Elena is doing much better now and is recovering nicely from her cold. Unfortunately, last night we lost a much beloved pet after several vet trips to treat him from an injury. Because of all of the craziness going on around here, I haven’t had time to complete our assignment yet for this week, which is to clean out the rest of our cupboards. So I am afraid that I don’t have a lot of helpful tips or thoughts (though I do have some great posts planned for latter this week!).
What I do know is that my main problem is going to be weeding out what to keep and what to give away in my cupboard. I have too many things in some of my cupboards and that prevents me from being able to organize them well.
My plan is to take the cupboards one by one (and maybe even one per day), remove everything, sort through the contents deciding what to keep, wipe down the cupboards and then reorganize the contents. Simple enough.
What I have loved about this challenge is the comments given by you all. I have loved both the tips and the excitement you have generated from a job well done. Sure, reorganizing our kitchens might not be on the top of our list of enjoyable ways to spend the afternoon, but there is just something about a clean, organized kitchen that makes me happy….and I think you all are feeling that too.
Don’t forget that each time you complete a challenge and leave a comment saying that you have, you will entered into the six giveaways!
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Wow, DONE and DONE! I was in a frenzy this weekend, and got cupboards and ALL utensil-keepers cleaned and reorganized. It’s so nice to be able to open a drawer or cabinet and find what I need–well, at least until hubby has put stuff away a couple times!
It’s really amazing the things you find when you take everything out instead of just pushing it all around… We gave up trying to identify one lable-less can, and just opened it up for dinner–having decided that, as long as it wasn’t fruit, we were putting it into the chili! Thankfully, it was a can of corn: one of my favorite chili add-ins! Still, though, we’re glad it wasn’t green beans or asparagus… I gotta think either one of those might have been a stretch!
Another great idea. It is nice to open the cupboards and see everything that is in them. Also this was a good time to get rid of unused items that just take up space. All of those items were either donated, thrown out or moved to the shelf in the garage because they are only used a few times a year. It makes working in the kitchen a joy because valuable time is not wasted on digging past unused items to get to what you need. I can’t wait for the next Spring Cleaning Challenge!!!!
It feels good to organize my cupboards and have an idea what’s in there. 🙂 Sorry to hear about the loss of your pet. I feel for you.
Yes, me too. I just have one cupboard left…my tea cupboard. I organize it and then someone takes it apart looking for their favorite box of tea and WOWZA! It’s an avalanche again! I’m still looking for the blades to my ancient food processor, though. Gotta love moving!
My kitchen utensil drawer is all neat now too thanks to a trip to Target for some drawer organizers. It is AMAZING what a difference these make.
Sorry to hear about your pet : (
We recently bid farewell to our sweet Mastif-Newfoundland: Miss Peggy Pot Pie. Cooking isn’t the same without her at my feet (she was a 165 pound hurdle). And the kitchen floor will never be as clean.
I’m so sorry about your pet.
I lost my dog years ago. It was heartbreaking.
Sorry about your pet. 🙁
I took the doors off of my cupboards recently. It is SO much easier to have immediate access to the bulk goods, etc in the cupboard. When you cook a lot, it pays to have quick access to your food!
yes, taking the doors off is helpful but i put up a little sliding off white curtain because i like a plain/minimalist looking space
i line food cupboards with contact paper for easy wiping. looking space
This is going to be a big job for me! We recently moved and just threw everything in the cupboards to get stuff out of boxes AND I just started ordering from Azure Standard! So there is a lot of organizing and arranging that needs to be done. I need to figure out where to put all my builk food. Looking forward to it 🙂
Glad your daughter is feeling better Sorry about the loss of your pet . . . that can be tough.
I have soooooooooooooooooo many cupboards in my kitchen. it is not funny how many there are and my husband and I have managed to fill each with something. I will try my hardest to complete this in one week but with four little ones 6 and under I cant make any promises! 🙂
erin
Just do the best you can! You can still enter for the giveaway even if you don’t finish all of the cupboards. 🙂
I was able to go through and clean my silverware drawer and cleaned silverware as well!!! All nice and neat. Also cleaned the bowls cupboard!
What a timely challenge! I just finished cleaning all of my kitchen cabinets for Passover yesterday. It’s so nice to have a reason to go through everything, wipe down the cabinets, and go through what I want to keep and what I don’t.
I’m constantly trying to downsize and declutter – a challenge with nine kids age 16 and down! For this round I’m taking out a set of my Corelle dishes, stoneware mugs, and glass drinking glasses and plan to offer them to a newly married young woman I recently met. If she can’t use them, I’ll offer them for free on Craig’s List – I’ve been blessed many times by others thinking to pass things they weren’t using to me, and I’m happy to pass things on to others as well.
