The holiday craziness has been a little out of control around my house and I needed to stop for a minute and get my family reorganized. I’m not sure if you have similar challenges in your home or not but in my home, the kitchen is where all the action {and clutter} is. It’s impossible to keep the counters and kitchen table organized and free from all of the junk and things always get lost among the clutter. If you too have the same problem, I have a little solution that I wanted to share with you today.
The biggest issue in my home is that we all pretty much work from the kitchen doing things like opening mail, writing note cards, wrapping presents, homework, fixing things, etc… My husband’s office is on the other side of the house, my craft room is in another part and the tools are in the garage. Because of this, the counters and kitchen table stay cluttered with tools, stationary, pens, tape, scissors, paint decks, note pads, etc.. It has really driven me crazy and I came up with a little plan and I turned a kitchen cabinet into mini-office…
I emptied out a kitchen cabinet that I was using to store cookbooks and I turned the space into organized storage for all of our office supplies, stationary, tools and all of my paint fan decks. Unfortunately for my family, I use cookbooks a whole lot less than I use all these other things.
I picked up all of these desk trays for about $1.00 each and loaded them up with our stationary, office supplies, scissors, pens, paper clips, etc., all the things we need daily:
I added small squared of cork board that had adhesive squares {Office Depot} on the back to the inside cabinet doors to post invitations, appointment cards and little notes:
On the other cabinet door, I added one more square of cork board and added a little hook for a clip board so I could keep my “To Do” list handy.
By the way, this To DO list is a free printable that I created and shared a few months ago and it has really helped me to stay organized. You can download the printable list here.
I also turned a couple plastic magazine holders on its side to store files and my paint fan decks:
These magazine holders turned on its side is another great way to separate everyone’s mail and other stuff too.
I also added plastic stackable in/out trays in the back of the cabinet to store note pads, phone books and all of the various directories that we have and need daily:
You can’t see it in the back behind the stationary but I have a basket for all of our chargers for our phones, camera and tablets so they are easy for us to get to but no longer adding to the clutter on the counter.
I should have done this mini-kitchen office years ago because it has really made a big difference for us and everything is now off of the counter and neatly organized. I just hope my family helps me keep up with it!
Thank you for stopping by today and thank you so much to all of you who have purchased the tree cone templates! My heart has been warmed by all of your sweet emails and notes about how much you are enjoying making the cones. Yay!! The tree cone project has truly been such a joy and I have been blown away by your gorgeous cones. Please keep sending me your pictures of your finished cones.
Cheers!
Cyndy
Sharing this post with:
Home Stories AtoZ {Tutorials & Tips Party}
Somewhat Simple {Thanksgiving Link Party}
Skip to My Lou {Made by you Mondays}
Savvy Southern Style {Wow Us Wednesdays}
Shabby Nest {Frugal Friday}
Tatertots & Jello {Weekend Wrap Up Party}
Under The Table Dreaming {Sunday Showcase}
Sheila says
Very neat idea. I would love a space like that for my office stuff only I think I would have to use upper cabinets for mine because I would end up on the floor more than not digging around for stuff and the thought of bending over to get to everything has me dizzy already, but I love this idea and I may just have to find some bit of cabinet space for a cabinet office of my own. Thanks for the idea.
Cyndy says
I have an 8-year-old running around and I wanted to keep it down low for her, so she could help us stay organized. Plus, I’m pretty short and wouldn’t be able to reach way back into the upper cabinets. If you’re taller and don’t have any little people running around, then I would for sure create the space in the uppers to keep the dizzies away. Thanks so much Sheila for stopping by!!
Jenn says
Love this! I am so ready to make over our kitchen cabinet. Great inspiration!!
Cyndy says
Thank you Jenn!! We have loved it and the counters have been clutter free! Yay! I hope it sticks! Thanks for stopping by!
izzie @ shiny happy home says
We have the same problem and this is a genius idea! I already know which cabinet will be perfect for this!
Chic Mummy says
This is such an amazing idea! It looks neat and tidy, and is right in the centre of the home where you need everything to be. I’m storing this idea away for the future.
Cyndy says
Thank you! It has made all of the difference in keeping our counters clutter free! Happy New Year!! Thank you so much for stopping by!
Cindy says
I love the idea of using the kitchen cabinet space for a command central station. Great job.
Cyndy says
Thank you Cindy! Happy New Year!
Shannon says
This is a great idea if you have the cabinet space. Being a chef, my cabinets are all over flowing.
MrsOgg says
Hi! This is my first time on your blog of course bc of the new years challenge over at OMF. Everything is gorgeous and I will be back soon for more inspiration. Do you remember where you got your staple gun? I just killed mine and was so sad but, after seeing your adorable one am now thinking I needed an upgrade anyway. 😉
Jennifer says
Love this idea!!
Felicia says
I love this! I especially love the magazine holders on there side to hold stuff for everyone. I would have never thought of just flipping them over like that. Sometimes it’s the stuff staring us in the face that we need help with.
I also love your to do list. That’s probably one of the best layouts for one I have seen yet.
Stacy says
I found your blog via the Organizing Revolution.
Such a great idea! If only I had the extra cabinet space to dedicate to office supplies.
Becky - Clean Mama says
I love this idea! Great job!
xo, Becky
Cyndy says
Thank you for stopping by Becky!