gimmeakiss*: I'm So Awesome I Even Amaze Myself

When we moved into our house, the unpacking went in three phases:
1) Just put the boxes in the right room and we'll rummage as we need to.
2) Boxes are making me crazy! I don't care if it's organized, just put everything AWAY!
3) I can't live like this. MUST. ORGANIZE. EVERYTHING.

As you can imagine, phase 3 is a long, long process. I am not afraid to reorganize something until it "feels" right. Usually these fits of organization come when I am supposed to be doing something else. Case in point: Last weekend, while folding and putting away laundry, I reorganized most of my folded clothes because I didn't like what drawers they were in.

Often these organization sessions cause me to re-examine what I have, how I store it and how I can make it work better. Because these moments are almost always spontaneous I don't have the chance to buy any supplies beforehand, so I'm solving problems on the fly.

Most recently I was re-re-reorganizing the contents of my kitchen cabinets. I have lots of big pots and pans, but they hang from a ceiling mounted pot-rack. This is great for the pots, but it means I end up with a big pile of orphaned pot lids.

I really, really don't like shoving a pile of lids in a cabinet and calling it a day. The lids are hard to find, they can scratch each other and I dread the loud crash that inevitably happens when you want the lid on the bottom of the pile.

I was wandering around the house, looking for a solution, when I noticed this little guy peeking out from my toaster oven.

It's actually a baking rack from my old, broken toaster oven - and it doesn't even fit in my current toaster oven - but I kept it becuase I MIGHT NEED IT SOMEDAY. In the past I have used it as a cooling rack for cookies, but on that fateful day I looked at it and knew it would be the answer to all my problems.

Moral of the story: pile of lids + toaster oven baking rack = organizational miracle.