I've always found that it's very hard to organize and unpack at the same time. I feel for you!

For the larger utensils, you could find (or make) the kind of dividers that span the drawer and let you decide how wide to set them. Or you might find one of those bamboo ones that slide open to fit the drawer.

It sounds like you need a charging station. They make things like this, but it doesn't sound like you need all that, and it's not particularly lovely. Instead, can you add a matching shelve under an out of the way cabinet, put a powerstrip that takes transformer plugs, and use that? Or maybe put a freestanding one on top of the MW since that's your husband's preferred station?

Maybe for your drawers, since you have so many more than you used to, you could develop some "rules". At least for the first go round. Such as stuff to hand, like stirrers and knives go in top drawers near where they'll be used. Bigger gadgets go in middle drawers. Least used items go in bottom drawers. You can make them more specific for your particular items.

I was planning on an appliance garage for charging, but didn't plan for MW and they put my quad outlet in between 2 cabinets so adding garage would split that outlet. We ended up putting (too big) MW I got from my mom there.

I was thinking putting a shelf over the phone/answering machine, maybe with memo board next to it? Have the memo baord, just too scared to hang it on my fridge panel. Have a couple of key hooks too, just trying to figure out if we should hang one in mudroom near garage door and another in kitchen, or one in mudroom and just keep spare keys in a drawer.

Last house did have a 30" deep pantry, so I had hand mixer, rolling pin, wraps and foils in there. All my cake decorating stuff was in a box in the basement.

Do you see how perhaps things could fit in the two empty drawers I have (not shown)? Should I move DD's things to the working side of the island (bigger drawer) or leave them by the fridge where (theoretically) she could get them w/o getting in my way? Too much to ask for her to put them back neatly and not jam the drawer, so if I'm the one putting them away, would island drawer be OK (just sweep the stuff off the counter, down to the next counter, and into the drawer)?

I did try to put things close at hand, but didn't want to move knives to island since cutting boards won't fit in the smaller drawers. We tend to prep at both places, no preference, though if peeling veggies will stay next to sink. Island is more for baking, cooling, and plating.

The cabinets are next! I still have wine glasses in boxes stuffed in the uppers, not sure what's over fridge, my china is in bottom of pantry with cans sitting on top of the box, and crystal is in boxes in the shower/toilet area of MBA (wanted it out of the way with all the construction - we're not finishing bath for a while)! It was tough, living w/o a DR floor for a year (at least I had a climate-controlled wood finishing shop with sawhorses and a chandy LOL!), now we've had floor and furniture in there since Sept and I still haven't put anything in nth china cabinet since I have to dig my china out of the pantry.

I'd leave the art supplies where they're out of the cooking way and easy for your daughter to get. Unless it just doesn't work. Your kitchen is done. Now it's just a matter of putting things where they fit. And, yes, it's okay to put them away yourself, but you may as well start as you mean to finish--it's not going to be that long before she can learn to put them away without jamming. I'd rather have the cake decorating stuff in the island.

LOL about the china!!

Really, and truly, it all seems overwhelming now, but if you put the easy stuff away first and then figure out where the hard stuff goes, then move the stuff that is in a place you need for the other stuff, you'll get there. And you'll even have room to finish your bathroom. :-)

DD was in and out of that drawer all evening - I can't move it, she would be in my way while I'm cooking. Maybe I'll have to move the silverware to the end of the island closest to the DW and put our chargers, etc. in the silverware drawer? Then I still have one 4" deep, 16x17 drawer for baking and utensils.

I told DS that my goal was to have everything put away in drawers and to have the last pieces of trim for the island poly'd by Sunday. Maybe not installed, but finished. Next week, the cabinets and maybe the pantry? I've got houseguests coming a few days after Easter so I can't have stuff all over. What to do with the 8ft 9ft and 12ft pieces of trim on my DR floor?! Thought we'd have crown up by then, but my carpenter has gotten busy with other jobs. And I still have no railing on the stairs and only one shower (two toilets, one on each level and 4 sinks if you count kitchen and mudroom as well as the 2 in the only completed bathroom).

What to do with the trim? Stack it neatly against the walls.

Seriously.

After I hired the GC I started packing up the dining room cabinet that needs to move during construction, and the whole kitchen. The first thing that went were the company dishes. All in the deep dark corner. So all of a sudden, I'm having dinner for 22 people next week. I've rescued a carving board and cake safe that were get-at-able, and my mother's old kitchen flatware, which was packed between the canisters. There's enough of that to set the table. I'm using disposable everything else, and borrowing soup and stock pots, a carving set, and a couple other things. Rented tables and chairs will extend from the dining room table into the part of the living room that's not covered with boxes. They'll just have to enjoy the panoply of cardboard decor!

But, yes, the silverware near the DW sounds good. Chargers...plates or electronics? The latter, yes. The former, maybe one of your big drawers would be better?

How's the weather? Do you think tomorrow would be a good time to poly?

