My IKEA Kitchen

When I moved into my apartment (7 years ago!), I immediately got to work on kitchen solutions.  I knew I needed to make the most of my wall space because, frankly, that's all this eat-in kitchen had other than 3 upper and lower cabinets plus one drawer.  So I went to IKEA and bought myself a kitchen.  

Fortunately, they had a plethora of wall storage.  (Plethora- fun word, right?)  I grabbed a couple of these rods with these hooks and this basket.  And I really liked this spice rack, too.

I added a few other pieces like a hanging produce basket and a butcher's block where I keep my 'garage bin', a cloth basket full of tools, batteries, flashlights and other miscellaneous items.  All in all, I'm pretty happy with my kitchen space; it's functional and organized.  Just how I like it.

Tell me, Appleshiners, what tricks do you have for an organized kitchen?

Also, remember this loft kitchen that I unpacked and Appleshined?  I had cabinet envy soooo bad; look how well it turned out.

Save Money with your Lettuce

Oh, my goodness, it's going to be beautiful outside today!  Makes me wanna grab a book and blanket and spend the afternoon in the park.  Maybe I will...but before then, I've gotta pack a quick lunch.  Lemme check my fridge: some fruit, a yogurt, a bottle of water and a light salad should do the trick.  (Ooo, how 'bout a salad in a mason jar?)

Here's a little storage tip for you: when you grab a bunch of greens from the grocery, bring them home, wash 'em up and place them in this nifty contraption:

The plastic bowl is specially designed with ridges along the bottom to let the water drip down, allowing the lettuce to stay crisper longer.  And like other storage containers, it'll help save your time and money.

Living an organized lifestyle is about clearing out clutter in ALL areas of your life.  Learning how to create a healthy lifestyle affects what goes in your body as well as what surrounds it.  I like how this bowl saves money by keeping my lettuce fresher longer.  And it makes lunch easier, healthier and faster to prepare.  Appleshine success!

I'm off to enjoy the day.  Have a lovely afternoon and I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend, too!


Tell me, Appleshiners, what other kitchen tools help you live a more organized lifestyle?

Shoe Hangers Without Shoes

When organizing, I always talk about grouping 'like with like'.  Using bins, baskets, drawers or other receptacles are a great way to contain your materials but sometime it helps to be a bit more creative.

Here are a few ways to use shoe hangers for organizing things other than, well, shoes:

(bhg.com)

(iheartorganizing.blogspot.com)

(icanteachmychild.com)

(Heather Weston)

And look at this great idea to use a shoe hanger as a planter.

Tell me, Appleshiners, how would you use a shoe hanger for something else?

Grab a Towel

Making messes is a part of life.  So grab a towel, wipe it up and keep on moving.

My friend, Landis, has accomplished the ginormous task of living this past year entirely without paper towels.  She used a variety of dish towels to wipe up her small messes; this and this were her favorite and most effective towels.  Check out her great tips on how she made it work.

I, on the other hand, while not completely banishing Bounty from my life, have made an effort to cut back on the paper products.  I don't have a washer/dryer in my small, pre-war apartment so keeping up with the wash is a little difficult.  Instead, I limit my paper towel use to cleaning dirt or sticky messes and use the washable towels for spills that can easily be wiped up.

I'm not sure I could quit 'cold turkey' for a whole year but I'll admit- no more paper towels would, in turn, eliminate some paper waste.  And I'm all about cutting down on waste.

Tell me, Appleshiners, could you make it a whole year without paper towels?

Appleshine: Nashville Pantry

Most southern kitchens have the luxury of cabinets, drawers and closets- all hard to come by in a small NYC apartment (like mine!)  True to it's intention, this Nashville pantry should only hold food and drink items (with the occasional servingware exception).

First, I removed materials that were meant to live outside the pantry (charcoal to the garage, deep fryer in the cabinet, etc).  Then I took all the items off the shelves and grouped them into categories.  When putting them back up, keep like items together (condiments, dressing+marinades, canned goods, baking supplies and so on).  Place the categories according to frequency of use.  Your everyday goods like canned veggies and soups should be at eye-level while larger, less-frequently used items like flour and sugar should be down low.  Save the higher shelves for special occasion items and servingware.

Tell me, Appleshiners, how do you organize your pantry?


PS- A great cheat sheet on how to keep your pantry clean and functional for your family.

A list of 10 must-have pantry staples.

Know the life of a spice.

Pantry art- I love this one (but not this one because I hate, hate, hate pickles!  I'd write 'cherry pie' instead.)