What is Your Organizing Style?!

Pretty soon we will all get the Organizing bug!!!

My bug is the first one! Of course! Black and white stripes. You may choose which ever organizing bug you prefer.

I was thinking a little bit about the approach I will take this year.

The Plan:

I realized that my organizing style is one where I have to have a plan that will allow me to keep the rest of my home in order while purging and re-organizing.

In order to do that I decided I should think about the top three areas that are used by my family the most and start there.

That involves the pantry, the refrigerator and the laundry room. Isn’t it funny  that it always comes down to the basics, shelter, food and clothing?

Let's start with the pantry............

(Dream Pantry, Not Mine!)

Think about what your ideal pantry would look like,Hmmmm???

Have you  ever noticed that the pantry of your dreams does not really have very much food in it? Or it is twice the size of the pantry you have in your own home.

I was looking at some pantry's that I thought looked perfect, and upon further examination I realized there really wasn't any REAL food to be found!! They did however have some wonderful looking containers and baskets that I would love to have.

Now let’s talk about a Real Pantry with Real food…….

After Christmas my pantry was, disorganized ( a real mess!)

Purging Process:
I started organizing the pantry by putting away the items that were used for Christmas baking, such as cookie decorating items and cookie cutters.

I also had a varied amount of snack foods that I don’t normally keep on hand except when I have company. Out they went!!

Compartmentalize:

I re-organized by putting like items together.( I am a stickler for this concept, but I have "other" people living here that don't follow the same concept.)

I checked all the dates on my items and threw out what had expired.
Now I can see where my problem areas are. By that, I mean lack of space for some items and too much space for others.

Possible purchases:
I can also see where I need new containers to hold loose items that seem to get messy and maybe upgrade to the baskets I would love to have in my pantry.

I did that  today and it felt really good.

My New Plan of attack:
I think it is really important when you go through the cleaning process to really examine where your problem areas are and think of a practical solution.

After living with my pantry make-over from last year I have learned a few things that did not work for my family. Let's look at what I did last year.......

Last Year's Pantry Make-over!

Last year I did a Pantry make over. It looked so nice after we were done, but it did get messy again. That is how real life is. We clean, we purge, we mess- up and so goes the cycle.

We started with a fresh coat of soft blue paint. I chose blue because it is a color I enjoy looking at and find very soothing. I have all white shelves that I covered with linen and white checked shelf liner.

For my makeover last year, I used a lot of containers that I already had, and added a few inexpensive containers to the mix.


Here are a few pictures of my finished pantry from last year……

I have a label maker and it is the best toy! (I mean tool)

 

What I discovered:

After living with this for a year, I have discovered that covered baskets are not for my family.

My family is more of a throw-in kind of group so now the white baskets are left open.

As pretty, neat and clean as the covered baskets look, they just don't work for my family.

I also discovered that only certain things can be in baskets for my family.

I will put bread, children’s snacks and chips in baskets but all other items have to be out on the shelves for easy access.

I learned some important lessons by being observant to my reality rather than the dream pantry I had envisioned. Sometimes it is prettier to be a little practical.

What style of organizing do you have?

Do you just start tearing into it or do you plan your attack first?
(Sometimes I think I take too long on the planning process and never get to the actual work.  I need help in that area!)

I would love for you to leave a comment with some of your organizing successes that have worked for you  in your own pantries.

“Enjoy the Process” Of:

Organizing your home!!

Kathysue

BTW: Next post the Refrigerator!!

To Help With Your Organizing This Year:
Be sure to sign up for the Container store giveaway HERE!