You Asked: Kitchen Cabinet Tour Q&A

First, THANK YOU all for such kind comments.  Not just to the kitchen cabinet post, but to all of them.  You are all so sweet and supportive and kind and completely feed my hunger to blog!  IHeart you all to pieces.

Not only were there great comments on the kitchen cabinet tour I posted earlier this week, but a lot of questions as well.  Why not address them all in one post I thought?  So that's what I am doing today.  So going right down the line, let's get started!

Where did you get that lovely drawer paper?

The paper was actually extra that a girlfriend of mine had from a project, and it's actually a pre-pasted wallpaper.  I found it online here if you are looking for the source.  It's easy to just peel up with no damage to the drawer when I am done, and the main reason why I did it and heart it, is because when I add in the clear dividers, I can still see pretty beneath and it really drives me to keep the drawers clutter free!

Where can I find those nice sized acrylic containers that you used in places such as your junk drawer?

The acrylic drawer dividers that are in my utensil drawer were actually found at Target, however, I have since gone back for more and can no longer find them.  I have however, found similar versions on Amazon and Organize.com as well.  The one in my junk drawer was from Ikea {for around $3}.

Are your freezer organizing containers specifically made for the freezer or just regular plastic containers?

They are actually Multi-Purpose Bins from The Container Store in the medium size and they work PERFECTLY for corralling all those bags of veggies and fruits and chicken nuggets and french fries.  We totally love how they tamed the freezer beast, and the cost is great to boot!

Where did you get the milk containers?

They are these ones from Amazon and they each hold a half-gallon of milk or juice.  Why do I do it?  I have always loved milk in glass because I feel like it stays fresher and colder.  That's just my crazy opinion though, I am sure there is nothing scientific to prove that.  Plus, gotta love that it's much prettier to place on the table at breakfast, especially when entertaining!

Where did you get those great glass storage for food in your fridge?

I have slowly been growing my glass storage container collection, they are all mostly Anchor Hocking pieces, you can find them just about anywhere such as Amazon, Target or Walmart.

Where did you get your kitchen rug? 

I found it at Macy's.  IHeart it.  Make sure to Google around for coupon codes like I did!!

I'm in the deep abyss wagon aka pull out drawer freezer. Any suggestions for that?

It's hard for me to answer that since I personally don't have one, however, my guess is the same concept with the bins that I use could totally work if they fit.  And freezing meals and sauces flat in baggies and then standing them up in a filing system manor?  Whenever I am stumped, I Google around for image inspiration help!

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Where are your sifts, strainers and colanders?

They are actually also tucked inside the lazy susan with the pots and pans, right next to the stove and sink!

The dishware that you have for the kids, is it plastic/acrylic?

I shared my switch to glass for the kid's here when I hopped on the BPA free bandwagon.  So far so good, I have broken a couple of the glasses, but they haven't which is funny to me.  However, before you go all glass just for BPA purposes, do your research as a lot of kid's dishes are already BPA free, it should say right on the packaging, or else you can Google around by brand.

Did you install the pull our shelf or was that in your cabinets to begin with?

We were lucky enough to have those pull out drawers installed when we built the house.  I would check with your local home improvement storage to see what your options are.

This was great... but do you have any tips for a kitchen without a pantry?

Our pantry is great but it really doesn't hold that much food.  It could if we would let it, but we only shop one week at a time based off of our meal plan, and then keep a couple of the essentials stocked all the time.  It's all about maximizing the space you do have, think vertically about wall space and adding shelving.  Or using over the door organizers for gadgets.  Or pretty containers on the counters or in your cabinets.



Do your boys help putting things away in your kitchen. I seem to get my kitchen organized and my girls job is to unpack the dishwasher and never keep it all in order. So I end up giving up till it all gets to much again. help what chores do your guys do and are they good at keeping things organized?  

My oldest just started putting our dishes away this year.  He struggled at first with getting all the odd items where they belong, but each time I just showed him the correct place and he eventually got it.  I always told him to just leave the items he doesn't know where they go, on the counter and we did it together.  Works great.  My biggest tip when getting kid's to help is to not expect perfection and to keep them excited about helping.  Just help them as they are doing things incorrectly, and as they do a specific task over and over, they will get better and better!

Love, love, all of your organization! The problem I have is that I have about 3 times the amount of food in my freezer due to buying in bulk. The same for spices. I am still trying to come up with ways to store everything in the large quantities I have. Any suggestions? 

We also purchase in bulk at times, and keep those items in a separate freezer in our kitchen.  It's all about removing the items from the packages.  That's my biggest tip.  Whenever I take away all the boxes and bags and put things into already owned storage containers and baskets, I am AMAZED at how much space I saved due to bulky packaging.  

Did you add the lazy susan yourself?

Nope, again, built right into our kitchen.  Lucky us right?  I would Google around for tutorials and options!


I hope that helps a bit.  Feel free to leave any additional questions in the comments below and I will do my best to get back to all of them!