Spice Storage

Under cupboard spice storage system

This is how I store my spices for easy access. It has created extra space on my counter and in my cupboard.

View from the front

Side view

Magnet hot glued to top of spice jar. Labeled at bottom for easy legibility

To make this I attached a piece of sheet metal (2"x48"x1/8") to the underside of the cupboard (I used Elmers Ultimate Glue and had it held in place for 24 hours with c-clamps. (I put newspaper down on the counter and sink to catch drips).

Strong magnets were attached to the lids of spice jars using a hot glue gun. I wrote the spice names on address labels and pasted them on the jars.

When all was dry, the jars were attached to the underside of the cupboard with the magnets. They are easy to retrieve when needed and easy to put back when finished.

Currently there are 20 spice jars (seen here) but I have room for 7 more on this piece of metal and will be adding at least 3 more to this group.

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.

I have arranged the bottles with the ones I use the most closest to the stove (right) and the ones I use the least further from the stove (left) then by category as well (baking, savory, Italian, etc).  You can arrange alphabetically, by colour, by type, or whichever way makes sense to you.

I do have a spice cupboard, that I will be re-organizing in the coming months. In it I keep the rarely used spices as well as the refills for the jars.

See you next Friday!

UPDATE:

I was asked where I picked up the supplies to create this storage solution.

• I had quite a few of the spice jars from a spice rack that we received as a wedding gift 25 years ago. Dollarama sells similar jars and I picked up the extra jars there. 
• The spices are usually picked up at the grocery store or Bulk Barn.
• The metal bar that was glued to the under-cupboard, the C-clamps, and the glue came from Rona 
• The magnets were from Home Hardware
• The glue gun and hot glue were purchased at Michaels Arts & Crafts 

I probably could have purchased all the hardware at Rona or Home Hardware but I did not purchase everything at the same time.

Freezing Chicken Broth

Whenever I cook a whole chicken, or I purchase a pre-cooked whole roasted chicken, I make chicken broth with the leftover bones. My recipe is very similar to this chicken broth recipe. I don't actually follow a recipe. I make several cups of chicken broth at a time. DH likes me to make fresh pastina for him when I make a batch, then I freeze the rest for another time.

I like to freeze the broth in 1 cup amounts. I line coffee cups with a
plastic bag (Ziploc Portion Bags) and pour one cup
amount into each bag-lined cup. If you are careful you can wash and
re-use the bags until they rip.

I freeze the broth.

I then take the bag with the frozen broth out of the cup and tie the top with
a bread tie.

I then place all the frozen broth into a larger freezer bag and put back
in the freezer for when I need them. I defrost as much as I need,
when I need it. I make sure to label the bag with date and contents.

This not only saves money on chicken broth, but you can make healthier, lower salt, lower fat broth. By freezing it in one (1) cup increments they are handy to grab and use, anytime.

I also use this to freeze my favourite home made pasta sauce in the amounts I need for meals.

You can use this method to freeze any sauce, broth, or liquid.

Pantry - Part 2

I am continuing with the pantry this week. Last week we did the top two shelves. I will continue with the next two shelves today.

THIRD SHELF

Before

After

On this shelf there are some containers of dry goods. On the left side are several plastic jars/containers of dry goods such as sugar, flour, rice, and dry lentils (their are more containers behind these ones in front).  On the right side are plastic bins that hold smaller packages and packages of pasta such as linguine, spaghetti, and penne. The top bin holds lunch snacks such as granola bars or oatmeal cookies.

You can see my attempt at labeling these items with a green paint pen. This was before I purchased a label maker. The green paint is wearing off from frequent use. Getting the label maker was an excellent investment and has made organizing easier and more enjoyable for me.

Far Left: Flour, Sugar, Rice, & Dry Lentils

Far Right: Pasta & Lunch Snacks

I'm certain that people with OCD are going crazy that my labels are not perfectly straight and aligned with each container. At one time this would have bothered me as well. However, life is too short to worry about trivial things. Perhaps, once everything is better organized, I'll revisit this and make prettier, straighter, more aligned labels. I'll try to do better on my following projects.

FOURTH SHELF

Before

After

Initially there was a lot of wasted space on this shelf. I decided to move all the vinegar and oil to this shelf, with the items used more often to the front. This is a lower shelf but I can still reach the front items without having to sit on a chair. I would need to sit on a chair to get the items further back.

