Day 8

 

AnExtraordinaryDay.net {Day 8} 31 Extraordinary Days {Organize the Nest for Fall}This post contains affiliate links.  When you click on these links I may receive compensation at no extra cost to you.  

Fall is about nesting.

 

It’s a time when we fluff and make our homes cozy for the cooler weather ahead.  Some of us even change-up our decor and bring in the season’s harvest of pumpkins and gourds and Indian corn.

It’s also a good time to do a little reorganizing.  Most of us like to spend as much time outside as possible in the summer.  (Unless you live where it was unbearably hot this summer, that is.)  In our haste to get out the door, we may let the little things slide, behind closed cupboard and closet doors.

I really do believe that it is the little things that make our homes more lovely and peaceful.  And as we prepare for some significant holidays in the upcoming months, let’s take a few moments to get our homes in shape behind the scenes.  After all… who wants to open a cupboard and have things pour out into the bowl of batter?

 

Today…..let me share with you a few of my simple organizational tips for the kitchen.
Perfect for fall nesting.

 

Of all the homes in which I’ve lived….this one has the smallest kitchen.  It’s a challenge.

I needed to make the most of my limited cabinet space
so I enlisted the help of a few small lazy Susans.   {31 Extraordinary Days} Organizing the Nest for Fall | Double Decker Lazy Susan

 

Currently, I employ a lazy Susan in the cabinet near the stove.  It has my cooking oils, honey, vinegar, extracts, and other bottles that need to be stored in the cabinet.  It works great because I don’t have to rearrange the cupboard to get to what I need.  A little spin and everything is at my fingertips.  And if there’s a spill…it’s contained by the lazy Susan’s lip.

In another cupboard, I have a double-decker lazy Susan.  This one is filled with herbs and spices and all the little jars are readily accessible with the quick flip of my wrist.

 

 

 

31 Extraordinary Days {Organize the Nest for Fall} Wire shelf cupboard organizer

 

 

Then there’s the dish cupboard.  I really need a bank of cupboards for all my dishes, but I have found that a few little additions to the cupboard can really help me utilize every square inch of space.

 

Plastic coated wire shelves are just the thing.  They allow me to stack a set of bread plates and small cereal bowls over a set of luncheon plates.  It is a huge space saver.

 

 

 

31 Extraordinary Days {Organize the Nest for Fall} Under the shelf rack

 

 

Though I am not currently using an under the shelf wire rack, they are great for providing an extra small shelf for cups or mugs, or paper plates and napkins in the dish cupboard, or in the baking cabinet storing measuring cups.

 

 

 

 

My pocket Nikon wouldn’t have been able to capture my cupboards on this gloomy gray day.  Thanks, Martha Stewart for the great professional photos!

 

While we’re in the kitchen,  it’s a good time to pull out any pantry supplies, check the dates, and dispose of those past their prime.  This is especially important after a season of warm weather.   Grains actually have a very short shelf life.  Many staples such as oatmeal will have gotten stale, actually rancid.  So if you’ve had them in the cupboard since spring, you’ll want to purchase fresh grains for a hearty season of cooking.

Take a few minutes to remove everything from a cupboard, wipe down the shelves with sudsy water, wipe dry, and place a few bay leaves on the shelves to keep the grain bugs out,  just in case.

You can spend as much or as little time as you like freshening and organizing the kitchen.  But, whatever you do, these simple doable tips really help bring organization to our kitchens and peace to our lives.  And that’s a good thing.  Especially since we’ll probably be in the kitchen a whole lot in the next few months.

A few inexpensive purchases and a little bit of time gives each of us An Extraordinary Day.

Why be ordinary when you can be extraordinary!

 

What is your biggest organizing dilemma?
Which room in your house needs the most help?

 

Join me each day in October for…

AnExtraordinaryDay.net | 31 Extraordinary Days | October 2012

 

Happy Nesting!

Diane

This is the eighth post in a series, 31 Extraordinary Days.
Click here to see a list of all the posts, updated daily.

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Comments

  1. Jean says

    We have the same wire coated shelves for our dishes! I’ve been struggling to find a place for the lids to my husband’s travel coffee mugs as they are the ONLY coffee mugs he will use but I think an under the shelf wire rack just may be the answer!

    • Diane says

      How fun that I just might have helped you find a solution to your dilemma!!
      Happy Monday Jean! Hope you have a wonderfully extraordinary week!

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  1. […]  As my blog was pretty new then, you probably didn’t see that post.  Click here to read Organize the Nest for Fall for some really practical Fall Nesting […]

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