Friday, February 1, 2008

Got Milk?

Since the first of the year, I've been slowly reorganizing my house. It started with the food storage room and a few closets here and there. In the kitchen, I rearranged some cupboards, made the pots and pans easier to get to, cleaned out the pantry and all the drawers and generally gave everything a fresh start for the new year. It's a work in progress.

I threw out some old things that I just don't use, I moved the pyrex, the bowls and small plates, the bandaids and the medicine box. My family can't find anything, even though I've shown them all the new locations. Several times. I wasn't trying to make life harder - I was just getting things to run more smoothly, without unnecessary items crowding out the everyday stuff. I love having things uncluttered. Meals are easier to prepare and it feels like I can breathe in my kitchen again.

One thing I did that goes under the heading Brilliant, is to move the kids' cereal to a different spot. The boys love their cold cereal at all times of the day, and they were constantly asking me to get them a bowl - they couldn't reach it in the cabinet up above the stove. The bowls were out of reach as well. And sometimes, I just don't want to get up...Mom's tired, you know?

So I took all the kid cereals and all the cheap plastic bowls that they love and put them down on the bottom shelf in the pantry. It's perfect - they can reach them and can have their cereal any time they want. And I don't have to get off the couch.

It's all very organized and kid-friendly:

When I opened the pantry this morning, I found this:

I guess they are looking for ease of preparation too.

Sigh.

12 comments:

Elise said...

Ha! That cracks me up! I have done some absent minded things like that. It usually happens while I'm on the phone.

Good job on your organizing! I love that feeling too.

Unknown said...

Yes, I have seen our milk up in the cupboard before too, except it was my husband that put it there. At least it wasn't a full gallon!!!

Suz Q Free Tibet said...

Dishes...I totally laughed out loud! Really cute.

Lois said...

I love organizing, though I get tired of telling my family where everything is.

That photo cracked me up! Maybe you should keep the cereal and the bowls in the fridge?

Angi said...

The question is, did you have another gallon, or did you have to make the powdered milk? Yummy!

Nora Mair said...

Brilliant! I've decided that my pantry will be just one thing deep! So easy to find stuff!

Mrs. J said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mrs. J said...

The picture cracked me up, and hey at least they put the milk away.

It"s me said...

Well.... they tried. right??
At least there weren't like me. I made dinner and was going to put the dishes in the dishwasher. About 10 minutes later Ben opened the fridge and said, "Honey.. is there a reason our dirty dishes are in here?"

Totally spaced out and thought I put them away. And I did.. just not the right place.

Amber said...

Too funny! That happens at our house too, except I'M the one putting stuff in the wrong place. The other day I found a block of cheese in the drawer with the cheese grater!

dishes and laundry said...

Glad my family isn't the only one doing this kind of thing! And yes, I had another gallon in the fridge, thank goodness.

Shauna said...

Funny!! That's something my kids would do!