It's Real Life

It's Real Life....

Organisation and storage in the kitchen.

A few things I didn't take good pictures of: All big utensils go in two glass bell jars on the kitchen counter.
All recycling goes in the cupboard underneath the sink. Every month or so we clear it out. It's BAD under there usually. Our cleaning supplies are under there. Oceana doesn't get in there, but we'll be putting locks on there before the next one starts to move. All except bleach. That goes WAY up high.

And pens/scissors/markers all go in coffee cups (the ones with broken off handles) on the windowsill above the sink. This windowsill becomes a collect-all, which I don't like.

The pictures aren't in very good order, but use your imagination.


Our microwave goes on top of the fridge. And the computer ink goes up there, as do Matt sunglasses. Away from little fingers....


This is the 4th level. All the dishes go here. Obviously the kitchen is a mess currently - as we have 7 plates and 8 bowls and ... well you get the idea. Coffee cups go on the far left, then glasses. espresso cups/tea cups go in the front. Plastic cups behind that. That plate stacker is a God-send! Bowls in the back corner and plates at the front.
All the spices go on the 5th level. These go along the back of the shelf in a row so that (hopefully) you don't have to move stuff to find other stuff. Also up there you'll find Taco seasoning, cup of soup packets, Playdough, and birthday candles.

This is the 2nd level in the pantry. The aforementioned box for root veges, the cereals and a few random bits in the back - some canned stuff I've been carting around, a box of tea bags and a US plug toaster. The third level has (L-R) baking supplies along the left wall, a bowl of cookies (not normally there), next is usually a large tray of eggs (2 1/2 dozen at a time usually, but not this week), The bread is always in front. Behind that is Havalah's diet food. Along the back wall are sugars and such. In the right corner are all the pastas and rices. In front of that are all the sauces - oil, vinegar, peanut butter, Marmite, and cooking spray.

Bottom shelf of the pantry. The left box has stuff I rarely use like cookie cutters and cake decorating stuff. The phone books go in here. The green bucket has icing/confectionary sugar. The purple one has flour. The second box has extra glasses that didn't fit with the rest. And that's a 10kg bag of potatoes. On the 2nd level is a box of onions, garlic, and other root veges that don't need to be in the fridge. We also keep cornflakes and rice krispies here.


On the top shelf of the pantry we have a basket with miscellaneous stuff. Everything from an old prescription to light bulbs to appliance manuals to matches. I think there's garden seeds in there, and an empty glass jar. Your guess is as good as mine. Matt's junk food goes up here - so Oceana can't get it.

This is my cookbook cupboard. And the dustpan goes in here too. And the cake platter. It's a joke. But it works...

This is my hardware cupboard. Baking pans, loaf pans, popcorn pot, pots, pans, glassware, crockpot, sandwich press, and even the broken blender. I need to throw that out by the way...

My plastics and metals cupboard. All my metal bowls (okay, all my mother's bowls that I have apprehended) stack into one another. Below that you'll find an assortment of reused containers - ice cream boxes (it comes in boxes, not cartons or buckets like in the US), butter containers, and Oceana's lunchbox. There's a big pile of plastic plates and bowls too. I guess that's our picnic wear. We also have a wicker picnic basket/suitcase that someone gave us. It's in the hall closet with Matt's bike and the stroller.

This is the 4th drawer down. All plastic bags are in here. It's the lowest, but all bags that are large enough to be a safety problem have been tied in a knot (push out the air and tie them in a knot around themselves. Great for peace of mind. Less time consuming than folding them.

This is my gadget drawer. Please excuse the camera strap disrupting the photo. I thought it was my stomach at first. Ak! Heart Attack! It's got the pieces that I use often, but that don't go anywhere else. The knife sharpener, the vegetable peelers, measuring cups and spoons. It's the third drawer down from my work space.