Clutter comes in all shapes and sizes. It is often the small odds-and-ends, however, that accumulate the most rapidly into piles of clutter.
The kitchen pantry is one place where clutter can completely take over. Open chip bags, pieces of candy, granola bars, and boxes of pudding fill the shelves without order or containment. While some of the smaller items clutter the shelves, the messy packaging on other items can create the feel of clutter even after some level organization. For true, sustainable organization to occur, these items need to be contained while also remaining easily accessible. Yet the accessibility factor usully makes storage boxes an inefficient solution.
Dishpans are a cheap (I purchased mine at a local dollar store) and practical organization tool for the pantry. Use them to contain chips, pastas, dessert items, and snacks. My personal favorite is the “Kids Snack Bin”. In mine, I’ve put all of the kids’ favorite snack items: crackers, raisins, bars, canned fruits, popcorn, etc. This gives them a predictable place to look for approved snack items and encourages their developing independence. The dishpans can be easily removed from the pantry and the open tops make the contents readily accessible.
So if you find yourself feeling frustrated by clutter every time you open your pantry door, ask yourself what items can be grouped together and contained. The solution might be as simple as a dishpan.
school, last month’s magazines, kids’ artwork, and “I’ll get to that right after…” items are put. Most of us have more than one of these piles throughout our house, but there is invariably one on the kitchen counter.
Our mixers get a lot of love in the form of sugar, butter and flour. The obvious post-baking clean-up is fairly routine: clean the mixing bowl and the beaters. If you are like me, though, you probably don’t always give the entire mixer a wipe down after every use.