This weekend, we had just one goal:
Set up the new place.
…with the aid of a couple beverages. =)
First up, in today’s post: the kitchen pictures. If you recall, it looked like this last week:
Saturday morning, I got my organization on after a trip to Solutions – a huge home organization store similar to The Container Store in the US.
Eric took one look at my loot and laughed.
“Since when did you turn into an organizer?”
I tried to tell him with a straight face that I’ve always been organized, but I just couldn’t.
People can change!
I also couldn’t bring myself to take our old, gross plastic cutlery tray with us, so I took this opportunity to start fresh with a bamboo cutlery tray.
So easy…so rewarding…
Ugly, bagged spices now hide on the side of the fridge to free up a drawer:
What do we have here? St Patrick’s Day stickers, Valentine’s Day cupcake liners, candy molds, and onion goggles.
Sounds about right.
After:
Ok, I could probably do better than that…but I won’t.
Spice cabinet before:
and After…with mini turn tables for easier locating spices:
Thanks for the ideas on the turntables, by the way. Love them!
I put a shelf extender in the dish cabinet to fit an extra row of dishes. Now there is just enough space.
I also picked up this container to store my measuring cups and small kitchen things.
Yes, that’s a lot of measuring cups! You’d be surprised though…some days I easily dirty all of them.
Eric also had this great idea to store my “rarely used” dishes on top of the cabinets, saving me a ton of cabinet space. In addition to my casserole dishes, I put a wok, huge salad bowl, and empty mason jars on top.
You can see the storage in this photo below:
We also set up Grundtal Ikea shelves for my mason jar storage, so they didn’t have to be crammed in the cupboard anymore (thanks to Emily for the idea!!).
They come in 120 cm and 80 cm lengths and we opted for the 80cm. I grabbed matching hooks for the bottom so I could hang my apron and other things. Apparently, Eric is using it for his sunglasses and keys too….you’re on my turf, Liddon. ;)
I was so nervous that the shelves were going to break, but they are very sturdy. I just hope Sketchie doesn’t try to jump up…
Top shelf (left to right): Rolled oats, millet, walnuts, pecans, raw buckwheat groats, speltberries
Bottom shelf: Pearled barley, dried chickpeas, raw almonds, short grain brown rice, red lentils, raw cashews, and hemp seed.
I have a few more jars stored in the cupboard, but it has opened up a lot of cupboard space. Two thumbs up!
You know, initially I was worried about transitioning into a smaller kitchen (I was spoiled with the size and storage space in our old house), but with a few adjustments I’ve cozied right into this space and love it more each day.
I ended Day #1 with Sketchie cuddles on his favourite “blankie” (Eric’s sweater), and he was a happy cat once again.
Coming up: Living/dining area, laundry, and hallways.
{ 136 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow, great storage ideas! It looks so neat and organized!
your new place looks so nice!! I love all of the storage/space saver ideas!
I love, love, love the idea of the mason jars on display with all of your grains/rice/dried beans/etc. Great idea!! Nice work! I also like the idea of the shelf divider, totally gives you double the space!
Also, why do I not have onion goggles? I usually just have tears streaming down my face and I eventually have to stop once I can no longer see haha.
I love what you did with your kitchen. The shelving unit for your jars is so pretty! I really need to get something like that for all my dried foods!
You look absolutely beautiful in that last pic with Sketchie :) And your kitchen- WOW! Stunning!
I purchased the same shelves this past summer and had the same concerns about their stability – until we had an earthquake on the east coast one week later! I figure that since they withstood an earthquake, they’re up for good :)
great job on downsizing. with a kitchen that always hurts but it keeps us honest about what we really use. :-) I can’t wait to see what magic you work here xx
I love organization, but I am horrible about actually implementing it. I love seeing before/after photos though. They are an inspiration to get my things in order!
Love Solutions (I bet you were at the Burloak one which is across from my office!). And Kitchen Stuff Plus. That is your kind of store! You found great ways to free up space in your kitchen and the mason jars make a cool decorating technique!
Wow, hello beautiful kitchen! I am a little OCD organized and love your ideas :)
P.S. I used to work at The Container Store and would make lists in my mind of what I would buy if I had an unlimited budget and the space :P
It looks great! I love the ball jar idea!! So cute and easy to use the goodies inside! :)
I have never, ever heard of onion goggles!!!! Where can I get some? I am pathetic chopping onions-I mean, it is really bad!
haha Im not sure where my mom got them, but I think it was a kitchen store :)
My friend Brit Tomren loves your sight and I can see why. I put my big serving dishes and platters on top of my kitchen cabinets also, but because they get covered in dust and I hate washing them I cover them with saran wrap. When I’m cooking those big family dinners like thanksgiving and Easter it’s one less job to do, I just bring them down and remove the plastic; ta da they are clean and ready to use. Brittany is alway trying your recipes and getting me to try them,3 years ago it was very hit and miss but now she is a great baker so I know I can learn from your sight.
Thank you Jane, enjoy the recipes!
