Spring Cleaning for Dummies Part: 2 (Pantry/Food Storage)

So for those of you that have been to my apartment before you know how small my kitchen is and the lack of storage. And to complicate things there is a utility closet in the kitchen that is huge. You would think it was a pantry but it really is just a wasted space that stores the water heater & furnace. It's kinda of an awkward space. You can't hang any shelves on the wall because there are tubes/pipes along the wall. So pretty much I would store a couple little storage units to hold food and my garbage can in there.

Well the other day it dawned on me. A solution it had taken me over 1 1/2 years to come up with. Why not buy a tall bookcase and put it in the closet? Then that way I could maximize the space using the space from floor to ceiling. So I headed over to Walmart and was able to get a bookcase for just $30.

I cannot believe how much space I have now! It really made a difference. I was able to fit the majority of my food storage on the bookcase then the remainder of the food I was able to fit throughout my kitchen cabinets.

For those of you who don't have food storage I highly recommend it. Ever since living on my own I've always made sure I've had food storage. You never know when it will come in handy. Buy foods that you use on a regular basis ex: spaghetti,canned fruits,canned vegetables,Idaho instant potatoes etc. Then that way the food doesn't go bad before you ever use it and you can just keep replacing it as you use it.

Something else I've done is typed up a list of what foods I have,when they expire,and how many of each. I posted it on the wall next to my food storage so then that way I can try to eat the things I've got before they expire. And I can see when I'm getting low on something.

Spring Cleaning for Dummies Part 1: (The Bedroom)

With spring just around the corner and all the wedding things I've got going on I figured I better get a jump start on my spring cleaning. Yeah I'm know I'm a little crazy. Let me tell you trying to tackle two HUGE tasks at once it's very easy. Especially since I'm in the middle of working on the wedding annoucements.

Last Monday I decided I'd start my spring cleaning adventure and well let me tell you this is my progress. 1 week: bedroom closet & dresser done. I haven't even finished my whole bedroom yet! Granted I haven't been working on it everyday but still....the rate I'm going it's really good I started now. Maybe by the time spring is over I'll be done.

Believe it or not in the small amount I've gotten done I've filled 2 trash bags full of D.I. stuff and 1 trash bag full of garbage. You'd think I hadn't cleaned in a long time but sadly I do deep cleaning on a regular basis. Last time I did deep cleaning like this was probably last fall so it hasn't even been 6 months!

For those of you brave enough to tackle the task of spring cleaning here's some helpful hints to keep in mind and a rule of thumb I live by while cleaning out your bedroom closet.

• If you have clothes that still have price tags on them and you've had them for at least a year it's time to get rid of them. (Yes believe it or not I found a couple shirts I had never worn and never will)


• If you keep telling yourself "I'm going to lose weight I'll fit into these pants someday" and it's been over 1 year,get rid of them.


• If the pits on the shirts are discolored or smell....throw them out.


• If you have holes in your socks or underwear....throw them away. You can go to the store and buy more! As for bras if the wire is poking out throw it away!


• If you have shoes that you had forgotten about and don't even remember having...get rid of them.


• If you have shoes that you've had for years and years that are falling apart but are so comfortable....throw them out.


• If you have shirts that have holes in them..... throw them out!


• Pants that have holes patch or mend....if neither can be done throw them out.
  

By keeping those things in mind it's so crazy how many things you end up getting rid of and how much space you find that you really have. My closet has never seemed so big before besides before I moved into my apartment and it was empty.

So now that things are clean it's time to effectively store things. While working on my wedding registry I found some awesome storage ideas on walmart.com. I can't believe all the stuff I found that I had never thought of before. For example....I store a lot under my bed because of lack of space and you can get these really cool storage bags with handles that go under your bed. I also bumped into some really cool shirt dividers/shelves that can be used for pants as well.

Well it's off for now. Good luck spring cleaning and hopefully I've motivated you to get up and do something.