Because of the arthritis in my back and legs, I keep an old office chair on wheels in the kitchen, so that I can reach the bottom shelves in the pantry, lower cupboards, and refrigerator.

Far Left: Oils and Vinegars

Far Right: Miscellaneous Extra Stuff (Storage)

On the far right I took advantage of the space to store some extra items that would normally be kept elsewhere, such are extra mayonnaise and peanut butter.

I want to get some of Alejandra's suggested systems and gadgets to enhance my pantry experience. I have added these to my wish list. Some time in the future I will revisit my pantry and implement a different (and hopefully, prettier and better) system. However, for now, it may not be beautiful, but it is mine, and it is working for us.

I hope you are still with me on the journey. Please subscribe to this blog so you do not miss the upcoming posts. I have several posts planned for the upcoming weeks, including one on paper clutter that I am sure you will enjoy.

Here, for your pleasure, is another video on pantry organization by DoItOnADime:


See you next Friday!

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.

The Pantry

When thinking about organizing my pantry I drool over Alejandra's pantry organization and dream of mine being as beautiful as her's (see video, below).



Then, reality sets in. I don't have the space she has, nor the disposable income (at this time) to get all the cool gadgets and organizing systems she uses. I did, finally, get a label maker, and that has made a huge difference in the organizing process. Not only do I have visual reminders of where things are and go, but my family can now find things without asking me (ha!).

This is what I have come up with, for now:

First, the BEFORE shots:

BEFORE

BEFORE

As shown above, things are just thrown in, willy-nilly, any old place that there was space. There was no reason or rhyme to this system. Actually, "system" is too strong a word for what we had here.

Now, let's look at each shelf, individually. We will start at the top and work our way down (I mean top shelf, not top of stand-alone pantry. I have not even looked at what is sitting on top of this unit,

TOP SHELF

Before

After

The top shelf is for mainly canned goods and other items that I need to see well or I use often.

I have divided the top shelf into three zones. The far left is for canned gravy, soup, and miscellaneous canned and jarred goods (tuna, sweet peppers, etc.)

Far Left: Gravy, Soup, & Misc.

 The center of the shelf has canned beans, legumes, and tomatoes.

Center: Beans, Legumes, and Tomatoes

The far right is for all the coffee and tea. I have put most of these in a nice wicker basket that is easy to pull out and look through as we need them. I have the coffee we use the most right out front. We only drink tea occasionally so I put those in the basket, as well as the extra coffee, and hot chocolate.

Far Right: Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate

SECOND SHELF

Before

After

On the second shelf I have added some miscellaneous helpers and odd pasta with cereal and oatmeal on the opposite side. Originally all these items were in nooks and crannies wherever there was a space. The cereal was in two different locations and the instant oatmeal was usually pushed to the back and forgotten.

Far Left: Helpers, Grains, and Misc. Pasta

At the far left we have helpers, grains, and misc. pasta in a easy to pull out plastic bin.  This keeps the bags and small packages contained.

Far Right: Cereal & Oatmeal

On the far right I have all our cereals and instant oatmeal packets. Before, we had some cereal on this shelf and the rest on different places in the kitchen. Now we can see how much cereal we have left and can have more choices as well.

To Be Continued...(Next Friday)

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.

Update 31 Day Organizational Challenge: Failure!

Well, perhaps "Failure" is too strong a word. But, basically, I did not come close to meeting the goal of getting the spare room emptied out and reorganized.  

The excuses are many:

• My son was not around enough
• My husband was home for two weeks
• My arthritis was paining me bad
• We got a new bird that needed attention

But, the truth is, I just did not go in that room and do more work on my own.

Spare Room Before

Spare Room After

However, I did:

• Work on the pantry (Kitchen)
• Clear everything from behind and under the computer desk (living room)
• Cleared the bottom shelf for the computer desk (living room)
• Organized pill cupboard (Kitchen)
• Cleared boxes so that the bird cage could be moved (Living/Dining Room)

Bird Cage Area Before

Bird Cage Area After

There is so much to still be done and I hope you will remain with me on my journey. I am not giving up on the spare room, nor any other room in this apartment. I will continue, even if the official challenge is over.

Thank you for joining me on this journey.

