Cupboard Organization Like my kitchen has NEVER Seen!

As you know, I recently moved from Arizona to Kansas, and while my square footage has dramatically increased, my cupboard space has decreased. In this new place I no longer have a pantry! So, while I am now shoving cans into any available nook and cranny, I did decide my main cooking cupboard needed a makeover. Just take one look at this horrible excuse for a cupboard!

Not very Molly Mormon-like, or practical for that matter, and since I spend quite a bit of time cooking, I knew I needed to have a suitable space to take pride in and enjoy. I find that clutter in my life clutters my mind, which is never a good thing. I take pride in a clean and organized home and my husband certainly appreciates it also.

Its always a challenge when you move into a new place. Where do you put everything? I had one set of drawers and a couple other drawers throughout the kitchen, whereas now I only have one set of drawers. That immediately stole three drawers worth of space. So now I needed to downsize the number of items going into drawers. Then out came the cooking utensil canister to place near the stove. I also moved my measuring spoons into a decorative flower pot and placed them and my measuring cups into my baking cupboard, next to the mixing bowls.

My baking grains, flours, sugars and powders all needed a long-term storage solution as they were all still sitting in their original bags, with me rolling the top down after each use. Not the cleanest way to store, plus, now that I am in Kansas I would have to worry about humidity effecting my dry ingredients. SO the solution!? Wonderful plastic storage containers!.. all organized on the top shelf.
My loose pasta was also in need of a place, so they were upgraded to decorative containers instead of their sad boxes.
Through the advice of my beautiful mom, my oils now sit in a black bin for two reasons; one, easy access to pull them out and two, protect the cabinets from oil leaks. Rubbermaid makes wonderful shelf drawers for your cabinets, I put my gelatins and seasoning pouches into one of these. My middle shelf contains bins for baking, seasoning and spices not contained in my spice rack, and nuts and seeds. I also have quick and easy access to spices, vegetable oil, EVOO and white vinegar on my counter.

My bottom cabinets contain all of the other items I use for food prep and cooking, including my mixer, food processor, cutting boards, colanders, baking dishes and cookbooks.

Ta-Da! Now this is a cooking station! It is working beautifully for me.... One small step in the journey to Molly Mormonhood, one giant step for my kitchen! Hope this gives you a little inspiration to get organized in your own kitchen (if you aren't already).