Organizing the New Kitchen Island

So for our anniversary this year the hubs and I went in on an Island for our kitchen.  We found that the counter space has just not been working for us when we were preparing food.  We ended up settling on one from Target.  Some of the features that I like:

•  it is on wheels so it can move around when needed 
• the back of the island can open up and become a bar counter for additional seating if we need it
• the top is a butcher block, enough said

Many of our cabinets and drawers that hold items other than dishes are oddly shaped.  The drawers we used to have our silverware in were so narrow that we had half our silverware in one drawer and the other half in another drawer. The cabinets that hold our larger cooking items have this weird half shelf in the back that is hard to get to.  In the front there is a cabinet frame between the doors (hopefully I'm explaining this right) so that I can put larger items in but I have to put them in at an angle and take them out at an angle.  Sometimes it frustrates me to no END!  So the island is going to help with some of these frustrations......

In the drawers we put our  utensils, serving pieces, and knives.  I'm still looking for a container to put the knives in, but I can't find one that is the right size right now.  The other bins are old recycled containers that I found in the basement that we weren't using.

The cabinet part of the island has two pull out shelves, which I LOVE.  We used them to put some of our food items that are too big for our pantry cabinet.  At first I had trouble with the chips and bagged items on the left side because when I would pull out the shelf some of the stuff would fall down behind the things on the bottom.  So, I found this great basket at Target today.  At first I thought the basket wasn't going to fit because of the dimensions on the sticker.......but it didn't look as big as it said.  So I took it over to the hardware section and double checked it with a tape measure.  Guess what it was 1 inch shorter than the sticker said and it fits perfectly!  Now my bagged items don't fall out when I pull out the shelf.  The bottom of the shelf holds our casserole dishes organized by shape along with our mixing bowls and collender that we use very frequently.

While I was at Target I couldn't resist getting a wire bowl for fruit.  Right now it is holding potatoes because I haven't made our run to the store yet and the potatoes are for dinner tonight.  LOL.  Also I opted to keep out my set of Mixing Bowls that are from Crate and Barrel.  Someone got them for us for our wedding shower or wedding and can I just say how much I LOVE THEM!!   I use them all the time.  What I love about them:

• there are 5 and they come in all sizes
• they are nesting so they conserve space
• they are good for mixing and serving
• they come in fun colors

Crate and Barrel redoes the colors on them each season but they always have them.  If you are looking for a great gift for someone getting married they are a fabulous buy.  Find them here!  

So far my 365 days of cleaning hasn't progressed as well as I wanted it to but it is getting there.  Slowly but surely.  Stay tuned for the next post on blinds and why it is important to clean them frequently.