Cabin Fever and More OCD Tendencies

I think the feeling of winter cabin fever has set in for a lot of us (are you ready for Spring yet.  I know fo' reals).  I know that my friend Caitlin has been bitten by the organizing bug in her new apartment and I totally empathize with this sentiment.  Last week I got snowed in on Thursday and used the time to take on the task of organizing my pantry (and the rest of the house).

Here's the pantry in a sort of sorted phase...I say "sort of" very loosely.

Before

 We've been keeping the pet food in these huge containers in the middle of the kitchen/eating area...They're huge and not very attractive.  If only I had a place to put them...  Also, enjoy Oliver pining to go out in the snow: love him.

Sadly, my shelves in the pantry are really low.

 I used some elbow grease to remove the bottom shelf and ta-dah!  Even found a great place to hide my step ladder.

I used clothes pins and my label maker to mark where things go on the shelves, Now there is no excuse for Mr. S not to put things where they go. (Seriously, let me tell you how much I love my new camera lens...life is good)

 And once I was done, everything had a home and was sorted by beverage, mix, fiber&oatmeal, oils, etc.  Oh and I made the plastic bag holder out of old materials I had.  If you're interested in the how-to, let me know.  Easy-peasy.

After

A was for Amanda, but now it is for Apron

 I installed a great shelf to hang brooms and mops too.

What do you think?  I also organized the hall closet with bins and a little set of drawers for outside gardening things and our sport accessories...There was a lot of closet action last week, but I was in panic mode trying to get all the junk in the house sorted because our new cleaning lady started this past Monday...and let me tell you...I'm so in love with her!  She cleaned my door handles...and unclogged our tub, and even moved the dog's crate with him in it to clean...and she emptied our vacuum, which she didn't even use...

I'm in raptures because my house has that bleached clean smell you get when you slip into hotel sheets.  I might be the only person who likes that, but I really loved coming home from work.  If you're in my area and need a recommendation, let me know and I'll hook you up!

And I'll leave you all with a teaser for my next kitchen renovation project.  I got the idea back in October and one weekend I'll actually get to it.  It took me forever to find the materials for this because I ended up special ordering them.  I've been a weeny about doing this one because I only get one cut.

Ain't it fun?