Organizing My Kitchen Cupboards

This is what my kitchen looked like when I started!

Yesterday, I spent the day organizing my cupboards for the hundredth time since I moved here. Sad to say, but they were a disaster! They aren't as tall as I need, since many of my bottles and jars are taller than store bought product ones. I have such a hard time reaching up into a cupboard due to it hurting my shoulders. Plus I am pretty short. So I usually have to stand on stool. A small one about a foot off the floor with a wide top. I am very careful when on it. The last thing I need is to fall. 

The lazy Susan when I first moved in. 2018

Apartments don't offer the best cupboards, but mine are not too bad. Especially considering I have a large lazy Susan built it under the counter and next to the stove. I use it for spices and seasonings on one side and ziploc bags, foil and parchment paper on the other side.  The bottom shelf on it has large bulk cans of various things I use. It is very handy and I love that thing.

The kitchen in my old house.

After living so long among chaos at my house, when I moved here in 2018, I promised myself that would never happen again. I knew as long as I lived alone it would not happen and would never have happened before. Sometimes things are beyond your control. Now it is not. I loved having a pantry in my house, I just did not like what it looked like. It was the original pantry in the house but it badly needed work. I used it but it was frustrating to say the least. Here I do not have one but I have used some ideas I used in the pantry.

I knew there was a way to organize these cupboards to make best use of the space. I just had to figure it out. Younger people, taller people or people without any disabilities don't understand what I go through trying to get something out of a cupboard. Many times I just give up. Now I think I have it organized in such a way that I can find everything. Probably have to use the stool to get something on the higher shelves but I can usually do that. 

Putting foods in large mouth canning jars is one of those. I had a lot of products that were in bags with zip locks on them. Trouble is those zip locks did not zip tightly. So I have put all those items in the canning jars. It is important to use wide mouth ones so you can get your hand inside to the bottom of the jar. Then label the outside of the jar with a label and use a marker to write what is in it. If I need the directions, the ingredients, recipes or any nutritional information, I cut that off the bag and tape it to the back. 

It took me the whole day to do this job but it had to be done. I know I could have waited and had my aide do it or help me. But I knew in my mind what I wanted to do and didn't want to hurry through it. I took a lot of breaks and sat down and put my feet up a lot. So it took me longer but now it is done the way I wanted it. The next job will be the lazy Susan. 

Copyright © 2021 Kathleen G. Lupole

All Photographs Copyright © 2021  Kathleen G. Lupole