Crown is worth waiting for. Getting it in just right is tricky, and good to have a happy, experienced carpenter. Carpenters like sticky buns.

I have a pack rat husband. He comes home with parts in the pockets he forgets to leave in his tool box at work, along with small tools for working on things but can never find cause it's hidden.
First thing he does is dump it in one drawer in the kitchen. I cannot tell you how many times I've emptied it only to have it over flowing in no time.

I went to the container store this week and got an organizer for all the main drawers. I'm hoping this will stop the madness of 100 pound kitchen drawer. Ok maybe 30 pounds no joke. I nearly fainted when I took the drawer out to clean it out.

DH doesn't empty his pockets - he's a computer geek. All his stuff is in a Rubbermaid box in the attic (and it's easily 80 lbs - I carried 50 lb bags of thinset into this house, I can't even lift that box!). Don't you like my cute flowered basket for *my* screwdrivers, vise grips, switchplates, etc.? Bucket of joint compound and taping knives are under the utility sink in mudroom (no cabinet, just sink) and a dozen used roller covers wrapped in Saran and ziploc bags are on the top shelf of my fridge - been there 9 months and I have to see which are too hard & dry around the edges for touchup painting.

I do have trim stacked along wall behind couch in FR -can't fit any more. Crown and filler for kitchen in DR under table - don't want to stack it along front wall that is the only wall long enough for 12ft piece of crown, or put smaller pieces behind china cabinet. So it's sitting on the Oriental carpet we paid $600 to clean before we put it on new BC floor. Have to move leather sofa in LR away from wall and stack it behind that? Or behind TV? On top of kitchen cabinets?

I'll have to post pics some time of the boxes of 20-yr old wedding crystal in my unfinished bathroom. Doesn't quite match the 100-yr old flow blue china sitting in a Pampers box in corner of my BR LOL. Belonged to my great-great-grandma, my great-aunt inherited it from her older sister (my godmother) who lived 1 mile from me. Her son and his wife are coming to pick it and other stuff (in my attic) up after Easter.

My carpenter is my cousin, I have to wait for him to have a few hours here and there to do crown (thought he was going to be available this week so picked it up - about 40ft of crown and 20ft of filler plus 20-odd ft of baseboard and another 20ft of door casing). I have 2 openings that need trim in kitchen, plus have to pull trim off pantry door b/c builder cut it shorter than basement door. If he can just cut the 12ft piece to length I can manage it - want to start staining next week. HD's saws were so dull and bent it wasn't worth trying to cut any more to the lengths we needed so I've got lots extra.

I got 3 different organizers at Target tonight and none of them really work. The one that expands to the full 16x17 drawer has room for only 5 knives (who has only 5 knives?), even putting salad forks in with dinner forks didn't have enough compartments for 16 teaspoons,8 tablespoons, and a bunch of serving spoons. And the areas were too narrow for whisks and such. The smaller on had a little area for measuring spoons and the whisks fit on the expanded side, but it was too short to fill the drawer so there was a little wasted space and the cake server, grater, etc. were just a little too long. The "junk" organizer had no long sections at all. Back to BB&B?

I *did* get a tea caddy (small box with drawer separated into small compartments, box has raised sides so it's like a tray. I put that on top of MW, the Blackberry charger, Bluetooth and charger, and rechargable batteries (AA and AAA) and charger fit - just my cell phone charger didn't. But I might get new phone soon anyway. And it was only $7.48! So DH can charge his BB on top of the MW without me worrying about heat damaging it (radiation is another story, but if the MW is leaking we've got bigger problems than the BB!).

Still thinking I'd like a shelf or cubby over phone - maybe 12" deep x 24" wide same as cabinet, with some vertical divisions? One section 8" so I can put school papers there? Hope it wouldn't get too stuffed and messy since it would be open. But $7.48 I won't regret even if it's temporary.

i would go through everything and get rid of all the stuff you dont need. my kitchen drawers were stuffed so full they were getting jammed when you tried to open them and i had a really good clear out, it's amazing how many utensils etc you end up with two or three of! you only need one in most cases and it makes it much easier to find things when there is less of it.

the key ring holder i would put in the kitchen and do it straight away, it will save you so much time looking for keys when you get into the habit of putting them on a key hook. the pot holders i would hang on the side of a cupboard or something because they're taking up a lot of room in that draw and its something you use all the time so you may as well keep it handy. just a couple of thoughts :)

I cleared out a lot when we moved, I unpacked more things when my new drawers were installed but if I haven't used them in 18 months then maybe I don't need the funnels and stuff either. I'm trying to sort out what's useful and what's not - started a box for Goodwill. I only have 2 whisks, a large and a small, but maybe can get rid of some spatulas (not icing spatulas).

