Organization-Kitchen and Jewelry

I got a lot of my organizational "to do's" marked off of my list today.  I think I'm a pretty organized person in the general sense, but when I got a glimpse into Martha Stewart's orderly kitchen drawers, I started thinking about all of the little drawers of chaos in my home.  And I knew I had some work to do.

Naturally, I started in the kitchen.

I'm somewhat of a sucker for dish towels.  Not the tacky seasonal kind but the nice waffle weave kind.  Up until today, they were haphazardly placed in two different drawers in the kitchen, because they wouldn't fit into just one...or so I thought.  Now, they are all neatly folded along the back of ONE drawer.  This, in turn, freed up some new space to put my oven mits and allowed for much easier access to my cutting boards and strainer, which I use all of the time.

I forgot to take a before picture, but just imagine a little insanity and things shoved tightly into the drawer to get it to close.  I organized them by style and then color, with my seasonal ones on the end.   Pretty, don't ya think?

Next up was the utensil drawer.  As you can see from the "before" picture below, it was far from organized.

I lined up similar utensils together and made sure all of my most-used items were at the front of the drawer for easy grabbing.  I have to say, I think Martha would be proud.

While organizing both kitchen drawers, I found things that didn't belong in either one at all.  By taking those things out of the drawer and putting them in their proper place, I was able to create a lot more useful space.  If you don't go through you drawers, closet, etc. every once in a while, you'll never know what you can get rid of or move.  

Next up the jewelry box that houses my big necklaces and bracelets.  It has been a source of anxiety for me for quite some time.  I usually just get out what I need and quickly close the lid back so I don't have to stare at the mess that has developed inside.  

I started by grouping all of my bracelets and necklaces together by color and style.

Once I had everything all laid out in front of me, I tried to figure out a way to get the bracelets and necklaces all in the box together while still being able to have easy access to all of the pieces.  After a few frustrating attempts, I had to take a break and come back to it.

In the end, I decided to just keep my necklaces in the box and organized them in clear bags by color.  Some of the bags did not already come with a piece black card stock inside(which is customary with one of my favorite jewelry brands).   I love the card stock because it helps you really see what's inside and gives the same sturdy shape to bags housing all different kinds of jewelry.  So for the bags missing the card stock, I made my own.  I got out some thick, dark gray (the closest thing I had to black) scrapbook paper and cut pieces to fit in each of the bags.  I did the same for all of my earrings, which allowed me to put a different pair of earrings on each side of the paper, maximizing my bags and minimizing my space.

Since I'd taken up all of the space in my jewelry box with necklaces, I moved all of my bracelets to the drawer that previously just held my earrings and watches.  I used a shallow woven basket I already had to keep all of my earring bags in tight order.  Now that I can easily see and file through all of my options, I think I'll get much more use out of my accessories.  And did I mention I found one of my favorite pairs of earrings that I had completely forgotten about?  I also came away with a whole bag full of jewelry to sell on eBay or donate.  Success!