Whenever you tackle any space in the house, the number one rule that every professional organizer follows is to pull everything out and sort like categories, and that is exactly what I did with this kitchen and pantry. When you sort like categories, you are able to see how much of one thing you own, you are able to find the expired items, and you are able to declutter a lot quicker. I love this process because this is when you can help your client make those tough decisions to either get rid of or keep. At one point in our organizing process, my client asked me if this (looking at all the items on the island) was overwhelming, and my answer was a simple “no.” Organizing is never overwhelming for me, it’s more of a challenge, which can be frustrating at times but never overwhelming. Sometimes I see the organizing aspect as a big game of tetris because you have to get the right fit in order for organizing to work.

Now there was no shortage of space in this kitchen and pantry, but there was a lot of reconfiguring that needed to be done in order to better suit their family’s needs. One big change was reconfiguring the drawers to the right of the oven. This was prime real estate for all things needed for cooking but it was instead a junk drawer, kid dishes and containers and all the pots.  I ended up using those drawers to house spices, which were originally in the pantry, cooking utensils, and bowls. The pots were moved to below the oven and the junk drawer became smaller.  Another reconfiguration was moving the kids snacks from below the oven to the pantry as this was a safety concern that I presented. Now the kids have access to their snacks and even breakfast cereals that can easily be reached. 

I also reconfigured their baking section which was originally stored in the drawers below the oven. I created a space where their frequently used baking ingredients were easy to reach and where the bulk baking ingredients were stored higher up where they could easily see what they had to avoid over buying.

Pantry Progress

For the pantry my clients wanted to be able to see what they had. I opted for these uniquely designed containers that had a wood like lid from Dymon*. I filled the containers with food items that they frequently used and created sections: breakfast, dinner, and drinks. When it comes to decanting, (the process of removing food items from their original packaging and adding them to a sealed container),  look for two things: frequently used food items and food that comes in plastic packages. Boxed packaging is a lot easier to store in a drawer or shelf but when the food comes in plastic packaging that will only contribute to a messy space. 

I also wanted to add more texture to the space as there was a lot of shine and metal. This would ground the space and really pull together the containers that were displayed. I made the switch from a metal tray to a beautiful round hand woven water hyacinth basket from Dymon* which stored their everyday breakfast items.

Beauty & Function

This kitchen is a perfect example of when beauty and function meet. Both beauty and function play an important role in our everyday life. Beauty can bring a smile to our face, and can help us feel relaxed and calm. Where function makes life simpler and easy to find something and easy to maintain. You can have both in any of your spaces. All it may need is a little reconfiguration or someone to help guide and equip you along the way!