Organize Now 12 Week Challenge Week 2, Part 1

Although the second week of Jennifer Ford Berry's Organize Now 12-Week Challenge doesn't start until tomorrow, I got a start today on organizing my kitchen cupboards. It's a big project... A VERY big project. And I know that I won't have time enough to work through everything during the coming week. So, my plan is to do as much as I can over the weekend and then finish things up as I can during the week. 

I can't believe I am about to share, but I guess my kitchen cupboards are among the least embarrassing parts of my house. So, here's what I started with:

The medicine cupboard.

This one isn't too bad, but it could be better.

Hey! There's the salad spinner!

I know that organizing the pantry comes in a few weeks, but I don't have a separate pantry and to pull off what I have in mind these cupboards need to be dealt with now.

Wow... How does it get to this point? There's actually several factors at play here:

• I have an obsession with Tupperware. I have 3 Jell-O molds. I've used one of them once. But, it's Tupperware so I have to have it. Or, at least I think I do. 
• I have three kitchen's worth of stuff crammed into one far-too-small kitchen. When I moved into my mother's house, all of her kitchen goodies were here. I, of course, brought all of my goodies from my previous house. (Which had a crazy amount of cupboard space that I filled to the brim.) Then my hubby moved in and brought more kitchen stuff. 
• I let myself feel guilt about letting go of things that came from someone else. 
• I suffer terribly from I-might-need-it-someday syndrome. I also have a touch of I'll-use-it-soon-itis. 
• When noone is sure where something goes, or getting something where it belongs is a challenge, or something gets put in the wrong place so the item that belongs there can't be put where it goes, things don't get put away properly.

I'm sure there are more reasons for the state of disarray in my cupboards, but the real point here is when there is too much stuff for the space you have it is impossible to keep it organized. When I read the chapter "Organize the Kitchen Cupboards" in Organize Now, I underlined this: "Be realistic about what you really use on a regular basis and move or toss the rest." So, some stuff has got to go! (Jennifer lists some specific things to consider tossing/donating as well as some tips regarding how and where to store certain items in this chapter that are a must read!)

So far I've about 4 medium boxes of items to pass along to my brother and his fiance, another 3 or 4 boxes to be donated, and filled a black trash bag and a tall kitchen bag. It looked like my cupboards vomited all over the kitchen and dining room for a while, but as things got sorted into piles to leave or went into a cupboard it is getting better. Tomorrow I will be able to move the piles to the vehicle to be distributed on Monday and that will help a lot. 

A few cupboards are finished enough to share at this point. Here's the medicine cupboard:

I still need to make some labels, but the 3 blue bins are adult pain relievers, allergy meds, and supplements. The clear bin is all the children's meds. With everything sorted and all the outdated items tossed, I had a completely empty shelf. So, I moved the dog treats and meds that sat on the counter right below this cupboard into the cupboard - huge bonus! This is a big improvement, but I still think it could be better. Down the road I may purchase some containers with lids to replace the bins or to put the dog treats in. But for now I want to see how much I can do without spending much.

Here's the new and improved dish cupboard:

Since I took this, I discovered I have a sifter. So, I put that up there next to the measuring cups. My stove and microwave are to the left of this cupboard. I usually dish up dinner right at the stove and take the plates to wherever we are eating. (Usually the living room, but I am pretty sure there is a table in the dining room that we should be eating at again soon.) Having the plates on the left side of the cupboard was a pain - with limited counter space I take out one plate at a time, dish it up, and sent it on its way. That cupboard door was either in my face or had to be opened and closed for every plate. It seemed logical to move them to the other side of the cupboard to eliminate that annoyance. 

There's a lot less stuff in this cupboard now. I've decided I can live without the giant Tupperware measuring cups; I only need one Shake N' Pour, one set of measuring cups, and one of those things for measuring peanut butter and Crisco. Once upon a time I baked a lot more and doubles made sense. That's no longer the case.

Several of the other cupboards are nearly finished. I don't want to jump the gun on posting pics until I'm sure. I started burning out a bit, so I want to look at them again with fresh eyes and be sure I'm not overlooking anything. Besides, I have to leave something besides the under-the-sink cupboard for later in the week! ;)