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As I was checking out some of my fave blogs last week, I popped over to Cook Kosher.  Cook Kosher is a tremendous resource for foodies, young and old, as well as those who are just navigating the world of cooking.  It is also the largest bank of kosher recipes on the web.  So…what I found on Cook Kosher last week was the story of a pantry transformation.  “Transformation” really is the wrong word to describe what I saw because what I will show you below will demonstrate that it was only small changes that ended up making the BIG impact.

Leah Schapira, food writer, recipe developer, and co-founder of Cook Kosher recently reorganized her pantry and demonstrated the results on the blog. Here is what Leah’s pantry looked like before:

After seeing what her mother-in-law had accomplished with her pantry re-organization, Leah developed a slight case of “pantry envy” and realized that while her own state-of-the-art pantry had the right structure, something was not right.  She was ready for a change and OXO containers came to the rescue:

“First came the research. I called my friend who got her sister to send me pictures of her pantry with OXO containers. I thought about what I needed. I realized my cereals and baking goods needed containers. I buy a lot of basics in bulk. Brown sugar in bags, 10 lb bags of sugar… It only makes sense that I store what I need in the pantry close to my cooking counters, while I can put the rest away in a closet.”

Once the pantry contents were transferred into size-appropriate OXO containers, the pantry had a whole different look to it.  Check this out:

Now the pantry “looks neat and organized and it is easy to tell what is in every container. The only cons I have realized, is that you need to refill the containers when they are empty and that you cannot read the back of the cereal box during breakfast.  That might be a plus, since morning is kinda hectic in my house.”

I think what Leah’s end result shows is that often small changes can have a really big impact.  Whether it is just decluttering or adjusting the height of shelves, grouping like items together, relocating or exchanging a piece of furniture, or containerizing, you might be surprised by the effect it will have on you, your space, and your time.  Leah, enjoy your “new” chic pantry!

I hope that you have either started working on your kitchen this week or have a plan to do so soon.  Think of the problem areas and try to make small tweaks for the better.

Thank you Leah and Cook Kosher for allowing me to feature your pantry today.  For the full story on this project AND for a chance to win the amazing OXO containers that Leah used in her pantry, click here.

Have a great weekend!

Take a look at the improved Order Matters.

Many thanks to Belinda Chen for the adorable custom illustration of me

and Kendall Shiffler of Design by Kendall for the new blog design.  I am really thrilled with the new look!  Let me know what you think.

Most importantly, I wish you Happy Holidays! 

May we all be blessed with joy, laughter, health, peace, love, and meaning.

Thank you so much for being a part of my life.

I love hearing from my blog followers about their organizing dilemmas and, of course, their organizing achievements too.  Knowing the benefits of organization first hand, I get truly excited for others as they embark on projects which have the potential to make their day-to-day lives more efficient and less stressful, and their spaces more functional.

When Amy shared on Facebook that she was going to tackle her step daughter’s closet, I was eager to see the progress and the finished results.  This is what Amy wrote about her project:  “My step daughter’s closet was always messy, always cluttered and never nice to look at.

One of the biggest issues was that  she could not reach the top half of her clothes storage area. When she was asked to put stuff away, she would throw it on the floor because she couldn’t reach. So first things first, we got a new full length shelf to replace the smaller shelf that was already in the closet.   It lowered the hanging rod to a height that she could now reach.  It also provided more shelf storage for the games she has. I was able to fit all of her games on the new shelf, freeing up the remaining two short shelves for other items, such as small toys and some containers with winter gloves and hats.

Amy, you have done a great job!  Thank you for sharing the before and after.

Often, it is simple changes that make a big difference.  Amy effectively sorted through the contents of the closet, purged, and assigned new homes to some of the items.  Replacing a short shelf with a longer one helped resolve a technical issue and allowed her daughter to go from not being able to do something on her own to developing the independence to hang her own clothes.

Are you making progress on a project?  Would love to hear from you about your organizing successes and challenges.

I am so excited to have my recent pantry transformation featured on IHeart Organizing Blog today. It is one of my most favorite blogs!   Jen is totally amazing, creative, and superbly organized. I heart her organizing ideas and her sunny personality!   Click here to visit Jen’s terrific blog.

And NOW,

a very exciting GIVEAWAY!

I am enjoying my organized pantry so much that I would like to help ONE OF YOU to organize your pantry too. Enter for a chance to win:

1 hour of virtual professional organizing consultation from Order Matters and

$50 gift certificate to The Container Store and

A package of round labels (just like the ones I used for my pantry makeover) or your choice of labels from the Paper Source.

TO ENTER:

1.  Follow Order Matters blog.

2.  Like Order Matters on Facebook.

3.  Comment below to let me know that you have done 1 and 2.  Tell me how you would like to use your one free hour of professional organizing services.

Giveaway CLOSED on Sunday, September 4, 2011 at 11:59 pm PST.

I have a small pantry in my kitchen.  It had been terribly neglected.  This is the “before”…

Yep, that’s it.  I was ashamed.  Most of the time, I could find things easily, but that just was not enough for me.  So, I emptied everything out…

And got to work.  The primary issue I had in the pantry was lack of visibility.  I had no choice but do a bit of editing and some restructuring.  I made a list of the bulky items I keep in my pantry and purchased clear containers in which to store them.  I had to carefully consider the weight increments in which I buy items such as sugar, flour, rice, and other grains in order to source the containers of the right size.  The containers HAD to be stackable because while I have a small pantry, each shelf has a lot of height.  With stackable containers, I could utilize the space in between the shelves to my advantage.  I decided to go with the Click Clack brand and got them at an amazing discount at The Container Store.

These containers feature squeeze-top closures and airtight seals to keep food fresh. Lift-off lids make them easy to open and close.  There are, of course, other great products out there, but I found the Click Clack ones to be functional and very reasonably priced.

After various pantry items are put into clear containers, it becomes somewhat hard to identify what is what.  So, labeling was critically important.  I got a free template for these lovely labels from Better Homes & Gardens.  Aren’t they sweet? Labeling is always so much fun.

Voila!  The “after” photos…This is what my made over pantry looks like now!

I have two narrow stackable bins for kids’ snacks.  Bins are marked, otherwise they will open the pantry and start scavenging.

I have pull out drawers in the pantry.  If you look at the top of unmarked containers, it is hard to tell what is inside.  So, I labeled the otherwise hard to identify lids.

I am really pleased with the way the pantry turned out.  Every time I open it now, I do a little mental celebration dance. I can’t help it…organized and pretty does it for me.

What do you all think?  What challenging areas of your house are you working on now?