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.
Love, love, love the personal posts! Can’t wait to see what you’ve done with the rest of the place!
I second this! It’s nice to get a peak behind the scenes.
Thank you, that’s good to know. :)
I agree as well :-)
I third it! Wow — you go, girl!
Definitely! And thanks for the bonus pic of happy you and happy Sketchie :)
Sketchie is so cute. He looks pleased that things are finally coming together. I love the spices on the fridge! That’s a great idea!
The kitchen looks beautiful- I am very impressed with your organizational skills! I especially like the turntable for spices. I should think about doing that, because my spice collection is huge and completely disorganized.
Ooooh lookin’ fine!! I love your jars on the shelf on the wall – I wish I had enough wall space in my kitchen to do that! And snap on the magnetic labeled spice jars – aren’t they great!!? Your kitchen is looking awesome Ange. Bet you can’t wait to start cooking!
I LOVE organizing and you did a fantastic job! I’m currently living in a furnished rental apartment until I graduate in May and then moving into my own real apartment where I can decorate and organize until my heart is content. I am definitely going to try the mason jar storage on those shelves; it’s both aesthetically pleasing and an efficient use of space! I think it would also be a good place for me to store all of my work supplies (paper clips, pens, highlighters, etc). I think it’d be fun to do a similar thing with different bath salts and bath gels in my future bathroom. Ideas are brewing! Looks beautiful!
Oh that reminds me…Ikea has matching hanging baskets that can be hooked onto the base of the shelves too (and a spice rack as you will see in Emily’s post!). I think I might get a basket to put sunglasses, mail, and keys :)
Love the idea of the bathroom shelving and using it for bath salts etc!!
where on earth did you get those magnetic spice tins on the side of your fridge? did you make them yourself? they’re absolutely ADORABLE. i’m always looking for new ways to store spices because i have a very small kitchen and need to maximize use of space. currently, the bagged stuff is in baby food jars left over from my kids younger years, but i love the idea of putting them on the side of the fridge like that.
I love the idea of the magnet on the side of the fridge too. It’s hidden away and you don’t really notice it until you are looking at it. The tins are from the Solutions store, although I’ve seen them many places. Ikea has them as well (I got larger ones there, but I assume they have small ones too) and I think home hardware/organizational type places have them too. Kitchen Stuff Plus, etc.
Have you gone to Nzyme in downtown Oakville yet? It seems like a place you’d like!
(I work downtown)
Hey Christine, My friend and I were going to meet for lunch there last week, but we found out that Nzyme closed down! I found this out on their facebook page…and their phone number was disconnected. I wonder if they will re-open as they said it was due to a family emergency (end of January)
Oh that’s so disappointing! My friend and I were going to go there too but she goes to school out of the country so we were planning on going in the summer.. I was hoping for a review!
Oh well there’s always whole foods
You’ve been a busy bee! LOVE the Sketchie photo. :)
–Jaclyn T
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LOVE that mason jar storage idea! I need to find a spot to do that in my kitchen.
Don’t you love how much more settled you feel when the kitchen is in order?
my cats would be aaaaaallllllllll oooooooooovvvvvvvveeeeeeerrrrrrrr those shelves!! The spice tins are great too!! Gives me hope for my small spaces… : p
Sketchie looks exceedingly happy… : )
hah that’s what I’m worried about! I guess time will tell…
It’s looking great! I’m spoiled with my current kitchen too. I actually still have 2 full cabinets of empty space. If we ever downsize (which I would like to in the next place), I’m in for a surprise.
That is AWESOME! The organization will so come in handy especially as you’re whipping up all of those great recipes for your cookbook! You’ll come to appreciate it. I’m jealous of all of your drawer space. Drawers suffered for us in our kitchen remodel.
I just noticed your avatar changed from 195 lb lost to 200 lbs. Congrats! (And sorry for seeming like such a creeper, but you’re making awesome progress!)
Aww, thanks! It’s much appreciated!
Your kitchen looks great! I especially love the little turntables for the spices and that ikea shelf for the mason jars. I’m sort of ocd about being organized, so this post was right up my alley and gave me some great ideas for my own smaller kitchen!
Looks great. I love organizing. :)
I LOVE looking through kitchens, and I gotta say, those shelves with the mason jars – LOVE! Wish I had someone to put them in my kitchen! Good job on the organizing, I agree, people can change. ;)
im glad you have faith in me ;)
Your kitchen looks fab! I’ll be moving in a couple months and I’m going to use this as inspiration for creative space for storing all of my kitchen gadgets. Everything is always overflowing and I hate clutter. I love the Ikea shelves and all the accessories that you can get for them; great find by Emily! Thanks for sharing :)
Those spice containers are great! What a clever idea. I try to be organized – this is great inspiration. So fun to see how you make use of storage space!
I looooove the mason jar shelf!! I was surprised when we moved into our place that it has much more storage than I thought. It’s not the biggest kitchen ever, but sometimes I swear it has just as much storage as my mom’s kitchen which has more leg room in it than hours…or maybe I just have a lot less stuff than her ;)
Aww, to Sketchie. I really need to get a cat ASAP…I’d love to steal my mom’s fluffball, but I’m pretty sure she’d notice him missing :P
I love how you turned your new apartment into a home! Love the ikea shelving for your Mason jars! So pretty in metal!
Looks great, Angela! I see many wonderful recipes coming out of that space :)