My spice cabinet has been a mess for months . . . despite several attempts to re-organize.  Because I’m such the penny-pincher, I’ve refused to spend any moo-lah on items that could better organize my spices, which has led to crazy disaster every night as I start to cook!

Finally, as I was cooking this week and got knocked in the head by a pie plate (yup, it was that bad), I decided that this was just ridiculous. (Seriously!)  You see, we’ve been married for almost sixteen years, and I’ve never done anything to make this mess better. . . I’ve tidied it, but there was just no system in place!  So yesterday I ran to Walmart and spend $30 on a few items to Fluff it Up.  (Why on earth did I wait so long?)  Here are the results . . .

I found a 12-pack of Ball canning containers for $7, and purchased plastic lids to match for the tops.  I added my more frequently used  baking products to those (things like baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, yeast packets, etc.)  I also purchased a few racks to give me extra space, and baskets for the top to keep all of our cookie cutters & cake decorating items in (I’ve made every single birthday cake for my kiddos, so I have quite a stash of goodies up there!)  My favorite purchase were little tiny Ball canning jars that are just perfect for a few seasoning mixes I keep on hand – cinnamon sugar, homemade Ranch dressing mix, and Italian Seasonings. (They’re so cute, but you can hardly see them – they’re hiding just behind the powdered sugar shaker!)

This Christmas, my brother-in-law convinced me to purchase a nicer computer and it has made a huge difference in my productivity on PPP in 2012.  (I spent my first year blogging on a $300 netbook . . . it was just awful!)  I’ve started to realize that sometimes (when you can afford too!), spending a little money to purchase items that make you work more efficiently is just worth it.  And you can imagine the amount of time that I’ve spent searching for spices in that mess up top has definitely hurt my productivity!  So, while I don’t want to spend too much on things I don’t need, I do think it’s okay to splurge every once in awhile on things that will make me more effective in my work (which is cooking for my family!) Especially since I saved enough money in my grocery budget this week to splurge on it . . . yayyyyy!

Have you made fluffed up anything new in your home this week? Check out my favorite ideas over on Pinterest (you can follow me under ppennypincher if you’d like to get started . . . I love that place!) If you have a blog and have done a little fluffing in your home, I’d love to see it, so leave your link in the comments section. Also, if there’s a craft you’ve seen on a website that you’re hoping to make, feel free to share that link as well (I’m always looking for new ideas!)

Check out previous Friday Fluff Up projects and ideas . . . and Happy Fluffing.

Interact with 7638+ Penny Pinchers on Facebook and Twitter or Subscribe to Passionate Penny Pincher by email to keep up with all the penny pinchin’ deals!