Kitchen Pantries

Here are a few reasons why having your kitchen pantry organized is essential in managing your time and wallet:

• Putting groceries away is quick when every item has a pre-designated spot!
• Prevents over-buying....."I could have sworn I had baking powder somewhere......"
• Grouping like items makes tasks such as baking/coffee making/washing dishes easier.
• Creates space to see items easier including expiration dates, areas that need to be wiped down, and items that are running low.
• Preparing meals is simple when you can just grab and cook.....or grab and put in lunch box!
• Most importantly having a well organized pantry can save you money!!! You'll find meal planning, trips to grocery store, and less food waste when you take the steps to get your pantry in order!

Breakfast items on top and coffees/teas on bottom make busy mornings less hectic.
 

Jars/canisters are a great place to store crackers to keep them fresh and accessible!

Cans in one spot...snacks in another. Baskets make keeping small snack items organized and in one neat place!



 

I have two wonderful friends who were my inspiration to organize my kitchen pantry.

I think of my friend Julie who is uber organized in her kitchen and likes to have every label facing outward so she can see the names of every item.We've had many laughs about it, but it helps keep her organized!!

Kim has a lunch box system where she places items for her children's lunches in different baskets. When it's time to pack lunches the kiddos grab items they like and make their own school lunches! A great idea to keep lunch items organized and helps kids to be more self sufficient!

Brilliant ideas from brilliant women!!!

Perfection vs. Productivity

An Extremely Productive Day:
Wake up before the rest of the family and walk dog. Come home, wake kiddos, and make breakfast for everyone. Shower, dress, and hit the road for a multitude of errands. Arrive back home with exhausted kiddos,  put groceries away, cook dinner, help kiddos with homework, and feed family. After dishes are done, kids are bathed, and a load of laundry done, take poor doggie for a walk/run. Arrive back at home  and work on One Organized Mama business, update budget, fold laundry, put laundry away and fall into an exhaustive sleep with barely enough energy left to give my hunny a quick kiss!

A Very Productive Day:
Sleep in til alarm goes off and get ready for day. Take care of household chores and/or go to work at my current full time job. Pick up kiddos, make dinner and feed family. Add quick trip to park for kids while I walk the dog. Finish up day with clean kitchen and house straightened up. Watch an episode of Mad Men with hunny before bed!

An Absolutely Perfect Day:
Sleep in until the rest of the family wakes up. Either make breakfast or treat the family to breakfast out. Take care of household chores and business duties with plenty of welcome interruptions from kids wanting to share something funny they're doing and Scout (doggie) bringing his squeaky ball to play fetch. Sneak in two episodes of Mad Men with Jorge (hunny) while kids are either napping or playing outside. Cook a leisurely dinner with help from the family and plenty of time at the dinner table telling jokes or sharing stories. A little frozen yogurt before bed and a little messiness around the house that can wait for tomorrow. Everyone in bed and the end of MY kind of perfect day!!

Productivity is certainly essential to living a fulfilled life......but remember to temper it with a "perfect" day thrown in frequently!

Testimonials!

The following is a wonderful testimonial posted on my Facebook page:
If you want your life to get easier just call Janel Ashurst!!! She has a new business called one organized mama where she comes into your home or business and organizes anything you want. She completely reorganized our kitchen and now we just reach in to get the correct plastic lid, the correct lid for cooking-all the food in the pantry is logically organized-she is phenomenal!!!!!THANKS Janel Ashurst

Below is a from a friend I gave advice to for organizing her home office space!

Let me be one of the first to testify! Here's the before:




And here's after. Thank you for your advice!!

A little about paperwork...

So let's talk some more about paperwork. It seems it's one of the areas in our homes that is overwhelming to many of us.

