Wednesday, November 30, 2011

32 Reader Space: Kelly's Incredible Kitchen Tour

Kelly's kitchen is really organized.

And because I had so much fun being nosy and checking it all out, I thought you would also!

But the craziest part of it all.  Kelly has FIVE kids under FIVE.  Oh. My. Word.

Having three boys myself, I know how chaotic life can get.  Which is why I try to maintain a level of organization that can allow us to keep things moving forward smoothly and we can maximize our family time together.  And I am guessing the more kidlets you add to the mix, the more crazy things can get, which is why I give Kelly some major props for having such a haven of a kitchen!


Kelly wrote:

Hi Jen!

I Love your blog!  Your happy, colorful style of organizing always makes me smile!
I recently reorganized my kitchen and I wanted to share it with you!  Hopefully you will consider sharing it as one of your reader spaces?  You can find it here.

My main goal was to get rid of things I don't use to make room for things I do. {That's pretty much my organizing mantra!} So I've donated a lot of my little uni-tasker kitchen tools, and I don't miss any of them!  With 5 kids under 5, preparing dinner can be stressful enough...the last thing i need is to be digging through junk I hardly use.  I am so happy with the way it turned out!

Thanks Jen, for taking the time to read this and thanks for your lovely inspiring blog!

Blessings,
Kelly
The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking


So let's take a moment to walk through some of the things that are working for this busy mama:


"On my fridge I have a chalkboard to quickly jot down groceries I need to get."


"Notice the small white dishpan on top of my fridge for hiding dirty dishes.  When people come for dinner I can easily stash the last minute dinner prep dishes in that dishpan to be dealt with later.

Dollar store corkboard tiles keep my most frequently used kitchen tools from slipping around inside the drawer."


"My pot lids are held in place by a tension rod placed across the front of a drawer."


"This cabinet was tricky to get a decent photo of because it's narrow and tucked in the corner.  It holds our barbecue utensils and cutting boards.  Some of the barbecue items are suspended from the side of the cabinet on hooks."


Kelly shared some great tips for keeping a kitchen organized:
  1. Make it pretty.  Pretty spaces are fun to keep tidy.
  2. Have less stuff than you have room for. If every space is filled, your whole system will break down the first time you come home with something new.
  3. Be creative.  You don't need expensive organizing tools in order to have an organized kitchen.
And a couple more eye candy shots from Kelly's amazing space:






I took away so many great organizational thoughts and ideas from her space!

  • Kelly organized her kitchen using many items that she already had throughout her home.  Always a win.
  • She purged out unnecessary kitchen gadgets that only have a single purpose, keeping only the basics.  This allows her to open her drawers and see everything she has, and not have to dig for a thing!
  • She used a tension rod in a drawer for her pot and pan lids.  Something meant for a curtain now does an incredible job organizing her space! LOVE.
  • She used hooks on the inside of her cabinet to hold some extra gadgets.  I love that she keeps her items categorized and tucked away by function.
  • The bin to stash away the extra dirty dishes and keep them off of the counter during prep and serving?  Super smart thinking!
  • I think it's so great that she keeps her pots and pans right in arms reach above the stove.  Not only does it make the most sense to keep things near the area you use them most, but it also frees up so much cabinet space!
  • It's great that she keeps her spices in a drawer.  You don't see that very often, but it shows they can be organized in places other than the side of a fridge or in a cabinet or in a spice rack.
  • The kitchen is all around beautiful and a place that I can imagine any family would be happy to be in.
Kelly has many more fantastic organizing tips over on her blog, so pop on over and check it out!  I am warning you, you may get sucked in like I did!

Thank you Kelly for welcoming all of us into your LOVELY kitchen today!

What ideas sparked for you touring Kelly's kitchen?  Anyone heading to their kitchen to do some inspired re-arranging? 




ATTENTION!!  Want to be featured in a Reader Space edition?  Have an awesome organizing story to share?  I am looking for projects that have made a positive impact to your life.  Please send your story and photos to iheartorganizing@gmail.com and I would heart to feature them right here, on the blog!!  Photos should be high resolution and unedited.  Please include a description of the project, including any costs, inspiration, and how it has changed your life and routine for the better!  Oh, and no worries my friends, we will NEVER judge "before" pictures because that just wouldn't be nice!  Only love goes on at this blog!  More info HERE.

32 comments:

  1. Looks so great! That tension rod idea is genious!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I Love Kelly's Kitchen!
    Love that the pans are above the cooker, great idea!!!!

    and lovin the colour of the walls!!!

