If you haven't yet seen my first guest post as a contributor over at Modern Parents Messy Kids, go check it out now, because this post relates to it!
As much as I love sharing pretty spaces and frugal finds with you guys, I also like to consider myself fairly candid. I grumble about missing out on getting printed in a magazine, and about how difficult blogging can be sometimes. I've also written about my issues with healthy eating and how, like most things in life, you need to work hard to get where you want to be, whether that's pertaining to home, work, or life.
Well, here's another one to add to the list, because I figure you may learn as much from my failures as you will my accomplishments. Back to the top, you'll see that I had my first ever guest post on another blog. I was so honoured to be asked to contribute, and although I wasn't a reader of MPMK, it didn't take long for me to realize how incredible and widespread that it was. I knew I had to do something amazingly awesome.
I went to my list of "projects to do" that is ever growing. I had a good number to choose from, but decided that I would tackle fridge organization. I hoped it would appeal to parents as well as non-parents because, who doesn't want a pretty organized fridge?
And then I got a a little carried away.
And, of course, I found some great storage at the dollar store (Dollorama.)
I fell in love with this blue tote for my produce. It's great as it can go from farmers market to fridge.
And, I labeled everything. Obviously.
I even liked the new Dollorama jars I added to my collection to store dips and other things. Those work. I like them.
The bins have been there since my pantry makeover, and I must say, I LOVE them and find them very handy. That is something you should do.
But, after taking all the photos and writing up my post on fridge organization, I just sat and stared at it.
It didn't feel right. Not in the least bit. There's fridge organization, and then there's fridge craziness.
And in the spirit of candour, I don't decant my milk into carafes. I did at one point. I had these beautiful glass carafes that I would decant our 4 litre of milk into, but after a while it got annoying. My hubby didn't jump on the milk train, so I was always the one decanting, and then hand-washing the glass carafes, and then decanting again. We go through a lot of milk (almost 2 litres a day) so it just wasn't a time saver. And organization should achieve at the very least these two things in my opinion: it should save time, and look nice.
And, in the spirit of pretty fridge photos, there had to have been about 10 not-so-pretty food items sitting on my island while I took these pictures, because an empty fridge looks so much better than a full one.
So after hours of writing a post I didn't use, and trying to edit weirdly lit photos (man, fridge photography is a challenge), I threw in the towel. If I didn't buy it, why would anyone else?
I changed directions and focused on my dip jars with new labels, because I do think it's a useful and pretty project that anyone can do. My FREEBIES page has now been updates to include them if you want to download.
But the moral of this post is, it's ok to be real. It's ok to have ziploc bags and leftover containers and milk jugs. We all do.
With that said, even a small amount of organization can clean up a space and save time. So, do what you can. Do what you are comfortable with.
And never forget that organization is supposed to make things EASIER and more EFFICIENT. If you spend 4 hours organizing to save 2 hours, then you've just wasted 2 hours. Put the time into things that will pay off in the long run and that are easy to maintain. I can say with 100% truth, that my pantry looks just like it did in this post, because I designed it in such a way that I knew it would work for me, and I knew I could keep it that way.
The fridge, on the other hand? Not so much....
Linking up at: The Picket Fence, Serenity Now, House of Hepworths, 52 Mantels, Organize and Decorate, Savvy Southern Style