I don’t know what it is about January that makes me totally want to get my shit in order. I want to clear out, clean up and turn everything into a fresh, organised slate. And so despite asking for a label maker for Christmas and getting a wrinkled nose response from Wayne (“A label maker? Seriously? That’s just weird.”) I decided to take the bull by the horns and order one for myself. Weirdness be damned.
You may have seen me on Instagram getting VERY excited when Amazon delivered this baby to my door…
I don’t know what it is that makes us girls so giddy over label makers. My excitement was shared on both Instagram and Facebook with loads of my fellow obsessives liking and responding to how great label makers are.
That was pretty much me on Saturday morning merely hours after it’s arrival. I had also ordered a spice rack that attaches to the inside of the cupboard and a couple of cupboard shelves and with these three new items at my disposal, I decided to make a good long day of a little kitchen re-organisation.
I pulled everything off of the open shelves on the left hand side where I was going to concentrate my efforts and gave everything a good clean. I labelled up the dry goods with a happy squeal and then rearranged a few things when I set them back in place.
As I’d said in this post, I felt like that side of the shelves lacked a little sparkle so I decided to use a couple of my new gilded plates as a bit of a backdrop on the bottom shelf and it just glammed everything up and ties in now with the right hand open shelving. It makes me SO HAPPY looking at this shelf now.
The large drawer where my spices had been (so annoying that we could only see the TOPS of the bottles and so we were forever picking up and putting down as we searched for the Fenugreek or Ground Cumin) is now being used to hold teatowels and the space below which used to hold lunch snacks for Wayne is now holding pots and a basket of the pot lids. It all makes so much more sense now!
I also cleared out and scrubbed clean the only closed upper cupboard we have (to the left of the sink) and got rid of some old mugs and food well past it’s sell by date and it’s now strictly food on the bottom and extra glasses and mugs on the top. The spice rack was installed in another bottom cupboard.
I know it doesn’t look look a huge difference, but I figured I’d show you a little before and after action because it’s made a huge difference to me!
Also, I’m including this picture only because I think it looks pretty. I got a new 50mm lens for Christmas and I freaking love it.
Annnnyway… back to the shelves. Look at all the pretty labels all lined up like little soldiers! Yay!
There are still other drawers and cupboards that need clearing out and organising so maybe I’ll share all the inners of the cabinets then but it was a damn fine start to January and it made me feel like I’d accomplished something.
Do you have a label maker? Do any clearing out in the kitchen lately? Are you as crazy as I am about getting organised in January?
So, I can see from the 'before' and 'after' pics that you're definitely not eating your "five a day", also, where's the pic of Wayne with a big "Wayne" label across his forehead, huh?! :-D<br /><br />It looks great and if I had open shelving in my kitchen (which I don't), I'd do the same. I like the old fashioned labels and it definitely helps
Wayne got labelled once he fell asleep. It didn't even have his name, it just said "Boyfriend" ;) xxx
Would love to know if the spice rack had worked well and where you got it from as we have loads so I've been looking for one to go on a cupboard door?
Hi Bec, to be honest, the one we have is okay but I don't love it. The problem is that where it sits in my cupboard means that two of the 4 little shelves of the rack have less space than the others due to where the shelf is inside of the cabinet. So I can't stand the spice bottle up, I had to lay them down :-/ I know this is a little hard to explain but I wouldn't necessarily
When I first bought my label maker, I labeled EVERYTHING. (It was slightly addictive.) I love how it makes everything look so neat and orderly.
It's definitely addictive! I just need more stuff to label and I'll be in heaven! lol xxx
Love the labelling. It's so calming (is it sad that I think that?!).
Not at all! The sense of peace I felt when it was done was pretty awesome ;) xx
*LABEL LUST*<br /><br />I am totally getting one of these! My brother is a terribly organised labeller (he's a Major at Sandhurst so it explains a lot) and he loves his labeller, an old school one form the 80s! <br /><br />But you've reminded me how much I need one for the kitchen. I have a massive drawer of herbs and spices and have scrawled on all the lids so I can see what's what (
Go on and treat yourself! You won't regret it ;) xxx
I absolutely LOVE my label maker, I have been using it for years and whenever I start using it, I try to find more things to label! I really enjoyed this post Kimberley. Hope you are well. xD
I'm sure I'll find even more stuff to label once my office is in place ;) Thank you Doris! xxx
omigosh totally stumbled onto your blog via Pinterest- your house is gorgeous! I love everything I've looked at. We are going to be putting open shelves in our butlers pantry and definitely holding onto this post as inspiration. Great job! :)
Thank you!! So sweet of you to say and so pleased you found me! xxx
Oogling all your organized (and labeled) goodness! If I could just store eeeeeverything in pretty little jars, my days would be much more pleasant. I'm glad I'm not the only one obsessed with order!
Definitely not the only one – I'm already eyeing up more jars and storage boxes for my closed cupboards too ;) xx
I REALLY want a label maker. I go through phases of wanting to chuck things out and get organised, but when that itch hits it has to be scratched. I emptied and cleaned the entire fridge this morning, and now it's all beautifully organised. I've had to stop myself opening it just to look in there this afternoon. xxx
oh my god, I LOVE your glass jars. I've been drooling over glass jars with those metal clasps for the last six months; can't wait to move to a new place and actually organize a kitchen with them. Thanks for the kitchen porn!