Questions Laura (OrgJunkie.com) asked us to answer:

1. What space did you decide to organize and why?

I decided to clear out and organize our "Spare Room" because it has been used as a storage space and junk room for too long. I want to eventually turn it into a spare/guest bedroom that our son can use when he is here and to finally have overnight guests when he is not.  Also, we have a storage locker we are paying for and I want to empty it and bring the rest of the stuff here to be sorted, put away, given away, thrown away. This would be a perfect staging area to do that (before it becomes the guest bedroom). We have a lot of stuff that needs to be culled, currently in the room, and in the storage locker (as well as the rest of the apartment, but none is as horrific as this room).

2. What steps did you take to ensure you completed the space within the 31 day timeline?

I had planned on 15 to 30 minutes per day. However, this did not happen.

3. What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and how did you overcome it?

The hardest part of this challenge was having to wait on our son in order to get this room cleared. He insisted on being part of the process as much of the "junk" is his and he wanted to be the one to decide what is thrown out, given away, or put away.  He is not physically here most of the time so we were not able to get into the room as often as I had hoped. I did not overcome it. 

4. What did you do with the “stuff” you were able to purge out of your newly organized space?

Much of what we did remove was thrown out, down the garbage chute of our building. Some was put in a "give away" bag to be taken to a local charity. The "to keep" items were put in a "to keep" box that will then be put away when we have more room cleared out.

5. Tell me one of your proudest moments during this challenge?

One of my proudest moments was when our son went and did work in the room without being asked or prodded by me. Also, when we saw the floor.

6. Explain any organizing “tools” you used to help you create additional space and to establish some limits and boundaries?

We really did not get that far with this challenge. Basically: - we used a timer to keep us focused  - had a throw away, give away, and put away box/bag for things as we went through them - we immediately discarded the trash bags as they filled to keep us from going through them again - we put the give away bags by the front door as they filled and took them out to the vehicle when we next went out, and dropped them off with the charity as we were doing our errands (so they would be gone).

7. What is ONE piece of organizing advice you've learned on this journey that you could encourage someone else with?

Do things that you do not have to count on someone else to accomplish. This way you get more  done, and start seeing results sooner. Once you have done that, then, if you need to work with someone, you will feel better about the whole venture. Set a timer to keep focused. Don't kick yourself if you did not accomplish everything at once. Do a little at a time. It will get done. 

DO NOT GIVE UP! 

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.

Update #3 of 31 Day Challenge

New Bird

Well, dear readers, I am cheating today. The photo, below, is not in the spare bedroom but rather one wall in the dining/living area.

Before

It has been a crazy week. Our son was quite ill this week so we did not get a chance to get into the spare room. Also, we adopted a new bird. We needed to move her cage from the far end (and in the way of the doorway/walkway) to where all these boxes are (front of photo).  AND, to add to my joy (sarcasm) the monitor on my computer kept shutting down and would not come back on.

It kept "going to sleep" but would not "wake up". I spent several hours trying everything I could think of to get it up and running again, including pulling the computer desk away from the wall and unplugging each plug, cleaning it, and re-plugging them back in. While at it I added labels to all the plugs so now we will know which plug goes to which device.

Eventually, the combination of everything I did, plus some crazy computer magic, my monitor came on and I was able to finally come back on to work (and to do this update). 

After

We moved the new bird's cage to where the boxes were. Now she is closer to the family action and her cage is not in the way of walking. Her cage is the one with the cover on it. She used to be covered at night where she used to live. However, we do not cover our birds at night and are going to see how she does without being covered.

Despite not working on the spare bedroom, I feel good. The area that did get done was on my list of areas to clear out. This area is now almost done (we still have 3 boxes... not including the ones in the hall...to go through).

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.

The purpose of the 31 Day Organizational Challenge is to get areas organized, in particular ones that we have been procrastinating about. So, I believe this counts in the spirit of the challenge.

Spare Room Update #2 for 31 Day Challenge

It certainly is going slowly. I am not sure this room will be completed in the allotted time frame. However, I am not going to give up. To paraphrase FlyLady: "Progress not Perfection - 15 Minutes at a Time!"

We did manage to get in the room a couple more times. Although there is still much to do, it is getting better. We are making progress. The thought of reclaiming this room warms my heart.

Original Before Photo

After a few more sessions in the spare room

Next, we will start tackling some of the boxes. We will be so pleased when this room is cleared and usable. It will be great for my son to have a room he can call his own when he is here, and it will be a great guest room when he is not.

Thank you for all your support.

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.