    Natasha xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. such a pretty kitchen! I am going over to check out more : )

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kelly is one smart lady with some might fine tips! Thanks so much for featuring her kitchen to give us some extra ideas!

    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  5. Her kitchen is so bright and airy! And so organized too.

    ReplyDelete
  6. ooh I've seen Kelly's kitchen on pinterest SO MUCH! It is UBER organized!!!! =) I just bought some cork last week and it's TOTALLY going in my kitchen! =)

    xoXOxo
    Jenn @ Peas and Crayons

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sometimes all it takes is a pair of fresh eyes. My fiancee got free rein to completely redo my parents' kitchen (just moving things, there was not one purchase involved), and finally challenged the idea that cups should be tossed in the second drawer down next to the fridge.

    It has taken some getting used to, but now things are actually stored in logical places.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Amazing! I love the tension rod in the drawer. I can see that being used for so many other types of dividers as well. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wowza. She has 5 kids under 5 and has WHITE cabinets and a clean kitchen? I hate her. lol! We can't even handle having a white WALL and thats just with 2 boys at home and a husband.

    I do love the dishpan on top of the fridge for the prep dishes, that is always a problem I have, dishes in the sink when company comes because I was cooking for them. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Can I transport her kitchen to my house?! Wow, it's amazing!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Just amazing! I love her kitchen: so organized.

    ReplyDelete
  12. That tension rod idea is fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks so much for sharing! I am so excited about the curtain rod to organize the pot lids they have been a thorn in my side.

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is gorgeous and although I recently undertook a big kitchen purge, seeing all the "breathing space" in this kitchen inspires me to dig a little deeper before the next ARC donation pick-up!! ;)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I am a close friend of Kelly's and her kitchen is always something I've admired....especially her island, handmade by her husband Luke!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Beautiful kitchen! I too love the tension rod for the pot lids. I wonder if one of those short towel rods fastened inside the cupboard door would also work for holding some pot lids for those of us who don't have drawers that long.

    Barbara H.

    ReplyDelete
  17. That kitchen is amazing! I love the tips and the small island in the center is adorable!

    ReplyDelete
  18. AMAZING! Looks like it came from a magazine.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Definitely inspiring! Need to get my kitchen organized now!~

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love the functionality! Very creative!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love Kelly's tip to "have less stuff than you have room for" - it makes all the difference in the world!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Kelly's kitchen is simply beautiful and so practical. I've clicked over to her blog and it's lovely as well. I like the open space in her cupboards and drawers. Her kitchen tool drawer, in particular, shows that everything can be laid neatly in a row and not piled in as a big chaotic mess, but only if you get rid of what you don't use!

    ReplyDelete
  23. I love her kitchen,and I really like the idea for using a tension rod to hold pot lids...so clever!

    ReplyDelete
  24. I love... everything! haha. There are definitely a few ideas here that I plan to carry to my own kitchen when we renovate:
    - cork in the drawers to keep things from moving;
    - a shallow drawer for tea towels and cloths;
    - pot lid storage; and
    - magnetic knife storage.

    Such clever ideas, yet they're so simple to implement!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Wow! Oh how I wish I had a kitchen like that. I really should actually. I'm tempted to put everything in a box and whatever hasn't been used after a month or two... bye bye.

    It's so easy to hold on to things 'just in case.'

    ReplyDelete
  26. Such great ideas! I also love that kitchen, so open.

    ReplyDelete
  27. thanks for sharing this! Love the tip about the basin to keep the unwashed dishes when guests come :)

    Ai @ Sakura Haruka

    ReplyDelete
  28. the cork-lined drawers are *genius*. I am so doing that.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Love, love! I am impressed. But, I have to say that keeping things organized is a lot easier when you have kids who can't reach the drawers, shelves and cupboards - lol! Teenagers are notorious for taking what they want, tossing stuff any old place and leaving a trail behind them that's harder to pick up than spilled legos. Yes, this is the voice of experience.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hello,
    Such great ideas! I also love that kitchen, so open.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Very nice! I really like the colors, and I like the suspension rod that holds the lids - and what a great collection of cutting utensils on your wall.
    BTW, my Mother in law has the Moosewood Cookbook too; I didn't think I would have ever seen a duplicate of it, other than from her kitchen! :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking a moment to join in on the conversation! I read and appreciate each and every comment, however, I will remove any comment that I believe to be inappropriate, malicious, or spam-like. I would love for this comment section to be used as a place to engage in purposeful dialogue, I only ask that everyone remains constructive and considerate.

All comments will be moderated and may take a moment to appear.