Cabinet Organizing Tips

This week I'll be posting my Cabinet/Closet entry for the Organizing Round-Up. Here are a few general tips for organizing your cabinets:

• Go through each cabinet and purge it of items you no longer need. If you haven't used something in over a year, this may be a good time to rid yourself of it. (Place everything in a yard sale box, or give it away to a friend or family member.)
• Match up all your containers with lids. Throw away anything that doesn't have a mate.
• Create a system for organizing your plastic containers and stick to your system. (I use gladware containers because they're cheap to replace, and I can easily make 2 or 3 stacks of them in my cabinet.
• Place items that you use most often on lower shelves and in the front of cabinets so that they are easily accessible.
• Place items that you use less often on high shelves, in the back of cabinets, and in places that are harder to reach or get to.
• Group similar items together.
• Stack items to ensure that you take advantage of all the vertical space you have available.
• Place items in a logical location. (Example: dishes near the dishwasher/sink, pots & pans near the stove, etc.)
• Define the space & set parameters. (Example: This shelf will be used for mixing bowls. And this shelf will be for glasses and coffee cups. Etc.)
• Use shelf dividers, baskets, and organizing tools to separate items, and use labels if necessary. (In an upcoming post, I'll be featuring some great organizing tools for your cabinets.)

-Jerri