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Today I was washing the saucer my bottle of oil sits on and it made me wonder how many others do the same thing.  For syrup or oil, I set them on a saucer in the cupboard to keep the shelves clean.  It's slick as a whistle and so much easier washing the plate periodically than scrubbing the shelves.  

 

What ideas can you come up with?  I'd love to find more!

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I keep all of my filled canning jars in the original boxes on the shelf. I can stack them two high, but I have to pull the bottom ones forward every once in a while to see how many "empty" spaces there are. (By empty spaces I mean slots that are occupied by empty jars.) 

I also stack/pack all of my purchased goods in boxes on the shelves. It is much easier to pull a box forward than to try and keep cans stacked on one another without falling over, etc.

Most of my "dry goods" have been repackaged into glass containers: easy to see what is in them, and bug proof to boot! 

My kitchen cabinets are similar to the pantry - except I use plastic containers; some have plastic storage containers, others have the lids for the containers, one has my pot lids in it. Then there are the ones that have all the pieces to my "small appliances." All the chopping and grating tools are in one basket, the mandolin and its blades are in another, and the spice grinder and "bullet" style mixer/blender/grater are in another.

I use the paper sized baskets in my fridge. All I have to do is pull a basket forward to see what is stored at the back of a shelf! And, yes, it is easier to clean a basket than it is a refrigerator shelf!

And, as crazy as it sounds, I have a small (metal) organizer rack (3 tier) that is meant for the bathroom sitting on the counter next to my stove. I use it as a spice rack!!!

Oh, and I just purchased an over the toilet storage rack that is being used in my kitchen. There is a very short wall that was basically wasted space - but not any more! And the best part is, the bit open space at the bottom is where my Eye Vac is sitting. You could probably also fit a tall kitchen trash can there.

 

I am the queen of repurposing items for other uses than what they were created for. :darlenequeen:

 

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Wow Midnightmom, you are so very organized.  I love all your ideas!  I do have a question.  What are paper sized baskets?

 

Buttercup, I've never done this, but I have loved looking at hanging pots, utensils, etc. in kitchens through the years.  So many of the expensive homes in magazines and movies have them.  Yours is so cool! And the lights just set it off.

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I decided to add some pics of what I was talking about in my previous post.....................

 

On 4/1/2022 at 2:36 AM, Midnightmom said:

I keep all of my filled canning jars in the original boxes on the shelf. I can stack them two high, but I have to pull the bottom ones forward every once in a while to see how many "empty" spaces there are. (By empty spaces I mean slots that are occupied by empty jars.) 

IMG_20220402_212442914.thumb.jpg.8fdd532ce63289b1add592c80ec8d0df.jpg

 

 

On 4/1/2022 at 2:36 AM, Midnightmom said:

I also stack/pack all of my purchased goods in boxes on the shelves. It is much easier to pull a box forward than to try and keep cans stacked on one another without falling over, etc.

IMG_20220402_212412427.thumb.jpg.ce903637b979bfa3b5a6bbc40ce2bf74.jpg

 

 

On 4/1/2022 at 2:36 AM, Midnightmom said:

My kitchen cabinets are similar to the pantry - except I use plastic containers. Some have plastic storage containers, others have the lids for the containers, one has my pot lids in it. Then there are the ones that have all the pieces to my "small appliances." All the chopping and grating tools are in one basket, the mandolin and its blades are in another, and the spice grinder and "bullet" style mixer/blender/grater are in another.

IMG_20220402_211838564.thumb.jpg.96dd45b3e4bd495fee1617edc8256a5c.jpg

 

IMG_20220402_212009437.thumb.jpg.5f49ca10051c89c06f3ebc9652d14c5d.jpg 

 

 

This is the skinny cabinet between the sink area and the stove. It is where I keep my spices.

IMG_20220402_212137172.thumb.jpg.ff288d97791b4210bad1d00a72358a32.jpg

 

 

On 4/1/2022 at 2:36 AM, Midnightmom said:

I use the paper sized baskets in my fridge. All I have to do is pull a basket forward to see what is stored at the back of a shelf! And, yes, it is easier to clean a basket than it is a refrigerator shelf!