For now the Passover dishes and foods will be put in my newly cleaned cabinets and all the other things packed into the basement; then when Passover is over, I’ll change everything back over. I’m glad to do it, but also glad that I only have to do it once a year! 🙂
Kimi, I am so sorry to hear about your beloved pet. . . we will keep you and your family in our prayers during this difficult time. I am sending up praise that sweet little Elena is feeling better. . . we have 2 that started some coughs this weekend so we’re dosing them with garlic and some good herbs to knock it out as quickly as it came. 🙂
I am going to enjoy this challenge – I just moved my kitchen cabinets around (what’s in them, not the actual cabinets) during early last fall, so I’m looking forward to going through them again – it’s about time and what a WONDERFUL feeling to declutter and clean! 😉 Love the organization it brings not just to that room, but how it just trickles down to the rest of the house and the family. 🙂 Blessings to you all!
I did it! Or, I should say, I am doing it! I have a million drawers and cupboards in this kitchen which is wonderful, but it makes for a huge job of sorting, wiping and organizing. I’m getting there, though! The 3yo is helping.
One hint while you’re cleaning and reorganizing and wiping down…get some bay leaves (dollar store cheap-os are fine). Tuck a bayleaf into the corners of each shelf and each drawer. Put one in each drawer divider/organizer tray. Drop one into every box/container that you use to store grains, cereals, flours, dried beans, etc. Why? The little grubs that hatch into little moths which lay eggs which… will not infest and breed in those places! They live and grow even in the sawdust dropped by scraping drawers! The bay leaf doesn’t add flavor to anything that you put it in. Bay leaves even inhibit the entrance of those pesky Japanese lady beetles that are crawling all over now. Tuck a bay leaf into window frame cracks, between casement window panels, around window and door trim! It works! It’s cheap and earth-friendly!
Great tip! I had never heard of that before!
I finished cleaning the cupboards and the drawers- sometimes the drawers are even worse then the cupboards. Being married almost 4 years ago we received tons of kitchen stuff- somethings I have never even used- so off they went to help out a family in true need of these wonderful brand new or slightly used items. At this point I am trying to hold back the urge to go out and buy more stuff to put in my cleaned out almost empty looking kitchen. Will Power, yes I think I can hold out:) The down side of cleaning, or maybe is it the upside:)
Pets become such a part of the family, I’m so sorry for your loss.
We finished our cupboards. –small kitchen, not many cupboards… We continued getting rid of things we just don’t use, things I was holding on to because they were pretty but never used and not functional. It makes such a difference in small spaces. Thanks,
Sheri
I am currently packing to move, so my cupboards are almost clean, even if everything is in boxes!
Cupboards….. Check!
Done! And now I have stuff for a yard sale. I even found a pretty blue serving dish I forgot about.
I’m just getting started with my spring cleaning. Cupboards definitely need to be organized, so I guess I’ll start here 🙂
I’ve been slowing working away at the cupboards. I have a TON of mason jars that need a new home.
95% done….will have to finish up next week since I work all weekend. Nice to have the incentive though!!
Spent a long time working on the cupboards! Am pleased with how things are shaping up. Got a lot of the bulk food into jars and also arranged some of the dishes and things in better areas…where I can reach them!
Thanks for the motivation.
I went through my cabinets and did some rearranging. Some of the items I use most often got pulled to the front and other less-used items were pushed back. There were a few baking dishes I never use that I got rid of and I put a few things in a box in the attic. If I don’t use them in the next few months I’ll give them away. I also found a lid I have been missing for ages and a small pie plate I forgot I had! Overall, a good cleaning and sorting task completed!
Nice to finally be motivated to clear the cupboard of those toddler dishes, sippy cups etc that my boys have out grown. We have a salvation army store not far away and I love being able to drop the excess off there.
I finally got all my cupboards done. So glad to have a freshly cleaned kitchen!
Managing to clean out a few cupboards at a time. Our church is having a garage sale soon to raise money for summer camps. I have several bags and boxes of stuff to donate. This is a good time to clean out my cupboards and give away things I no longer use.
I just finished. I hope I am not too late to enter. My husband & I were away visiting his family for much of last week. I like how the spices and cupboards are now arranged & I’ve managed to get rid of some things & clear out counter space. Woohoo!
Hope it’s not too late to enter too. I’m abit behind because after finishing the previous weeks, we had little visitors this past week and I have to reclean EVERYTHING. So nice to have things a little more organized.
So sorry about the loss of your pet.
I blogged about my cupboard cleaning.
http://lifeink.wordpress.com/2010/03/29/spring-cleaning-challenge-week-four-the-rest-of-the-cupboards/
Thanks for the motivating challenge!
Finally done!
My in-laws were here, so it took me awhile – will blog about it later this week and the next one too!