Organizing: Kitchen Drawers – Part 2 of 2

Guess I left you hanging on my kitchen drawer organization project. Sorry about that. 🙁 Since some of my favorite posts did not make the Top 10 List of 2011, I chose to include a preview day which trumped this second posting of this short series.

Though you had my steps to get from chaos to order, I know you are waiting for the before and after pictures. Yes, my house is lived in, gets dirty and disorderly, but it gets cleaned and organized.

If you are dealing with out-of-control clutter, then take it one room at a time. Work a little each week on one section of that room. Your progress might be slow, but don’t give up or get distracted. Just concentrate on brightening that corner. You will gain momentum as you make progress. Just carve out 15 minutes a week and go.

Drawer #3

On the day I organized drawers 1 and 2, I also cleaned out drawers 3 and 4. This third drawer houses utensils that are necessary, but not used daily.

Before Organizing                                  After Organizing

As the resident “junk” drawer with Box Top labels, Kraft Singles wrappers, and other small miscellaneous items, I began whipping this drawer into shape by:

1. Pulling out all the utensils and putting them on the counter

2. Sorting the items into piles

3. Wiping out the drawer

4. Replacing the drawer liner

5. Placing similar items together in the drawer

6. Giving each utensil a home

7. Putting away the remaining items that did not belong in this drawer

8. Examining the organized and now clutter-free kitchen drawer

Drawer #4

This drawer is in a row of three drawers. The first two drawers were clean, organized, and working well. However, this bottom drawer was crammed full and needed decluttering.

Before Organizing                            After Organizing

Once again I followed the above eight steps and removed lots of excess and unused items from this drawer.  When I replaced the needed items back in the drawer, I was left with room for all the straws, Box Tops labels, and Kraft Singles wrappers. 🙂

Leftover Items from Drawer #3 for Drawer #4

The rest of the items were donated, trashed, or put away, i.e., the extra hand towels placed with the linens in my half bathroom downstairs.

Leftover items from Drawer #4

When all the extra items from these drawers were removed and the remaining items neatly organized in the drawers, I could easily find the utensil needed. No longer did I need to sift through the cutter. As I spent less than an hour to organize these four drawers, I rid our home of clutter while using time wisely. Now, I am ready to tackle more clutter in my home. Welcome January and 2012!

Question: What household organizational project are you choosing to start this week? Please add your answer to the comments.