Days 3 - 5 of the 91 Day De-Clutter Challenge Week #1: Kitchen & Pantry

Pantry, Cabinets, Drawers

I have already worked over my pantry, cabinets, and drawers not too long ago. You can see these posts here:

• The Pantry (post 1)
• The Pantry (post 2)
• The Spice Cupboard
• The Storage Cupboard
• The Gadget Drawer

Now, I am not quite finished with all the cupboards, nor all the drawers, however I had a bit more work this week than I originally expected and was unable to get to all the things I had planned in the kitchen. Mind you, I still have a couple of days to go.

In order so you have something to look at, here is a video of our bird, Taz, rearranging my gadget drawer:


Taz is a Senegal parrot. She is 18 years-old in this video. She has been living with us for approximately 6 months now. She is a plucker but we are trying to gently break her of that habit. Her feathers are growing back, but some will never grow back. Taz is a good girl and a very happy and healthy bird.

My husband came into the kitchen with Taz and she decided to help me with my gadget drawer.  She was being totally adorable and active. She slowed down when she saw I was filming and picked up again when I put my iPhone down. (All those measuring spoons went through the dishwasher after she was through with them.)

I need to re-arrange my kitchen to add a computer desk and work station in it. I will take the rest of this week to do that and will post about as soon as I can.

Gadget Drawer

BEFORE --> Extreme Chaos

Every time I opened this drawer I would cringe at the mess. I had to dig around to find anything. It has been on my to-do list to organize for a long time.

I picked up 4 plastic drawer organizers from Dollarama (a dollar store). I still need another, shorter, more square one to replace the red mesh basket that I have squished back in to hold my measuring spoons.

Plastic Drawer Organizer from Dollarama

AFTER --> Better

I may get one more of the long plastic drawer organizer, instead, for the measuring spoons and put those measuring cups in front of that.

The most used gadgets and measuring spoons are closer to the front of the drawer. The items that are used less are further back, but still within reach. I got rid of any gadgets I never use. There were some items in this drawer that are better kept elsewhere, such as plastic cutlery and larger knives.

That red mesh basket is bothering me, however, it will have to do for now, until I can get out again to get another clear plastic organizer.  Once I have this drawer more how I envisioned it, I will add sticky-tac to the bottom of the plastic organizers to keep them from shifting, and add labels to help me remember everything's place in the drawer.

I do use a lot of measuring spoons when I cook, but I may cull these a bit more.  I have a touch-less can opener and my garlic press together right behind the measuring spoons because I use those nearly every day.

This drawer will be revisited in the future, after I have lived with it for a while, to see what works and what does not.

If you have any ideas about organizing the gadget drawer, please feel free to share them with us.

If you are just getting started with Evernote, I suggest that you buy Brett Kelly’s remarkably practical e-book, Evernote Essentials, Second Edition. It is worth setting aside a couple hours to work through this brief, 95-page book. It will save you DAYS of learning Evernote on your own.

See you next Friday.