SPIRALING OUT OF CONTROL

Have you ever peered into your kitchen cabinets and thought “there has to be a better way”?

Sometimes, all that is needed is a better mousetrap.

What began as an exercise to find space for a newly purchased kitchen tool, quickly sent Old Mother Frugal into a downward spiral. Overwhelmed, this began the search for the illusive better mousetrap.

Money for closet and cabinet organizers were not options. This had to be a frugal redesign. Scattered around the house there were shoe boxes, a few baskets, CD racks and Clementine crates. Time to get to work with these hodgepodge containers.

Three piles were created. There was the pile for the recycle bin, the pile for Goodwill and the pile that needed to find a new place in the kitchen cabinet.

Tupperware and plastic containers could have a cabinet all unto themselves. Actually, they did but an afternoon of purging greatly reduced the inventory of containers without lids. Twelve aluminum pie tins went to the recycle bin with them.

Unused items warranted contacting Mother’s Little Helpers. If they had no need for the Crème Brulee torch, it was going onto the Goodwill pile in its new box with all its little ramekins.

In the end, there was room to add a 9” spiralizer to the kitchen tool shelf. Another “Mother’s Little Helper” has come to our home. And although it  does requires food, it doesn’t consume any!

SOUND THE BULGE! Today’s tip: Think outside the box by using a different type of containers as a closet organizer. Shoe boxes and Clementine crates make for sturdy and inexpensive closet organizers to corral those small items on your shelf or in your cabinet.