, notice the bell in the cupboard? As a quick tip, we have this to call everyone to one location instead of running around gathering everyone or yelling. If it is meal time, or I need all of the kids for something, I ring the bell and they can hear it anywhere in the house. I learned this from a seasoned mom many years ago when I just had 2 and she had 5 kids. Now I am the one with 5 kids. 🙂
Coffee cupboard after (I guess I didn’t take a before??) It wasn’t a huge change anyway, just a bit less clutter now.
Cup cupboard before
Cup cupboard after
Again, another one in which I just had a mixture of cups for 8+ years, but a logical organization is now everyday cups on the bottom, hot cups in the middle and the specialty cups up top! Much better now instead of shuffling through for the right cup!
Junk/Misc. Cupboard before….. yes, another one!
All right, this is getting quite embarassing. We have ANOTHER junk cupboard. The first one from a couple of days ago was supposed to be cookbooks, table cloths, placemats, etc., but over time, this stuff just seemed to get “tossed” in there along with a few stragglers of junk.
Well, this cupboard is right above that one and was supposed to house the important stuff (it was really more of a misc., but important items storage, while easily accessible). As you can see, over time, it really became the “throw it in and close it before it falls” cupboard. I really can’t believe it had gotten this bad, but I open it many times a day, so I don’t really know how I could be so blind.
Anyway, I cleaned this one out and the goal is to have the top shelf for emergency supplies like matches, flashlights, candles, etc. Middle shelf for check books, change jar, etc. Bottom shelf is other important, miscellaneous and emergency supplies like extra Epipens for our anaphylactic family members, toothpicks, eyeglass cleaners, hand sanitizer and this nice little bowl that I keep in here when I find small miscellaneous toys, legos or game pieces.
I hate running around trying to find out where they go and instead put them in here and let the kids take care of it every couple of weeks or so.
But even cooler, I found a $20 bill buried under that pile and….. (drumroll please)…… Lindt chocolate truffle!
I found this little baby buried in there and I wasted no time in rewarding myself, especially before anyone knew.
YES and YUM! For the record, I sat down and relished this for a quick little break.
Finally, the project was finished!
Miscellaneous cupboard after
How is your challenge going? What tips do you have for a more organized kitchen?
And don’t forget…. to help you as you are working on the kitchen for the next few tasks, don’t forget to see these clever ideas and get some DIY Organization Inspiration!
>>>>> If you have stumbled on this post, you can receive the challenges each day for 30-days via email here <<<<<
To help you find some thrifty and DIY organization ideas, see our organization category HERE (click on the organization tag!) and our Organization Pinterest Board HERE.
Looking for encouragement, inspiration and a place to ask questions and share answers? Request to join our private Facebook group HERE.
Janelle@The Peaceful Haven
OK…I am going in! Thanks for keeping me on track! These posts have been a real blessing to me!
Lhsa
Trick learned from my mother a long long time ago…. do your organizing plan but remember, top shelves are hard for us to get to so try to put items there that don’t need to get to often and – as much as possible – items that are light & unbreakable. [Items you are less likely to break and would most not worry about having fall on you 🙄😉)