 I am here to tell you that it doesn't need to be! With a few minutes per week you can keep your paperwork pile in order and maintained! Here are a few tips in getting your important documents in order:

• Have your timer ready and set it...(5, 15, or 30 minutes work great!)
• Bring a trash bag and a shredder to your work space.
• Have your file system handy to place documents immediately in appropriate files.
• Begin with one pile of mail/paperwork, set your timer....and BEGIN!
• Quickly decide if item is "Shred/Discard", "File", or "Immediate Attention/Process"
• Place each item in one of the above piles.
• Once your are finished deciding which pile each item belongs in then file items from your "File" , shred and throw away items in the "Shred/Discard" pile, and lastly either handle items in the "Immediate Attention/Process" pile or make a visible "home" for these items.
• Remember when that timer "dings!" YOU'RE DONE! Put the paperwork aside til the next time you can devote time to it.

~Note about the "Immediate Attention/Process" pile~ These are items such as paperwork that needs to filled out and mailed, bills that need to be disputed, or any item that needs work.

 It is IMPORTANT to make a place for these documents that is visible and will remind you that it is there. I have an area next to the computer for such items.

That way if I decide I have a moment to get online....I probably have a moment to handle that document.

Keeps me on track and no more frantic searches for lost important paperwork!

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How do you eat an elephant?

One bite at a time!

This idea applies to time management and organizing your life. Recently,  I've been chatting with friends about organizing and the number one frustration that I hear is "I have no idea where to begin!"

Well the answer is simple! One step at a time. Ultimately, the BIG goal is to have an organized home/life. Thinking of where to start can overwhelm most of us!

So the solution is to start small. Here are a few tips:

• Begin with a small project....and I mean small. One pile of paperwork that has been sitting on your desk for months.
• Take the pile of the desk and wipe down the area it was sitting. Just having a clean surface will help you feel like you've accomplished something. (Trust me on this!)
• Make two piles one a shred/toss pile and the other a keep pile.
• Go through the pile and immediately shred/toss paperwork when done. (My ten year old loves to shred so she assists me with this process.)
• Either file "keep" paperwork immediately or make a neat home on your desk labeled "To File".
• Another effective way to start small with an organizing project is to set a timer. Here's how:
• Pick a room/project to organize.
• Take a trash bag and your damp cloth to wipe down surfaces.
• Choose a reasonable amount of time that you can devote to this project with minimal distractions. (If the kids are coming home from school in an hour then do 45 minutes.)
• Set a timer and when the timer dings....STOP...you're done! Finito!
• Take your trash out and before you walk out look at what you've accomplished in a short amount of time....pat yourself on the back!

Try incriments as little as five minutes and try and avoid longer sessions more than an hour. Too many distractions can pop up the longer you go.

Getting started...

So as I've said we moved into a new home last month. In the midst of this gigantic move...with five people it WAS truly gigantic! The first project I chose was my own bathroom area. Friends and family kept coming by wanting to look at our new casa and as our tour rounded the corner into the Master Bath area I'd find myself apologizing for the box of tampons and other personal products sitting there in plain view for all to see! Oy!

So, here is what the before photos looked like~

Not to mention the counter top which had my most used products scattered about which made it "easier" to find things as I got ready in the mornings.

And the medicine cabinet that hardly had anything......

So I decided to jump in! The entire project took me less than an hour! Here are the steps I took:

1. Remove all items from the cabinets and counter tops and wipe everything down with a damp cloth.

2. Group all like items on bathroom floor culling out old products and trash (make sure to have a trash bag nearby.)

3. Place most used items in medicine cabinet for easy accessibility. This is is the result:

4. Start grouping other items and placing them underneath cabinet. and in drawers. I am a big fan of utilizing baskets that you receive as gifts and using them for this purpose. It makes it easier to keep like items together.

 

Note~the shelving in the back right of the photo is the only item I purchased for this project. It's a 3-tiered shelf I purchased ($14.99) from The Container Store for organizing cans in your kitchen cabinets. Works great for under bathroom sinks too!

5. Once everything is grouped in like items: hair products, lotions, first aid items, lint rollers, etc it's rather easy to then make a home for them.

6. Lastly, the counter top I feel should be clear except for a few small items. I think the perfume bottles are pretty enough to display.

Stay tuned for further updates on this project! I have a few more ideas and will share soon.

Current time on project:45 minutes
Current $$ spent: $14.99