Easy fixes for a messy kitchen cabinet
March 11, 2014
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We have one. The cabinet we rarely open. Or when we do we open it real quick-like, throwing the item inside and shutting the door fast so the rest of the stuff doesn’t fall out. I didn’t always have a cabinet like this – it started in the past six months or so and it just got worse with each month.
Well, it was time to address it. This is when I find blogging to be so funny -- showing the insides of my cabinets for the world to see:
The really messy insides. But sometimes seeing someone else take care of a mess spurs me on to take care of mine, so that’s why I share.
The first thing I needed to do was address the top of the cabinet – it had become our dumping ground for the past couple of weeks. I address piles by making them into smaller piles instead of putting individual items away one at a time.
I ended up with an upstairs pile, a garage pile, a holiday pile (??) and a I-have-no-idea-what-to-do-with-you pile:
That one goes to live on the island where other random stuff goes, till I decide to address that whole area. One thing at a time people.
I tackled the actual cabinet last night while I listened to The Bachelor finale (he’s a gem). I moved the alcohol down to the basement and was left with this:
Well, and a few things that I had already put back in. The items in the boxes are going back to the store. Except maybe the herb keeper – does it work? I’m waffling on that one.
I took the extra crock pot down to the basement because we only use it for parties. A couple of the items went to other cabinets – you know…where they belong. :)
The long stuff like the platters are too wide to fit into our dining room/library built ins so I keep them in here. When I stacked them up it felt like it was such a waste of space. They barely took up any vertical space:
I took measurements and went out the garage and cut some scrap wood down:
The wood is 20 by 16 inches and then I cut some “legs” to four inches tall.
I just screwed the legs on:
Be sure to use a drill bit first before drilling the screws so you don’t split the wood!
I slid it in to the cabinet and it was a perfect fit! The longer platters fit great underneath and it’s sturdy enough to hold the others on top without a problem:
I was quite pleased with my quick little DIY shelf, especially considering you can buy wire and wood products for just this purpose:
My scrap wood stash pays off again!
Here’s the cabinet, blissfully purged and organized:
Do you have a cabinet that you open real fast? Or even better – that you can’t close all the way? Uh huh.
Thanks for keeping it real girlfriend! I love the shelf you created!!
ReplyDeleteI literally just cleaned out my scary kitchen cabinets last night and told the hubs that I needed a few of those shelves. I hadn't even thought that I could DIY them! Great idea!
ReplyDeleteOH MY SOUL! YES!!! I have 2 cabinets like that right now. It was 3, but I cleaned out one last week. I have very few cabinets in my kitchen and no other storage space so it's tricky, but GOOD GRACIOUS those cabinets make me insane! I've resorted to kiddy locks on one of them just to keep the little bugger closed! :P I would post a picture, but that would mean opening the darn thing for more than a millisecond and everything would fall out so you'll just have to believe me on this one! :) Thanks for sharing your solution. When I get brave maybe I'll open them long enough to figure out if this kind of shelf will work in them!
ReplyDeleteoh man i need to do a million things like this.... looks great now!
ReplyDeleteSo smart!
ReplyDeleteI'm participating in 40 Bags in 40 Days and I cleaned out the ENTIRE kitchen yesterday, including on top of the fridge, the inside of the fridge, all of the cabinets, drawers, etc. Three huge lawn and garden bags later I was finished. Its nice to get organized :-)
ReplyDeleteHey! Did I see you on my local TV station this morning? Something about DIYers and Angie's List?
ReplyDeleteNice job!! Looks very organized now :)
ReplyDeleteThat shelf is adorable! Brilliant! Save me some wood for my garden :)
ReplyDeleteSuch big difference! Love the shelf you added!
ReplyDeleteMan I love when bloggers show REAL LIFE spaces! thanks for being honest :)
ReplyDeleteI have a cupboard like that! But its a corner one and has a stupid plastic 2 tied spinner thing in it. I throw tupperware in there and slam the door! I have cleaned it out multiple times and it still does not work. I am thinking of having DH take out the spinner thingie and putting wood shelves in it.