 

IMG_20220402_212046871.thumb.jpg.778f38d4253523181d2af3e81bdefebe.jpg

 

 

On 4/1/2022 at 2:36 AM, Midnightmom said:

Oh, and I just purchased an over the toilet storage rack that is being used in my kitchen. There is a very short wall that was basically wasted space - but not any more! And the best part is, the big open space at the bottom is where my Eye Vac is sitting. You could probably also fit a tall kitchen trash can there.

ETA: One or the other, but not both.

IMG_20220402_212244845.thumb.jpg.a4767c6e55929dd16011c5c61151b340.jpg

 

 

A lot of the times that I go grocery shopping I also go "box shopping" because I use boxes everywhere to keep my stuff organized - even in the freezer(s)!

I find that I can get more items into my freezer and not have to worry about items falling out and hitting my toes if they are in boxes because they keep the contents within their edges. I can also "organize" the boxes by type of content - meat, veggies, butter, leftovers, etc - and I can move boxes that contain similar items and not have to look through individual packages, and have to re-stack everything when I am done. I use this same strategy in my chest freezer - it makes is so much easier to dig for what is in the bottom if I can move multiple items out of the way in one motion.

IMG_20220402_212102076.thumb.jpg.9567a29bbacb6a8e36c71770a349658a.jpg

 

Edited by Midnightmom
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Midnightmom.  I am impressed.  No, I am more than impressed, I am envious.  I have my cupboards, freezers, and etc organized but not  easily enough for me to find things from the wheelchair.  You have inspired me to find ways to reorganize so I am not constantly relying on DH to get things for me.  I see a trip to the five quarter store in my near future!  :happy0203:   :sSig_thankyou:

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I use those plastic bins with the handles on the highest shelves in my kitchen cabinets to hold packets of gravy mixes, crackers, cake mixes, boxes of gelatin and pudding, and other light things. I'm very short, but I can reach high enough on tip-toe to snag the handle on the bins. I'm fully utilizing the space and don't have to drag the stepladder over to reach them. 

 

My counter vaulting days are long over, and my hips and knees don't like trying to stand on a chair. 

 

In the fridge, I use the thin cutting mats (they were 2 in a pack for $1  at the Dollar Tree when I got them) to line the shelves to catch drips, like under the iced tea pitcher.  They are clear enough to allow light to pass through the glass shelves and easy to clean. 

 

I love me some dollar-store bins and organizers. The magazine file holders are perfect for vertical storage of paper paper plates, easy to pull out a plate. Like Midnightom, I also use plastic bins to corral and catch drips from my oils and vinegars. 

 

I love this thread! :sSig_thankyou:

 

Edited to add pictures instead of just links. 

 

image.thumb.png.919eaa712a9bb29f73951ecc80e222a2.png

 

image.thumb.png.33d33fbd0533270de6f76e810668c1ac.png

 

 

 

Edited by Cricket
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Important kitchen tip! We replaced the plastic L-pins holding the kitchen cabinet shelves with metal ones after one of my shelves collapsed. Fortunately, I didn't lose any mason jars of dehydrated foods, but a canister full of popcorn crashed and broke, showering my stove and kitchen with kernels.

 

I wasn't hurt, but it was pretty scary when the shelf full of jars and canisters came crashing down on me. :imoksmiley:

 

It's been nearly a year, and I'm still finding popcorn kernels. 

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I am so excited about all these hacks.  You ladies are all so ingenious!!!  I can't leave things out in the open that mice will get into  (Living on a farm where we grow corn, it's hard to keep the darn things out) but I can see how all of these hack's work for other things.  I love this!!!

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These are some great ideas! I don't really feel as though I have any organizational hacks to pass along. My house is a 2-family that we have always used as a 1-family. There are two kitchens and I utilize one as a pantry. We have lots of cabinet space but the cabinets are odd and deep. To me, they'd be better for a workshop, rather than a kitchen! One of my daughters shared that she uses clear plastic bins to keep her fridge and freezer organized. She has 5 children and hates when they rummage around trying to find something. I bought some of the bins that she uses last week and have installed them in the freezer of my small refrigerator. I still have more of them to use in our larger fridge. I expected them to allow me to put more stuff in the freezer, but they actually caused less stuff to fit. They organize no better than any of the cheaper bins and things that you've all shared. I think that I got a bad deal!

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This does not compute. It's way too organized for me and stresses me just looking at it lolol. I've lived in organized chaos for so long that the thought of endless hours organizing to a T, and then keeping that organization up, is too big for my brain lol.

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