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.
Lori says
Thanks for sharing! Those cute jars are a great idea. Thanks for introducing me to Pinterest. I am completely addicted. I spend too much time browsing Pinterest to do any fluff up or cleaning!…but my little one has the cutest Valentines box for school thanks to my Pinterest addiction! 🙂
Laurie says
I love Pinterest too … and it’s definitely easy to get caught up browsing and never fluffing! 🙂 So glad you enjoy it… how fun for your little one to have cute Valentine’s stuf though!
Angela says
Hey, Laurie! Your cabinet looks great! Just thought I’d mention that your powdered sugar shaker is also great for cinnamon sugar – it makes putting it on toast (or anything else!) so much easier. I purchased two from Pampered Chef years ago and love them.
Laurie says
Thanks Angela! I LOVE that powdered sugar shaker…. but I never thought about one for cinnamon sugar – what a great idea! I bought it last year and it just makes me happy every time we use it. 🙂 Now I need one for cinnamon!
Michelle says
Do you have yoru ranch seasoning posted???
Laurie says
Hi Michelle! I don’t have it posted, but here’s the link to the one that I use ~ http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/healthy-homemade-salad-dressing-ideas
It works great so we never buy the ranch kits!