52 Week Home Organization Challenge

A few weeks ago, a friend posted a link to the "52 Weeks To An Organized Home Challenge." Even though it was not directed at anyone in particular, I couldn't help but think, challenge accepted!!

One of the things that has been causing me stress is just looking around our apartment and thinking about all of the projects I need/want to do. Our apartment is as big as a house, so the projects really do accumulate. Thinking about it all at once can be so overwhelming. This challenge takes the overwhelming obstacle of organizing your entire home and breaks it down into 52 weeks. I love this! I was able to shorten it by a few weeks because some things are already super organized (pantry, coupons, etc.) and some things we don't have (garage, silver, fine china).

So far, I've completed the first three weeks of organization challenges.

Week 1: Organize kitchen countertops and sinks

This is before... a cluttered mess! 

This is mid-way! We now have a banana hook that attaches under the cabinet which can be hidden away and a paper towel holder to hang over the sink. Yes, the plates have to stay on the counter -- they don't fit in our shallow cabinets!

 

Week 2: Organize kitchen drawers and cabinets

This is before... big cluttered mess, broken gadgets, duplicates, and things we never use.

 

This is mid-way. It takes up three drawers but at least I can see everything I have, nothing is broken, and lots of duplicates were donated.

 

Final product... down to two drawers! All cabinets are free of clutter! 

 

I love the organizer in this drawer -- the top slides from side to side! It's a major space saver.

 

I love things that stack well.

 

And things built to help you stack and store!

 

 

Every kid's house should have a kid-friendly kitchen hideaway! Sometimes, Logan just hangs out here and eats a snack. He likes quiet places.

Week 3: Organize pantry, spice, and food storage

My spice cabinet was already in alphabetical order, but I cleared out some expired spices and made room for the sugar, honey, creamer, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

 

This is our regular use pantry in our kitchen. The only things that go here are open and presently being used and big appliances.

 
These photos are all from our stockpile room (a walk-in closet). Generally, this space is organized, but every three months I go through and pull out everything near expiration or that I know we won't use and donate it to a local organization.Yes... I have a convenience store in my apartment.

 This is a linen closet but we use it for beverages, canning supplies, arts and crafts supplies, and a crate for collecting things to donate.

 

Coming up this week: refrigerator and freezer! Yeah! More photos will be posted in the coming weeks as the rest of our life gets organized.