Organizing Inspiration

My organizing skills have been neatly tucked away thus far over the summer break. I haven't done any projects around the house that tidied up, purged, or made room for anything. Instead, I've been shoving things into cabinets and drawers and hurriedly moving on to the next item on the agenda. 

Then one of the blogs I follow gave me some inspiration. She organized her craft cabinet.

It was like someone took my blindfold off and I realized how out. of. control. my craft cabinet had become. Which also meant, the boys craft table had become quite messy and overcrowded.

Here are some lovely before pics:

 Can you even see the crafts stuck WAY back there? Nope, I can't either!

  Okay, I'm almost embarrassed that I actually just shared those pictures with you. BUT, now you know that I'm not always the most organized person. :) I mean really... doesn't this look more like a food storage cabinet rather than a craft cabinet? Out. Of. Control.

So, I emptied out the entire cabinet and gave it a good cleaning. Since there was so much food shoved into the cabinet, this also forced me to clean out my pantry and re-arrange some stuff in other cabinets in order to make room for this extra food.

I love it when I can turn a huge package into a much smaller storage space. For example:

 You can see in this picture all of the storage bins laying on the floor, ready for me to clean them out. But you can also see all of the cardboard boxes that I was able to get rid of in the pantry making way for SO much more space!

 This picture also shows how messy the counter above this cabinet had gotten. It was a real "catch all" for miscellaneous items. YUCK!

Okay, now the fun part! The "after" pictures! 

(Yes, I know I'm an organizing nerd. I accept it.)

That bin on the top shelf is practically empty! I just stuck the dog food in there for the heck of it.

(Side note: that grey accordion file on the top left is where I put art projects that Payton does throughout the summer. Then when we move into the fall, I will wrap a rubber band around it, label it with the date, and put it with the rest of his masterpieces. It's a quick and easy way to keep kids' art organized.) 

 Ahh... isn't that better? All labeled and properly organized! Everything in it's place!

 Even the counter received some TLC.

Now that I've accomplished that project, I'm ready for the next one. I think I'll tackle the linen closet! Fun times! :)