Today’s guest post is from the lovely Rebekah of Simply Rebekah. I only know her online, but I can say she’s most definitely a kindred spirit!
Several times a day I would open this kitchen cabinet and think to myself…
Oh my word! This is awful. This is awful. This is awful! I really need to clean out this cabinet.
I’ll do it later.
This pattern went on for months until I finally decided I couldn’t handle the chaos any longer.
This kitchen cabinet is our “kids’ cabinet.” I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old. This is where we keep their snacks, sippy cups, plastic dishes, bottles, breast pump supplies, and food mill. We don’t have assigned places in the cabinet for things, so everything ends up being shoved wherever there is room. Obviously, this isn’t working.
I started by emptying the cabinet one shelf at a time. As I worked, I immediately threw out anything I knew I didn’t want to keep. Easter candy, stale snack puffs, and lolli-pops that were “being saved for later” by my 3 year old all went in the trash.
Ahhh. That looks much better.
Umm… Maybe not.
This was the moment when I stood in front of all this stuff and beat myself up for starting this project. This wasn’t fun. I didn’t know what to do with it all. I wanted to quit, but next on my to-do list was making supper and this stuff was all over my stove. So…
I started with the easy stuff. I matched up sippy cups with their lids. I put the snacks back in the cabinet. I put the food mill back in the box. I moved a few unneeded items to the garage sale box. Slowly the mess became more and more manageable.
The biggest decision I had to make was: what do I do with the baby stuff? My husband and I aren’t sure if we will have more kids. Should I pack it all up or keep it in the cabinet? Ultimately I decided keep the baby stuff in the cabinet, but I moved it all to the top shelves.
I kept the unneeded baby items in my kitchen cabinet for two reasons.
- I couldn’t think of anything that I would immediately move to that space.
- I didn’t want to lose that kitchen “real estate” to something else in case we do have another baby and I need a place to put those baby items again.
I am thrilled with the difference in my freshly organized cabinet. The stuff I’m not using has been moved to the top. I’m not frustrated looking for matching sippy cup lids. There aren’t any nasty leftover lolli-pops!
Confession: This project is actually finished because…
I still have these empty snack puff canisters laying around. I kept one for Cheerios, but I don’t need all of them. They are made out of a type of plastic that isn’t recycled in my area and I hate to throw them in the trash.
What should I do with these empty snack containers? And please tell me, what are your tips for keeping your kids’ kitchen items organized?
Rebekah shares frugal lifestyle tips, going green baby steps, and all of life in between at SimplyRebekah.com. She also blogs about her Insane Goals and epic decluttering projects.
--Nony
Offer them on freecycle or to friends, or maybe donate them to a thrift store if they are nice enough to be sold (but not if they’ll just become trash, maybe ask before you drop them off).
Also I find shoeboxes to be good for corralling small items in cupboards and closets. It makes it easy to pull the whole box forward to find something. Maybe you could keep all your sippy cups and lids in one.
Jenny, I like that shoe box idea! Thanks for the tip!
I would suggest maybe using them to contain markers and colored pencils that do not have the boxes anymore.
I agree. Maybe crayons, markets, or colored pencils. It might be nice to have a diaper bag container of crayons.
Paintbrushes, put beans or rice and tape or glue shut and make maraccas, put straws or plastic utensils in it. What about using them for packing other snacks that you dont want smooshed like crackers and cookies for the diaper bag? Pour the goldfish so those don’t get broken.. Do spaghetti noodles fit? I’ve been saving some too and thinkinf of ways we can use them around the house too.
We keep those containers for snacks too (Cheerios). I have one in the cupboard, each vehicle, and the diaper bag.
I’m still trying to figure out how to organize the kids kitchen clutter. I’m afraid that by the time I develop a system they won’t need it anymore …
Amen to that, Theresa!! There is so much stuff to keep organized with kids!!!! Toys, clothes, food… Sometimes I feel like I’m drowning in it all!
You should keep them and make them into ghosts and mummies for Halloween. That’s what I use my taller glass jars for. 🙂
Sorry, posted before I wanted to LOL To make the ghosts, just use a black sharpie for the eyes and mouth. And for the mummies, just stick some google-y eyes on and wrap with gauze. You could spray paint the lids if you’d like as well.
Very nice cupboard! As for your containers, can you use them for things like sending ‘puppy chow,’ leftovers, or other goodies home with guests? That way you’d get some more use out of them, bless the people you care about…and get them out of your home.
I have a stash of them and i use them for the same thing, when i make “mommy meals” for new moms i usually make some sort of snack mix, bits and bites or puppy chow and fill these containers with it for the older siblings to snack on!
Now you ladies have me craving puppy chow!! 🙂
Good idea, Kristy. I like to keep things on hand for “baby meals,” but I hadn’t thought of using something like this.
LOL…there is something to be said about puppy chow, isn’t there? 🙂
My babies in the daycare love playing with them!! more then any other toy!!! They take them off the shelf, take the lids off, chase them around the floor, put toys in them. Hours of fun!! You can also use them as bowling pins. Decorate them and use them elsewhere in your home. Kids hair stuff? Snacks for in the car?
Or save the yellow topped ones in the Christmas crafts and make snowpeople (the neck is just ready for a scarf!)
You cupboard looks great! I know about the “not sure” part of baby stuff…it’s why we have tubs of clothes in the garage….
Penelope, that is a great idea for a Christmas craft! I’m not very good at doing crafts with my kids. They need to be simple and cheap! I think I could handle that one. 🙂
We did this one year and filled them with Hershey kisses and peppermints for friend and secret Santa gifts.
Use the snack puff containers to keep the Goldfish crackers in–they’ll stay a lot fresher in there than they would in the bag that always comes open and spills all over the place.
They make good bowling pins. You just need a medium sized ball.
See if it was me, I’d just toss them. You don’t need them right now. Yeah, I know, they are going into the landfill but eventually they will anyway, right? Unless you can find someone who REALLY needs them, I would say … just get rid of them and get one more set of things out of your house. That’s my thought.
Laraba, good point. I try to be green and recycle as much as I can, but there have been times when I’ve tossed a perfectly good recyclable container because I just don’t have the mental energy to deal with cleaning it out. Sometimes your mental health is worth more!
I keep my plastic silverware in my picnic basket in a similar container.
Have the kids decorate them with foam stickers, cut a hole on the top and they have their very own piggy banks. Or use it for them to save money for an upcoming vacation or rainy day. Super easy project for that age level.
My daughters are both teachers at the elementary level and ALWAYS need these type of containers. Find a teacher or two and bless them!
I use them to pour out the melted (and now unscented) wax from our candle wax warmer. I put a long wick down in it when I first start. Then I just pour the wax in over and over until it’s full. When full (and the final top layer is cooled), I slice the container open and we have a pretty big candle. The kids have gifted them (cause they are pretty with all the different layers and colors) but usually we keep them and use them as our emergency stash, candles for our bigger candle holders etc. of course they don’t smell anymore but they are still useful and pretty. I do this with crystal light containers also
that is so clever, Tanya!