Tag: Organization

Pantry Door Storage Ideas

Excellent Ways to Organize Your PantrgInside a pantry door….

A hidden gem for storage

Pantry doors are a great, often not thought of, place for storage. I may have mentioned another time that in our previous home my husband made me a spice rack to hang on my pantry door. I loved it. So when we had our new home built I asked the cabinet guy to put a spice rack on the inside of one of the cabinets. Well, when I saw it I laughed! The lowest shelf was the only shelf I could reach! So my hubby took it off the cabinet door and hung it on the pantry door. It’s “fine”. But let me tell you the one he made for me was soooo much better! It was totally customized to fit even the large spice bottles. The one I have now only holds the small to not as small jars. It’s better than nothing though. He told me he would make me another one, but when he attached the new one to the door he used liquid nails, so the only way to get a new spice rack is to get a new door! 🙂

I also, very recently, grabbed one of those plastic grocery sack holders from IKEA when I was there. They come with two-sided sticky tape and I attached it to my pantry door underneath the spice rack in about 2 seconds. So cool! I should have gotten one years ago. So, that’s all. I was just thinking of this and thought I’d share. On second thought, let’s brainstorm for a minute. What else could you hang inside a pantry door or any closet door for that matter.

• Calendar

• Corkboard/chalkboard

• Magnet reminder board

• Birthday list

• Favorite recipes that you don’t want to have to look for

• Schedules

• Cool organizers from (yup) IKEA – best organizer store ever

And probably a million more!

Have a great day!

pantry door storage pantry door storage rack pantry door storage 2.jpg pantry door red shutter chalkboard pantry door measuring cups spoons

DIY Potting Bench Project

DIY Potting Bench ProjectMy Very Own Potting Bench… I would have never thought... planting, potting, seeding, starting, and even a little cooking

This wonderfully fun project was a gift from my cutie-pie husband.  I just told him I would really like a potting bench in the garage and he went to work.

I wish I had some “work-along-the-way” pictures, but I don’t.  I’ll break down the components for you though.

Let’s start with the back of the bench.  The “barnwood” is 1 X 6 cedar fencing stained with a gray stain.  Ken dog-earred it with his trusty miter saw and we applied the stain.  So easy, and I was shocked at how much it looks like authentic barnwood.  He screwed it to the walls and it goes all the way to the floor.  That way it forms the back of the bench.

The two countertops are (1) a remnant piece of laminate from a cabinet shop and (2) a remnant piece of granite from a slap yard.  I didn’t care if they were the same, in fact I preferred they were a little different.

The sink is, well…a utility sink from Lowes.  Not much else to say about that.  Unless of course that I am grateful we had the builder stub out a hot and cold water line to the garage.  WOW!  Is it ever nice to wash dirty hands in the garage with warm water.

As you can see, the cupboard doors are made from corrugated tin.  Such a cute look for this project I think.  He still has to put on a rubber protector on the edge of the door.  It’s sharp!

The shelf above the bench is one he made a long time ago and stuck up there and the other organizers and hooks are from the all-time best organizers store ever…IKEA.

Backing up a bit, first we painted the wall an apple green.  I love it.  It’s always bright and cheery and reminds me of summer.

I have loved this, my very own, work space.  I’ll let you in on a secret.  Whenever I cook bacon I cook it on the griddle on my potting bench. That way my house doesn’t smell like bacon for 3 days.  Also, sometimes when I cook a slow-cooker meal I get really tired of the smell of the food after 12 hours!  I take my crockpot out on the bench and we have the most delicious smelling garage on the block!

Pocket Organizers and Reminiscing about Mom

Creative Pocket Organizing Ideas

I guess I’ve been thinking about my mom lately, because many things I see or think about remind me of her.  She was a meticulous housekeeper and very organized.  She had a place for everything.

We had a closet in a hallway where she kept her brooms, mops, furniture polish, dust cloths, etc.  That closet always smelled like Pledge and this floor wax she used to use.  She was really ahead of her time, because she had hanging in this closet one of those shoe organizers….you know the kind……the ones everyone are using now days to store everything from “soup to nuts”.  I just had to say that, because my mom always said it.  She was the queen of clichés!  This is where she kept her dust cloths, feather duster, and can of Pledge. I’ll bet she was the very first person to use these shoe holders for something other than shoes!

Well, I just LOVE these handy-dandy organizers.  My daughter has one to store

  • her kid’s art supplies in
  • and how about all the bathroom items there is no room for in drawers or even large medicine cabinets
  • You could line your craft closet with these babies and completely fill them
  • I have a potting bench in our garage (I will always love my husband for this), what a neat idea to store little garden tools, garden gloves, shovels, rakes, pruners, spray bottles, etc.
  • Barbies
  • Hair brushes, products and accessories!
  • Spices in a pantry
  • Scrap booking junkies?? Please!
  • Scarves and gloves
  • On and on…….. you’ve seen ‘em

Anyway….my mom’s birthday was last week, Mother’s day is in a couple of weeks, and I thought I would just tell you how smart she was.

Way to go MOM!

P.S.  If you’ve got a mom that hasn’t thought of this fun little organizing gem, it could be a fun surprise for Mother’s Day.

Pocket Organizing Ideas                 Pocket Shoe organizer

And yes, these are veggie plants growing right inside this pocket organizer!

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Linen Closets and Sticky Notes

Beautifully Organized Linen Closets

I love my linen closet.  I wish it was 3 X’s the size, but I love it just the same. There is something nostalgic about my linen closet. It reminds me of my mom.  Her linen closet always smelled freshly different than anywhere else in our home.  And believe me, my mom’s house wouldn’t dare have smelled anything but fresh!

My problem is that I tend to stash in the closet I love so much, a decorating item or two that are random pieces and I have nowhere else to put them.  Candles for example, or a heart-shaped candy dish.  The vases I really want but have no idea where to store.

Well, I decided about 9 months ago to reorganize this beloved closet.  I decided that it was no longer going to be a place for misfits.  So I removed those random items and put them somewhere else.  Come this past February I went to the linen closet to get the light-up heart for my front room window.  I just love that heart, and now I have absolutely no idea where it is!  It’s been in my linen closet since I got it about 6 years ago.  I have not seen another one.  Now, I no longer have a heart!  🙂

See, that’s the problem with reorganizing.  My suggestion to any of you; if you decide to remove an item from its place of several years and store it in a more “suitable” place, grab a sticky note with the instructions where to find said item.  Stick it in the place (in my case, linen closet) where you are sure to search for it the next time the holiday or event rolls around.  If I ever find my heart, it goes right back in my linen closet for safe keeping……..OR I’ll do the sticky note thing.

Take a look at these wonderfully organized linen closets!

linen closet               Linen closet 2           Beautifully Organized Linen Closets