organizing my apartment

Little by little, I have been trying to create a space that is more sustainable to maintain. A space where almost everything has a place, is in its place, and if it isnt it won't take me too long to get it there. Consistency in housework is not exactly my forte, so working on this has been a goal of mine for a while. Here are a few of the my recent "apartment revamps".




My lovely spice rack was taking up prime real estate on my kitchen counters, so the spices are on my stove now. Hanging above are some bulky utensils and measuring cups, which are cramping the style of my limited drawers.




John built me (YES! BUILT ME!) this nifty pots and pans rack. We were inspired by Martha Stewart's "Good Things For Organizing". We had looked for pots and pan racks online and in stores, but most were around $100-250. John did this little baby for about $20 :) The best part is, now my cabinets are clear to hold my small kitchen appliances!



So this might be silly and simple to all of you-- but my fridge was out of control cluttery. I kept anything everything that was mailed to me in the previous 6 months and most recipes I used. My magnets were a random assortment, so I used felt and buttons to add cute flowers that matched my dishes, and voila! I was inspired to create and sustain a new process to govern how long things last on the fridge...



Another simple fix-- I needed a place for my dish towels! I dont have any handles on my fridge or oven so they had all been stuffed in a drawer or sprawled on the counter. Now with a few command strips and hooks, they can dry and have a nice place to live.



Finally, I made this cute valence tonight. It was super easy, required NO pinning and no pattern. And it ties my little apartment together :) It's the cute stuff (and making the cute stuff) that motivates me to get everything more organized :)

How do you stay organized?