ReplyDeleteMy undersink cabinet is a nightmare. I clean it out pretty regularly because it really is where I just toss whatever and shut the door. Unexpected company? Throw it under the sink! My DIL thought I was brilliant hanging my handled spray bottles over a tension rod under there. Apparently she does not "do" Pinterest! I have to clean it out soon because she and my son are coming to visit for a few days in a couple of weeks. I would hate for her to think I was a slob!
ReplyDeleteI just pulled my Foreman grill out last night to make room for new IKEA platters. I mean really, the last time I used that thing was probably in college...nearly 10 years ago!
ReplyDeleteThanks for showing us the inside of your cabinets! You're right, it is motivating. We are in the beginnings of our major Spring cleaning/organizing and I think we are going to have to make some of these this weekend.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Oddly enough I was rearranging in the shed and found a bin full of scrap wood. I want new cabinets from IKEA so badly but don't have the $$$ for that so its making do with what I have. :-( But ideas like these are good ones - Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI actually extended my 1/2 shelf to a full shelf and added wood pull out bins below. this has actually doubled my undercounter space. I moved all platters/large plastic wear we rarely use to my laundry room shelves(next to my kitchen) under the stairs. I used a wire pull out shelf under the sink for all my cleaning supplies. I am still beaming with pride when I open a cabinet.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny -I tackled a very similar cabinet this past weekend. Love your DIY platter shelf.
ReplyDeleteI always purge and clean the cabinets, and then they end up right back like they were after a few weeks... same goes with drawers!
ReplyDeleteI have a hilariously explode-y (that's a thing, right?) cabinet where I keep all the shipping materials I use for my Etsy shop. Think clouds of tissue paper, tons of random lengths of bubble wrap, those little air pillows, and lots of scrunchy craft paper. I never throw any packing material away so that I have lots to re-use for Etsy, but that means it all gets crammed into one crazy cabinet. It's awkwardly placed, too, against the wall under the bar over-hang in the kitchen. I look like a crazy person every time I open it; pulling out what I need at lightening speed while simultaneously closing the door before everything falls all over the floor. Ridiculous!
ReplyDeleteLooks like my cabinets.... I'm slowly getting thru them. ;) I love my George Forman and still use it.
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to tell you THANK YOU ~ ~ for posting about the Sleep Cycle App. I've been using it since you posted about it, a month ago. I absolutely love it. No more waking up in a "fibro fog." I feel like I sleep better also.... psychological?? Don't know ~ but it certainly works for me. Thx again. =)
Thank you for keeping it real! Love, love, love reading your blog!!
ReplyDeleteYes, the herb keeper works. I use mine for asparagus all the time.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the cabinet! You're not alone with the messy cabinets.
The after looks great, & I love the little platter shelf deal. Well done!
ReplyDeleteSo cool how many storage options you have now. Woo hoo! Do you get confused as to where things are on occasion? (Library storage, kitchen, basement storage, basement kitchen, etc.!)
I'm also dying over the fact that we can pin the 'before' to Pinterest. I wonder how many pins the cupboard picture will get. haha
Chrissy
So clean and organized. Love it!
ReplyDeleteInspirational!
ReplyDeleteLooks great and what a fantastic idea without buying anything. Glad to know everything is not always perfect !!!! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou know, i shall seriously have to start working on my kitchen cabinets as well. So much clutter there. I just feel like keeping my eyes closed and not worrying about it. But i do worry! And thanks for giving me the inspiration for starting this tremendous job. This follows after the girls' crafts unit!
ReplyDeleteYou're the best! Seriously - I love your posts. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteWe had one like this growing up. We called it the "Catch-it-or-Die" cupboard. Then we realized that it really was a hazard, so we moved it down low and called it the "Move-it-or-Die" cupboard. Now that I'm all grown up, we don't actually have one like this (our house right now just has a lot of cupboard space, so we have a lot of junk drawers). But I'm sure we'll have another one some day and I'll have to keep your tips in mind. :)
ReplyDelete