Kitchen Organization

Nothing in the way of kitchen renovations went on today. But we did have our first home cooked meal in our new kitchen, and used our new stove for the first time - which heats up SO ridiculously fast, its awesome.  I also got to do dishes for the first time, which I was oddly excited about it (I'm sure I'll get over that quickly... by like tomorrow.), and must say I do love the new sink and faucet.

Since not much was done today, I thought I'd follow up a little on my organization and cleaning up.  Over at Young House Love this weekend they are running a "Let's Tackle It Together" project, which just so happened to be cleaning up the kitchen cabinets! Perfect!  Unfortunately I don't have anything groundbreaking-ly creative in the way of organization, just some common sense placement of kitchen necessities. (But, I'm sure the Youngsters will have something wicked awesome, so check with them tomorrow if you're looking for actual tips and not just pictures of my cabinets.)

Starting from the fridge we have the glasses, and the mugs on the other side of the sink...

My favorite, and the one I am most proud of, the storage container cabinet...

Next  the plates and bowls, with the spices on the other side of the stove...

Luckily(?) we aren't too culinary-ly gifted, so our spices are limited. (And you're not imaging those 3 bottles of PAM. I don't know why we have 3)  Down below, we've got the pots and pans to the left of the stove in a super susan, and the mixing bowls and small electrics on the right side in a super susan (cause we like overkill, and what's more overkill than two of these massive cabinets?).

Interesting note, if it's not balanced correctly, the super susan will start to turn on its own (see top right shelf). So, there's something I'll have to work on.

Otherwise, we've got the dual trash can cabinet next to the stove, some small drawers on the end of the peninsula, and some large pots and pans drawers in the middle.  Oh, and this beauty...

Is it not the best utensil drawer ever?  I found this expandable organizer at Bed, Bath & Beyond, and it fits perfect in the top drawer of the peninsula.  (And yes, that is a cow ice cream scoop, thanks for asking.)  The best part, the main section has a little labels with pictures of the utensil that goes there, so B has no excuse for putting anything in the wrong spot.

And I'm soliciting suggestions for what to do with this drawer/shelf thing...

Yes, I understand it is probably *supposed* to be some sort of spice rack.  A very frustrating one, since it wouldn't be too easy to get spices out of there.  Right now, the top shelf is housing my new "Original Drying Mat" that I find much more attractive than an actual drying rack, and the second rack has a few dish rags and pot holders I shoved in there.  Any ideas on what else I could do with it to make it functional? (The shelves do supposedly come out and can be adjusted up and down)

And, in the spirit of organization, I spent a few minutes cleaning out the fridge tonight. (Which if you remember yesterdays asparagus, you know could be scary.)  I filled a trash bag with a variety of things that were too old to be eaten.  I always hate throwing food away, I feel so wasteful, but it was nice to get some of that out of the fridge, so I can actually make a real grocery shopping trip one of these days.

I've also got my fingers crossed that the shelves for my pantry arrive in the next day or two so I can get all of our non-refrigerated actual food organized.  Which will just make me realize we have nothing, and again force me to go grocery shopping.