Good idea about the pot holders, but can I hang them inside the range hood, over the stove? The ones cabinet end I have is 3ft away by the sink - the cabinet on the other side of the range runs into a wall. The trivets I put in the drawer b/c I rarely use the tile ones since I bought the chrome ones sitting by the coffeemaker, and I couldn't see them cluttering up the countertop. I'd hang the tile ones but I took the rings off the back after I ended up scratching my brand-new fridge glass shelf with a pot of chili on the trivet (DH comes home and says "Let's get Chinese!" after I spent all day cooking chili so it was a full pot).

Would keys be better closer to the garage door? We don't have much space b/t door and wall hiding the washer, can't put shelf, but we can put a key caddy there. Gotta be better than throwing the keys in a ziploc bag on the counter!

Good idea having the charity box going. for example, even one funnel is enough instead of having different sizes etc. so you might keep one and get rid of the rest. I also noticed you have two sets of measuring spoons and measuring cups so maybe keep one set of each and get rid of the spare set? This is what I've done and it has made life so much easier in the kitchen. If you're unsure, put the things you think you dont need in the goodwill box and keep adding to it, dont look in there and if after a couple of months you find you dont need to retrieve anything, you dont need it.

I have my keyholder just on the side of an overhead cupboard near the kitchen entrance, because I find that when I go out or come back home I always end up in the kitchen anyway and if you come in with bags of shopping it's too much hassle to try and hang the keys until I put the shopping bags etc down which is in the kitchen. Also think about if you need the keys to lock deadlocks before you leave home, it might be a pain to have to get the keys from the mudroom first to lock up. my keyholder is jsut an mdf one which didnt cost much from a craft store, then i got some brass hooks from the hardware, painted it and put the hooks in before screwing to the side of a cupboard. It doesnt take up any space at all but I dont waste time looking around for my keys now which is such a time saver :)

spare keys, we have lots of duplicates and I keep them in a container locked away so that if we get broken into the thieves wont find a set of keys lying around, which would mean getting all the locks changed and they could get hold of spare car keys so I dont keep those in the kitchen, they're too easy to find.

I think the pot holders might get a bit greasy above the stove/in the range hood but if you have anywhere in the kitchen to fit a hook to the side of a cupboard or a wall they dont take up much space there and should be fine. you only use them once a day normally when making dinner. If you dont use the tile ones anymore then could you get rid of them? or you could put rings back on them (Im sure you could find something suitable at a hardware store) and then you could hang them on the walls for decoration or occasional use?

haaha this is my issue w/ Dh also. he currently was keeping his wallet, keys (all 100 of them) 2 phones/chargers etc on topof our microwave and any business cards other things /change that came out of his pockets. i went and bought to organizer bins to put this stuff in and it seems he ended up filling them w/ OTHER things.. I told him when the kitchen is done there is NO room for these things, and i had suggesed a garage appliance or a drawer w/ outlets which we didn't get the other option is maybe in the mud/laundry room we can put a shelf/box drawer w/ key rings and when he comes in he can put everything there only problem is he likes to hear his phone if it rings and that won't help. me i always just chage my phone overnight next to my bed along/ wmy purse. he has a great jewelry type box on his dresser for these things but never makes it that far (until now) to drop it all off. I like that he now has it in our bedroom phones are on his night stand charging and wallet goes on his dresser at night. that is what my dad always did, he'd come home change empyt his pockets in his room and his stuff was always on his dresser!

No good place for potholders to hang. No poly today - I had just experimented with wiping instead of brushing water-based poly on scrap piece, was pulling out 11 ft, 6ft, and 4ft pieces of shoe to stain while that was drying when DH came in with DD screaming (her, not him). She had slammed her hand in back door (the wind took it away from her, she had edge not knob). So call to dr, trip to ER, 2 hr wait (lucky it was that short), dr said she was OK (no Xrays - by that time it didn't even hurt and bruising didn't get as bad as I thought it would).

After that we returned organizers to Target, DH took her for lunch while I shopped Target and BB&B right next to it. Bought all sorts of organizers and a trash can. This trash can doesn't fit under sink either. I'll have to pull old one out of dumpster where DH put it and just set a pan under it b/c nothing seems to fit in front of our plumbing!

Found 1 organizer that fit, will go back later and get more. Have to repack that 100-yr old china this week and try to go through records, books - cousin is swinging by on way from MA to SC, won't be spending night now b/c he found a job starting Monday. So he won't even have time to go through things - hopefully if I check for old photos, letters stuck inside record albums and books, put any I find with rest of them, he'll be able to take a quick look and determine which (if any) of the records/books he wants so we can get everything in his truck! No time for him to even stop by the old farm and look at remaining furniture. I'll have to ask my cousin to hold onto it til his mom can come up (if he can get time off to drive her) this summer. My great-grandma's wedding dress was supposed to be in my godmother's closet too, I forwarded the email from Aunt but cousin hasn't replied (to me at least) so I hope it hasn't gone to Salvation Army.

So I think all house stuff is on hold this week so I can help sort out family heirlooms before cousin who bought the old place throws everything out to do her reno!