Organization: No Easy Way Out...

Well, my kitchen cupboards are once again being used, and the dining room floor is remarkably bare of boxes.  Life is slowly returning to normal around here, which is good since we started homeschooling again on Tuesday.

When it came time to unpack the boxes, I took the plans that I had made (what things need to go in pantries), and drew out a simple sketch of the kitchen.  I labeled and rearranged and labeled some more.  When I was finally satisfied with how the drawing looked, we began unpacking. 

I have one pantry that houses my milking supplies (no more leaving those on the counter!), onions and snacky type foods; one that houses my tomato canned goods and carb stock ups (whole wheat pasta, rice, etc.) and one that keeps everything else.

We did run into a few snafus--for instance we have a single cupboard above the dishwasher now.  So that contains both glasses and plates.  And my dishtowel drawer is half the size it used to be, so I need to get a basket that will fit in the cupboard part under it to keep surplus in.  But the kitchen works!  And I'm happy with how it functions, though I imagine I'll move some things around as I get in it and use it more.   

I was thinking that by having all of this space, I'd just automatically be more organized.  But you know what I'm learning? 

Organization takes effort.  Even though my tupperware cupboard may not look like this anymore (and I've been smart enough to move it to an upper cupboard where babies can't climb in...:

It takes work to keep it organized.  I have to actually remember to put the lids where they go.  And remind Jayme (my dishwasher unloader this school year) to put the little pieces inside the big pieces.  Otherwise, it quickly returns to chaos. 

Pots and pans are the same way.  Actually--know that I think about it, every space in our whole house is like that.  We can't be lazy and pile stuff on any flat surface we find.  We have to take the time to put it away.

And if we do it the first time, it's much easier than if we wait until we have huge piles that we have to sort.

Crazy--it does take more effort at first to be organized, but it saves stress in the long run.  Who'd have thought? :)

I am loving my new kitchen though.  Except the kids (and me) still go to the stove to throw stuff in the sink (since that's where the sink used to be...).  Looking forward to it become more natural to automatically go to the new location.

And...there aren't any potato bags on the floor.  I'm really looking forward to our monthly shopping trip on Tuesday--and being able to actually put EVERYTHING away.   That'll be a first!

I think I'll still keep looking  for shortcuts to organization, and keep making things as streamlined as possible.  But I also have to remember that keeping things organized takes some time.  And that's okay!