Sometimes this happens to me.  I get on an organizing frenzy.  I’m not sure what usually sets it off, but this time it was Real Simple.  That magazine will do that to you.

I was looking at the February 2010 issue (I know, I’m kinda behind on the magazine reading), and I came across this article about 4 women who are crazy organized in one area of their home.  I loved them all and kind of wanted to be them all wrapped up into one.

I knew I wanted to start in the kitchen with the spice cabinet, which is a disaster.  So I headed out with the 3 year old to the Container Store, which is like heaven, and which is not all that close to my house, so I don’t go there often.  I found the containers that this woman uses in her cupboard (would you please click through and get a load of that cupboard?  Where on EARTH is her canned tuna?  Beans?  Can you really put EVERYTHING in these absurdly expensive OXO containers?) and bought a few.  I was also looking for a spice rack, and I found JUST the thing in a Rubbermaid wire rack that actually folds forward so you can reach the spices in the back.  And I got a little 3 step riser and a plastic container with a handle this is perfect for our vitamins.  I’m tired of carrying 7 bottles of various vitamins in my arms; now I can just pull down the container and BAM.

I was so excited about getting it all done before RD Husband got home that I forgot to get an absolute before photo.  But I did take one after I’d emptied out all the spices, and then I took a photo of the counter spilling over with said spices.

A jumbled mess of spices, vitamins, and chocolate. Yes, chocolate.

Here are all the spices.  I didn’t think I had this many.

You'd think my cooking would be more flavorful.

I wiped all the shelves clean and then realized that this Rubbermaid thing needed to be installed.  Like, it doesn’t just sit on the shelf like I thought it did.  You have to get real tools and screw it in.  This is not my forté.

But I was determined to do it all before RD Husband got home.  I read the instructions and actually figured it out.  First, you have to install a bracket on the side, and this is sketchy because you have to actually measure with a ruler its correct placement.  I am not good at that.  Somehow, my measurements always come out wrong.  And they did here, too.  I followed the directions but their suggested measurement (put the bracket 5″ from the front of the cabinet) did not work for me.  So I have two extra holes in the shelf.  No big whoop.

I actually used a power tool and drilled 1/8″ holes to get my screws started.  And when all was said and done, here’s what I had:

Fab, right?

And see, it pulls down like this:

Ooooh, it's so easy to find my spices!

Now, I will tell you that I was a little disappointed because the picture on the outside of the box looks like this:

Naturally, I assumed that the rack came with all these lovely matching jars, right?  Especially for $30, right?  WRONG.  No jars!  Of course, they put that in 6pt on the side of the box.  I was all set to transfer all my spices and use the P Touch to label them all.  Probably for the best, though, because I do NOT have the time for that.  I’ve got 203 craft projects to do, people.

The other shelves got themselves organized, too.

That plastic container with the handle on the lower left is where all the daily vitamins reside, and I think it’s kind of brilliant, if I do say so myself.

I also bought a wrapping paper organizer which is not nearly as cool as this lady’s setup.

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