Mission Accomplished

The kitchen is officially organized. Victory is mine! In fact - this calls for a victory dance!

*pause for victory dance*

And what a victory dance it was! Sorry, you missed it.

Special thanks to my marvelous mother who came down for the day just to help me organize a room. Oh alright, she came to visit too. Sometimes she's just the person I need to get me motivated and moving. Plus - she usually has a lot of practical ideas to contribute! She's my motivator.
We started off by cleaning the kitchen. It had to be done, I suppose.

Then out came the sticky notes.
After all, you've got to plan out where you want everything!Unless you just don't know what to put in a cabinet...
We also vacuumed out all of the cabinets and drawers. Cabinet installation = saw dust = no place for food or dishes!

Then came the fun part. Emptying boxes upon boxes of dishes and finding a place for everything.

SEE!! Pots and pans all next to the stove! Stacked neatly, patiently awaiting additional shelving...
Baking goods in one corner above the mixer. Mom's all about functionality. She's spent a lot of time in kitchens.
Ack - sorry about the blinding light - I had the under cabinet lighting on. Isn't it AWESOME!

The sad part is I still have some space and we haven't even built in the shelving for our future pantry... Then again - I suppose that's a good thing...
Dishes & cups (note to self - cabinets need additional shelving... just look at all of that wasted space)
Here are all of the empty boxes in the aftermath of the daring and nearly insurmountable kitchen escapade of 09:And the best part? I can now actually WALK in my laundry room. What a strange new world this is!
Of course, I'm sure some cabinets will change in the near future - nothing is set in stone - but it was a big step in the right direction. Once I build in shelving and close in a pantry in the useless open space (future pictures will be provided), then I'll have even more storage space. I love storage space. You can never have too much.

THANK YOU, MOM! Your help and encouragement are always appreciated. I love you!