Beautiful kitchen and organized, too! I love what you’ve done with the spices; I assume that you’re so familiar with the spices that you can probably identify them by sight rather than relying on the labels (which look like they’re hidden unless you pull out the spice).
My only real concern is the mason jar shelf because there’s no basket to prevent something from tipping them over onto the ground. Though the shelf is sturdy, you must keep in mind that those jars are glass which may turn out to be quite dangerous at that height.
On a side note, where do you buy all those mason jars? I’ve been wanting some for storage and homemade fermented foods…
Best of luck on the rest of the move!
Nevermind about not seeing the labels! I just noticed that those spices are magnetically sticking on your fridge rather than placed into round slots in a cabinet as I had originally assumed.
loving this new series of posts! i love seeing more about your life :)
great job with the kitchen!!!
You kitchen looks fabulous! So much space, can’t wait for you to photograph some yummy new recipes in your new kitchen:)
Oh wow! I can’t even begin to tell you how inspirational this post has been for me! I booked the day off tomorrow to do the same! :) Perfect timing!
I love these ideas for the spices and mason jars. It gives me some good ideas on how I can free up space in my itsy-bitsy New York City kitchen. I’m buying magnet spice containers today.
I love to see how other people organize their spaces. You’ve got great ideas! Just a quick aside, the hemp seeds I have say they want to be kept in the fridge.
Aw yes you are right about keeping the hemp seeds chilled! Whoops :)
I like it! And I really like the mason jars on the wall – I buy so much stuff in bulk, it would be so great not to have my kitchen cupboard overflowing with the goods like it already is :) can’t wait to see more of the house!
It’s looking great! Love those mason jars on the wall. When I have a kitchen with wall space I’m putting all my spices up like that.
Looks great. I get a kick out of organizing rooms, not that anyone would know it by looking at my place. New spaces are great for that. Clean slate. Fresh space to make how you want. Eventually chaos resumes. It’s easier to subsequently move when you’re renting your living space. :)
There must be something going around – I also organized my kitchen cupboard this weekend on a random urge. I jarred up a bunch of random bags of dried goods like rice & beans. So much nicer in the jars!!
It’s looking good. I really like all of the great storage solutions you’ve come up with.
Looks great! I love *looking* at pictures of organization…. but I can never bring myself to apply things I see to myself. :P I don’t have a real excuse other than the fact that I know I won’t be living in my apartment forever (says the girl who’s almost been here three years). Oh well, for now I’ll just have to live vicariously through neat and tidy bloggers. :)
Lookin’ great, Ange! (I’m still coveting those onion goggles!) :)
Great idea with the shelves and spice jars on the fridge! I can’t wait to try this in my tiny kitchen! Love the Yellow Tail too, it’s my fav ;)
I’m with Cathy above, we have the exact same ktichen too..just moved into our house 6 mos ago and it’s a much smaller kitchen. I am so getting the mini spice turntables for our cubbards!
I’m jelouse! I keep wanting to get the new place ALL done, but something always comes up!
I love all these organization ideas! I could seriously use them because my apartment kitchen is TINY. Not to mention I have to share it with a roommate, which makes it even harder. Our cupboard space wasn’t enough, so I had to buy an entire shelving unit to put against one wall in order to accommodate all of our stuff! :P
Very nice! I love the way the mason jars look on the shelves!
FYI though, hemp seeds should be kept refrigerated! :)
Love the shelves!! Hope the move is going well!
I’ve been reading your blog for years but noticed that you were featured on Healthy Bitch Daily… your gluten-free brownie recipe :) You’re all over the place!!!
Check it out here-
http://www.healthybitchdaily.com/post/vegan-and-gluten-free-brownies
Your skin is incredibly gorgeous! Are the Green Monsters your only secret or do you have amazing skincare products as well? Please do share! :)
Thank you Jessica. to be honest, I don’t do much to my skin…the thing I do regularly though is exfoliate 3-4 times per week.
Looks great- have a friend who is tossed about her spice cabinet chaos…will pass on to her for some ideas.
Organization is absolutely the best!! I love using Mason jars to organize things, especially grains and beans.
I think your tidy, adorable kitchen has inspired me to pull things together this weekend. After I moved, for whatever reason, things just never got put into proper places and I think it’s time to change that!
I have those Ikea Grundtal shelves and absolutely love them :) I’ve got one row like yours with nuts and dried fruit in big jars, and the hanging rail underneath, and another set of smaller shelves with spice jars that I have filled with chia seeds and carob powder and various other non-spice things. I used to worry about the big ones falling but they seem pretty sturdy!
I also love shelf extenders, except I use them in the pantry for stacking tins up to extreme levels :)
Your new kitchen looks wonderful, you’ve done a really great job!
Love what you’ve done! Especially like the spice container magnets and the shelves for dry goods!
Nice work! So much fun to set up a new kitchen work space! Enjoy!
Love the magnetic spice things…I NEED those! And the turntable things…
I’m also in the process of moving to a smaller place so these posts are super useful! And just really fun to read. :)
Wow! Great progress! I’m enjoying seeing the new place come together :)
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