The Immense Joy of a Well Organized Kitchen

A few months ago, I achieved the impossible – I reached the bottom of the dirty laundry basket.

Of course, my family and I aren’t nudists, so the smug feeling of accomplishment faded in rapid speed and I was back to square one. But while it lasted? I felt like a freaking rock star. OK fine, a washed up one-hit wonder rockstar, but still.

Last Saturday night I found that illusive feeling once again, this time in my kitchen.

Since moving into a new house a few months ago, we’ve been relying on far more takeout and plastic than I’d like to admit. Fortunately, the renovation is winding down, and I can almost see the hot, home cooked meal at the end of this tunnel. While we’re painfully waiting for the cabinets, shelves and backsplash to be finished, I decided to tackle what I could – the drawers and pantry.

First Mission: Solve the coffee issue. I’m not a huge coffee drinker at home, but wanted to keep everything friends or guests might need neat and organized, but out of my way on a daily basis. Enter a set of bamboo deep drawer organizers and voila! Without those two little wood contraptions, this would be nothing more than a well caffeinated junk drawer. Instead it’s practically a pull-out coffee shop.

Speaking of drawers; in our old house, reaching for a knife in the mystery knife drawer was a harrowing experience with frequent accidental stabbings. Now? Thanks to the knife dock, every last blade has a place to call home, and I can cut down on the Bandaid purchases.

My other major kitchen grip is cereal. Is it that hard to fold down the plastic bag and shut the cardboard box? Apparently it is, because my children can’t seem to wrap their heads around it. These cereal dispensers put an end to those days, and give me one less thing to bark about in the morning.

Bonus perk: Now I can buy the generic store brand cereal and they’ll never know the difference.

While our kitchen won’t be complete for another few months, these little changes have made a big difference for us – maybe they can for you, too.

Thank you, Container Store, for the fun-filled Saturday night, and for kitchen drawers that make me downright giddy every time I open them.

(And yes, I do know I ought to get out more. I’ll work on it.)