Todays Project

In the September 17 issue of Womans Day magazine, there's an article on organizing your 5 biggest trouble spots.


I love the first one the most, because this is my worst spot--it's the kitchen. Here's what the article suggests:

The Kitchen
Old way: The countertops aren’t just for food prep, they’re for paper prep too. “Everything gets done in the kitchen—bills, homework, birthday invitations, classroom forms—all while meals are being prepared,” says Heidi Karpa, broadband host for HGTV.com’s KitchenDesign. “The best thing you can do is give all that paper a new place to call home.”
New way: Turn one of your kitchen cabinets into the Household Nerve Center. Stock it with mail and other paperwork that used to clutter your countertops.
How to organize: “Pick a cabinet and empty it,” says Karpa. Then install a bulletin or magnetic board on the inside of the door. It’s the perfect place for phone numbers, schedules and need-to-see papers.
On the lowest shelf, place stackable boxes, labeled by name for each family member. This acts as a delivery center for permission forms, reminders and mail. On the second shelf, corral must-have items: pens, pencils and scissors go in a mug, bills in a letter holder, stamps in a see-through plastic container. On the top shelf, place a plastic-sheet binder of important papers, labeled on the spine, alongside directories and phone books. Use bookends to keep everything upright.
Not allowed: Schedules, papers or forms that you also have on your computer. You can always look at the digital version as needed.

Ok, here are my before shots that I'm going to use to implement this plan.

The cupboard that I hope to renovate,

currently being used for recipe books,

odd & ends, and as the medicine cabinet:

The bill drawer:The paper pile:

I intend to make a few changes to the plan of course to suit my particular needs. I'll post the after shots, well after. Wish me luck! What'll probably end up happening is that I'll have to empty out more than one cupboard in order to make room for what's in this cupboard. Which isn't all bad, because then I'll have all my cupboards reorganized. :o)