“Don’t agonize. Organize.”
–Florence Kennedy
Does your snack cabinet look like this?
(Of course you know mine doesn’t really look like this right? I mean, I really had to stage this pic so you could get the idea!)
Are you tired of digging to try and find something and can’t? Or buy something at the grocery, only to come home and realize you already have 3 of the exact same item? (Of course only one of them actually has an expiration date in this decade- the other two were from the 90’s) This has happened to us all at one point or another.
The main reason for disorganization is wasted space. This can be especially true in the kitchen cabinets or pantry where you store food. Food products that are boxed or bagged rarely are filled to capacity. Taking up the valuable space in your cabinets is AIR in that wasted box space. This used to drive me crazy, until I stumbled across a fantastic idea at one of those hotels that offers the complimentary 24 hour kitchen where you can get snacks, etc. I can’t remember the name of the hotel to give credit where credit is due, but if I could, I would send them a thank you note.
All you need is this.
Any basket will do, but one that has handles is really good for the kiddos. Take everything OUT of the boxes. Yes, I know you type A’s like me may have a hard time with this at first, but stay with me. Stack everything in the basket in rows. You can get as crazy with this as you’d like- color coded or alphabetical order (yes, at the hotel they were in ABC order) but I don’t get that nuts. When you are finished, your basket will look like this!
You truly won’t believe how much space you will gain by doing this, not to mention it just looks nice. It works really well if you buy things in bulk at Costco- those huge boxes can zap your pantry space in a minute. If you have anything left over that won’t fit into your basket, store in the smallest box possible above your basket to refill as it gets low. This is something the entire family can help with! (Yeah, right)
When complete, just slide onto your cabinet or pantry shelf, and wa-la!
Easy access snacks, you always know what you are running low on, and easy to pull out when guests come!
Tip: Did you know when buying bread at the store, the twist ties on the loaf actually tell you how fresh it is? Each day of delivery has a different color.
Monday – Blue
Tuesday- Green
Thursday-Red
Friday – White
Saturday-Yellow
The colors are easy to remember, as they go alphabetically, skipping Wednesday and Sunday. For example, on Tuesday, you would not want to by a loaf with a red twisty because it’s almost a week old!
How do I ‘unrate’??? I was going to click on all the stars, and it scored with 1/2 of the first and it won’t let me re-do it! Aughhh! So sorry! Great article, Elizabeth!!!
I love this blog entry, this is VERY helpful! I used to use a basket, but now I put my snacks in a container with a lid because my kids are horrible snackers…leaving them out for view caused them to gobble them up! They last longer for us now because lifting the lid to get a snack is too much trouble. 😉
Last winter I participated in this 21 Day Organizing Challenge, this is a great way to get your act together: http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com/p/21-day-challenge.html
Great job, Elizabeth…I love to read your tips! 🙂
Thanks Jamie and Mandy!! 😀