Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Keepin' It Real

 If you read my post yesterday, you know that one of my resolutions for 2010 is to be more organized.

Being highly motivated at the start of January, last night I tackled one of my most disorganized areas at home: my kitchen cabinets.

Now, if you were to come over to my place and casually look at my kitchen, you might think, “Her kitchen is very tidy”. See?



Look at these pretty cabinet doors – wow… I must be SUCH a good housekeeper, right?



But the ugly truth is, my cabinets are totally out of control. We’re talkin’, you need a hard hat on when you open them. I think that book, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”, was written about my cabinets.

Don’t believe me? Take a peek at this:



Yes. That is really what it looks like. I’m keepin’ it really real, folks.
And to make it even worse, I’ll remove that box of Grape Nuts and flour that is helping keep up the charade of organization:



I mean seriously. Like, I was too lazy to even put the instant coffee right side up? How did I let it go that far?!

And due to this total disaster area, obviously, it would be near impossible for me to have a realistic idea of my inventory, which would explain things like this:



So, here we have two brand new bottles of honey and one that has crystallized…. Hmmm

Or this:



Really? Is Italian food the only thing I make? And a life-time supply of nutmeg? Ugh…. Or… check this out:



I guess those massive bread crumb containers, none of which were empty, can be paired with the Italian seasoning.

This is just embarrassing.

So, I worked and I worked. I read expiration dates. Apparently I hadn’t done that in a couple years.



Yeah, that’s December of 2007.

I sweated. I braved the falling canned goods. I even balanced this tea box on my foot:



(Before you think I dress like that all the time, let me explain. I wore a dress and tights to work, and when I came home I wanted to be more comfy but I was too cold to change clothes - does that ever happen to anyone else? So I put on sweatpants and kept the dress until I was warmer.)

Anyway, I am very happy to announce: I came out victorious. Here is the before pic:



And here is the after:



Are you impressed? Well, there’s more. Here’s the other before:



And after:



Those are cabinets that a normal person could actually consider functional. Those cabinets are organized. Those cabinets have room for… gasp… more food. I think this allows me to qualify this regular Monday night as “highly productive”.

After my hard work and diligence, I let myself sit back and enjoy a hot cup of tea. And I can promise you that those closed cabinets hold nothing of which you should be afraid. I can open them with confidence, and I can open them without getting a black eye.




~Kathryn


24 comments:

  1. A 2007 expiration date? You say that like it's a bad thing...

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  2. Amen to that Margaret!!! If it is a dried spice...anything goes!

    Kathryn - I used the rest of my Italian Seasoning last night...can I borrow some? :-)

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  3. This is too funny! I hate when I buy stuff we already have I feel like I'm wasting money. BTW you're not crazy haha I halfway change too sometimes.

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  4. Thanks for the reminder, I've been meaning to do the same thing with my kitchen for awhile now. Looks great!

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  5. You are so cute! My kitchen is getting out of control too. It is so easy to just let it get that way.

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  6. Well done! And I totally do the whole leave the top from work on and just add comfy bottoms thing!

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  7. Those look just like my cabinets! Yay to you for organizing them! I'm glad I stopped by for a visit from SITS today. :)

    Better in Bulk

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  8. Fantastic! Good work :)

    Quick question - what's your advice for getting more traffic and followers to your blog? You're really gettin' up there!

    Happy Tuesday!

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  9. way to go! letting it all hang out! i especially love the dress.sweat pants. {and yes, i know exactly what you're talking about}

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  10. Oh, psh, that wasn't THAT bad before. ;) But it does look awesome now! Props for already getting to one of your resolutions!

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  11. haha, too funny! The cabinets look great though! And it looks like you have the ingredients for your own Shake'n Bake (bread crumbs and italian seasoning!)

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  12. Great job, Kathryn!!! I found myself having several bottles of the same spices also, so I created a list of the spices and where they're located in the spice cabinet--T (top shelf), M (middle shelf), B (bottom shelf). It's been really helpful. Not only do I no longer have to dig through all my spices to see what I need, I no longer buy duplicates. If only our closets were organized.

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  13. My cabinets look the same way. I am impressed with how great they look now! I am still not sure if you have motivated me enough to get off of the couch that I am currently laying on!

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  14. Very nice!! One of my New Years resolutions is to be more organized too!

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  15. side note comment ahead: i LOVE your glasses!

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  16. ah I have a cabinet that looks like that! only worse! I have cleaned out all the others recently but I'm dreading doin the last one =/
    and DEF done the sweats under the dress thang also LOL

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  17. I swear I wrote this post!! lol You have inspired me! The BF thanks you! Great Job =)

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  18. Stopping by from SITS! Loved this post...it was fascinating and rang sooo true to my life. ;-p

    Freddae'
    http://coffeegodandme.blogspot.com

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  19. Our cupboards look like that too - then we sort them and a month later, they look like that again. I am on a mission to clear it all out before buying more. Great post. Stopping by from SITS

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  20. Stopping by from SITS! I saw your name was Kathryn and it was spelled the same way as I spelled it and I had to come by and tell you how awesome it is that you spell it the "right" way!! lol Anyways have a great day! Love the dress and sweatpants!! Looks like something I would think of doing.

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  21. I clean our pantry and am surprised by the crap I find..but we need to start clean so the whole kitchen is being replaced.

    Bowls, cups, food, silverware, everything..uggh!

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  22. Congrats on taking steps to become organized!! The kitchen looks great!

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  23. Love this! I completely understand the daunting task of reorganizing, but it's such a great feeling when it's finally finished!

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  24. Hey lady! Oh I sooo know the feeling! I buy crap over and over again for it only get buried in my cabinet cluttering everything up...when will I STOP THE MADNESS! Love the pic btw...thanks for entering the POM Giveaway...I love Dr. Laura too!
    http://thepursuitofmommyness.com/

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