Operation: Organization!

As I've gotten older I've come to love the feeling of being organized. This can come across to some as OCD in some ways, like my DVD's needing to be alphabetized. But come on, at least I can find the movie I want when I'm looking for it. You have to admit that :) Well, I've always had bits of organization within my chaoticness, but I am moving more towards less chaos, more clean. This might be due to maternal instincts kicking in, readying myself for the next step of life when it so chooses to come, or maybe it's just wisdom of old age.

Whatever the facts or reason, I had an absolute desire, nay, frantic urge, to organize at least one shelf in my itsy bitsy "pantry" (if you can call it that). We have a little cupboard that we call our pantry, which is expected to hold all our dry food supply. The poor thing is nearly bursting at the seams as I need to keep a well stocked pantry to feed my 6' 4 3/4" husband who is blessed with an over-active metabolism. The shelf that was calling out to me the most in the moment, was our baking shelf (flour, salt, starch, choc. chips etc) as well as our pasta's and rice.

Before. So messy and chaotic.

Since changing my lifestyle I have also purchased an abundance of new types of flours and other goods that were sitting in heaps on the shelf, as you can clearly see, and when it came time for me to make anything it would take more time then I liked to find that one item I was searching for. Change was needed….STAT! Hence, Operation: Organization!

First off was to get rid of all those annoying plastic bags everything is put into when one purchases items at a bulk store such as Nutters or the Bulk Barn. I can't handle the bags, they utterly annoy me, and what's worse is they break far too easily. Not good for keeping little bugs away from my food. Thus, containers were needed. As this is a new venture and I most likely will need to upsize most of these containers in the future, I did not wish to spend very much money on the small containers that I would now need to accommodate my little of this and little of that. For this reason I pointed my vehicle in the direction of the Dollar Store. Always a helpful place when not wanting to spend too much. I had my little list of items needing it's own little container, and my search did not go unrewarded.

I found cute little square glass containers with red and blue lids that would work perfectly for this venture. Plus, I knew I could use them in the future for other items, even when they become too small for their new designated inhabitants.

 

Next step was to clean them as you never know who's touched them, where they've been etc. Plus, everything should have the pleasure of a nice hot, soapy bath before being put to use. That's my opinion on the matter anyhow :)

All clean and air drying.

Then I had to pull out everything off that shelf and clean it up. I threw out a few things that had been there for, I don't even know how long, and organize the other containers I already had in there with other consumable items. I put everything on the counter that needed a new home and it was quite the plastic mess. How did I ever survive?

Next was choosing a special container for each item. I carefully dried any little condensation that may still be lingering around the edges. No one likes moisture where it is not welcome. Once I had taken care of this detail I carefully poured each item into its chosen container, placed a square of wide masking tape (easy to remove for the future) on each and labeled each item as I went.

 It look so…..wonderful!

Then it was time to organize this all back onto that little shelf. This was not hard now as I had much room to work with. I have even used some of these items since organizing and it was such a joy being able to find my item instantly! I, of course, put the more used items either high up or close to the front, for easier access of course (is my OCD kicking in again?)

After! Mission: Accomplished :)

It was a happy day finishing this and, oddly enough to some, made me breathe easier and feel much more relaxed. I had accomplished something good, and it was a grand feeling. Now to tackle the other 3 shelves :S Maybe next week :)

So that was my organizational heaven. Don't look at the rest of my house when you come over, as you'll still see chaotic mess everywhere, but if you look closely, within that mess, you'll find order. Feel free to check out my cupboard, or at least this one shelf anyway. This is where it starts…one shelf at a time.

Here's to the end of a fantastic weekend!

Monday, here I come!

Till next time :)