Spending Time & Money to Make Our Lives Better

On New Year’s Eve my husband and I pulled out the contents of each and every one of our cabinets and reorganized our kitchen. That’s right, while everyone else was popping corks and sipping champagne we were knee deep in dusty glasses and rusted, unused pans.


It started simply enough. I pulled out one glass, then another and before I knew it the kitchen floor was stacked with bowls, glasses, mugs, plates and assorted kitchen tools. My husband walked in and found me balancing a bunch of mismatched beer mugs in my arms and decided to lend a hand.

We spent an hour or so looking over the contents of the kitchen. We grouped things according to how often we use them. Items that are rarely moved were moved into lower and higher shelves and items that we almost never use were moved into the basement.

We decided to donate the majority of the glasses and vases that were in the basement so we could make room for the new items we were moving down there. If we don’t touch the contents of the downstairs cabinets in the next year, we’ll donate those items to charity next year.

My husband also bought a new refrigerator to replace the ancient one that previously resided downstairs. It required defrosting and let’s face it, we never defrosted it. In fact, it was so packed with ice that you couldn’t fit a thing in there.

The new fridge only cost a few hundred dollars, it’s much more energy efficient and is freezer-less, which is perfectly fine because we also own a midsized chest freezer.

I like to keep a minimum amount of food in the refrigerator in our kitchen. When it’s packed to the brim I find that we lose track of what’s inside of it as leftovers and other goodies get pushed back to the back of the shelves. By maintaining a separate fridge we’re able to keep the food neat and tidy and when I glance at the contents I’m able to recognize everything inside.

In addition to better organization owning a separate fridge let’s me stock up on deals. The extra fridge is full of discounted eggs, butter, sour cream, yogurt, fruits, veggies, milk and juice. It might cost a little more to maintain two refrigerators but it enables us to stock up on sales and ensures we don’t lose track of and waste food.

It’s been a week since we reorganized the kitchen and now all of the dishes, cups and bowls are easily in reach and organized. I’m not sure everyone would want to spend their New Year’s celebration cleaning out the cupboards but it was the perfect way for my husband and I to ring in 2011.

2 thoughts on “Spending Time & Money to Make Our Lives Better”

  2. I have to admit that we did some of that as well. My wife is part Chinese and there is a big rush to get ready and clean for the New Year. While it's not Chinese New Year yet, the new year for most of us leads to lots of cleaning in our home. I think starting out fresh for the new year is insurance you can stay on top of things and not get bogged down in the muck and disarray.

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