Chez Larsson

Drawer Switcheroo

I recently had a bit of a drawer switcheroo. It was brought on by the fact that our broom cabinet is super narrow and all the dish cloths and rags I use when cleaning where on the top shelf and getting to them was awkward.

So I started thinking I wanted them in a drawer for easier access. There aren’t very many drawers in our kitchen and they’re all obviously taken (have you ever heard of an empty kitchen drwaer?) but I figured I use the candles more in the dining area and living room so out they went.

 
Now my rags, sponges and dish cloths are easier accessible, but what happened to the candles?

 
Don’t worry, there’s still a candle drawer! The divider (originally for cutlery) fit perfectly into one of the drawers that I keep in the dining area cabinet.

And there was even an extra empty drawer there after I sorted out a bunch of stuff for charity so there are now actually two candle drawers! I love that I was able to put the chunkier candles, outdoor candles and candle coasters in there too and freed up some space on the shelves.

I'm all set for fall! Speaking of fall, it's rained for two days straight and it's pretty cold so I think I'll light some candles tonight!

Btw, do you light candles on a regular weekday or do you save them for special occasions? I remember when I used to work at IKEA back in the stone ages and spent two weeks in the Marseilles store in France  They ran in-store ads over the speaker system and they all ended "et n'oubliez pas les bougies!" (= "and don't forget the candles!") because in France apparently they don't use candles everyday like we do over here and IKEA's big on those votives and wanted to make sure no-one left the store without.

Fancy Snooping?

 
Fancy snooping around in my dining area cabinet? Yes? Knock yourself out!

I shot some photos while I wiped down the shelves and weeded out some seldom used stuff. The local Red Cross shop is opening soon and I have some bags for them.

 
My principles for an organized cabinet are

• Like with like
• Tall at back
• Straight lines
• Best access to most used
• No or few strays

 
I like having a tray because occasionally we keep drinks in here and I prefer stains on the tray and not on the shelf itself.

 
There are still a few things I’d love to get rid of and I’ve hidden two of them at the back on this lower shelf. Martin insists on keeping those lidded glasses that originally contained some vile Chinese alcohol. There are boats on the front. What if we were to keep everything that has a boat motif on it? Oh, heck, I think we do. That why we have a boat room…

Box o' Keys

Nycklar = Keys. This is our box of keys. It doesn’t look very organized but on closer inspection there’s method to the madness.

When I get spare keys I label them right away to make sure we know what they are later on. The reason for this is pretty obvious, you want to find the spare in a hurry usually. I didn’t use to label them and we always had these frantic moments in the morning trying to find the key for the swimming pool locker lock or an extra key to leave with a neighbor cat feeder.

I don’t have a lovely system where all the labels are the same and there’s no little cabinet to clutter up grace the wall but this really works.

 
Also in the box are some extra key rings and key chains and key “accessories” that might come in handy at a later date.

 

And then there’s this. Testa uppe = Try upstairs. These are keys that we found in the house when we moved in. They weren’t actually in any locks and we don’t really need to lock any interior doors upstairs but I still want to check if they go on any of the locks now that I fixed them and changed the handles. As the label states I already tried them downstairs, without luck. As soon as I’ve given them a test drive they are going if I cant find a home in a door for them.

This is the crème de la crème as far as keys go. Wille made it in kindergarten. It’s laminated and lovely and every time I open the box I smile.

Free Sample Organizing Lesson

Just a quick note to let you know that Aby over at Simplify 101 is offering everyone a sample organizing lesson for FREE! Check out the details in this blog post. But hurry—the offer ends Monday, August 9, 2010 at 5:00PM US CST.

First Aid Kits Revisited

I don’t know if you remember this post but I have two First Aid kit boxes in the kitchen. They’re the ones at the top there on the shelves. A little while ago I wanted change in terms of color in the kitchen and decided to introduce a bit of yellow inspired by the little duck tray I found hidden away amongst our trays. Decided the First Aid kits could do with a little makeover too.

So what are symbols of medicines and first aid? A pill and a band aid of course. I did a Google image search for “pill free clip art” and “band aid free clip art” and found the images above which I photo shopped to suit my needs in terms of size and color.

I printed the images out on magnetic photo paper. I got mine at Ink Club a few years ago but I can’t find them on their site any longer but there are other online sources. Just Google “magnetic photo paper” and you’ll find them.

 
Then it was just a matter of cutting the images out with scissors. Although these are magnets they are really easy to cut.

 
Here the new pill and band aid magnets are on their respective tin boxes. Wille thought this was much easier to get than the red and green cross, he was never quite sure what the green cross was all about.

 
Fresh and new color scheme. Fresh and new labels on those boxes. I’m happy. Do is ducky who has an infinitely better view from up there.