Switch it Around

We have lived in this house for eleven months, almost. A few months ago I felt like the kitchen arrangement just wasn't working. The kitchen isn't that big, but there were a lot of unnecessary steps. For several weeks, I thought about how I used the pots, the baking stuff, the pantry goods (we don't have an official pantry space here). How could I make it better, more efficient, more practical?

The end result? I turned the kitchen over on its head and switched around the contents of  the cupboards, drawers and cabinets. The silverware went into the drawer closest to the table, reversing spots with the measuring cups and spoons, moving them into the drawer on the island. The pots and pans went into the deep corner cabinet with the turny thingy. The pantry goods moved from the turny thing (I'm sure it has a better name), to under the island where the pots and pans had been and where my smart husband added metal wire shelves supported by blocks of wood on either side. Impermanent, flexible, made from pieces we had in the garage, cost, zero. And it doubled the storage space in that cabinet. The cereal drawer switched with the flour and baking supplies.

 The next few days I heard lots of, "Where did the coffee go?" "What did you do with the cereal?" We all settled into the new placings quickly, showing how much better organized it all was. Once in awhile we do still go to the island drawer for the silverware. Old habits die hard.

Every time I open the corner cabinet for a fry pan or a pot, I smile and think, yes, this is where these should be. When the cans and boxes of macaroni and jars of whatever were in there, something would fall off when I spun it around. This is much better.

What things in your life could benefit from switching them around? Maybe the stuff on a closet shelf would work better somewhere else. Or, even better, thinned out and headed out the door. In the months we have been here, I have enjoyed the results of all the thinning out we did when we moved. But the time has come to go through things again, eliminate, clear out, and enjoy more empty space. So much better to have space to breathe, space to grow. What could you switch around?