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Organization

MAXIMIZING MUG STORAGE IN THE KITCHEN

January 30, 2021
organized mug cabinet

With all four of us living and working at home these days, we drink a lot of coffee – as well as tea, hot chocolate, and even plain hot water.  This means we go through A LOT of mugs in a day.  

And while our kitchen isn’t large, we dedicated an entire narrow cabinet near the stove to organize our mugs and coffee/tea-related items.  It’s one of the most frequently used zones in our kitchen and one that needs to function well.

However, every morning I would shuffle to the kitchen, more asleep than awake, to grab a cup of coffee.  Instead of a nice organized cabinet, I was greeted with a sad collection of mugs.   

mismatched mug cabinet

This is not how I want to start my day.  

I have a lot to do.  I can’t have the first thing I see every morning be an unorganized, mismatched set of coffee mugs and cups.  This cupboard should fill my cup (literally and figuratively) with order, certainty, and energy.

I want guests to feel welcomed in my home, to be able to serve them a cup of tea as we chat in the kitchen.

Which means this cabinet needed a bit of attention.  The good news is it took less than an hour to take this space from blah to bling.  Here are 5 takeaways from my caffeine-fueled reorganization:

organized coffee cabinet

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The mug cabinet is the junk drawer of cabinets

We all keep too many mugs.  I’m 100% guilty of this even though I’ve minimized my mug collection many times.  For some reason, they are weirdly sentimental and hard to get rid of. 

Some mugs have a story or a memory attached to them.  Others have a special shape or size that we prefer and reach for day after day.  While others we may keep because they are useful, and well, what if we need them someday?

The result is a cabinet full of mismatched mugs that can make you feel disorganized and unsettled.  

For me, it felt like time to let some go.  I kept our favorite mugs, but weeded out the cups that were faded, old, or just not special anymore.  

white mugs and black mugs in a cabinet

In fact, I actually brought in some new mugs.  This brings me to my next tip…

Matching, stacking mugs are best for maximizing storage

Sometimes organizing means adding, not just subtracting.  Even though I had quite a few mugs, I didn’t feel like I had a nice set to serve a crowd.

I added a set of 16 simple white porcelain mugs from Cost Plus World Market.  The matching set stacks nicely and allows me to completely fill the middle shelf with mugs. 

world market white mugs stacked on shelf

Was this necessary? Probably not.  But it makes me so darn happy to open up this cabinet and stare at a shelf full of white mugs.  I feel like I’m in a fancy coffee shop and can’t wait to serve friends and family with this matching set.

Shelf risers give you more storage space

Squint your eyes and look at your cabinet.  Do you see empty space that isn’t being used?

That space is gold and is just asking to be maximized.  You can add additional shelf boards or organizers to help recapture this space. 

I used a clear acrylic shelf riser from The Container Store and it fit perfectly in this cabinet.  Mugs easily fit on top and below, doubling the storage space available.

clear acrylic shelf riser 

Pro tip: You can still keep your favorite mismatched mugs. I did! I just put those in the back and put my matching mugs in the front to give the unified appearance of only matching mugs.

Use hard to reach shelves appropriately

While my super tall husband can easily reach the top shelf in our cabinets, it’s a bit of a stretch for me without a step stool.  But I’m not about to let a good shelf go to waste, not in this small house!

Top shelves are great for items that are seldomly used and easy to grab while standing on your tiptoes.  Like a coffee grinder!  We only grind coffee once a week, so it felt like a good candidate for the top shelf. 

coffee grinder and tea containers

I filled the rest of the top shelf with a set of stacking tea canisters and a napkin holder filled with coffee filters.  These utilize the hard to reach vertical space but are still easy enough to grab. 

Decant coffee and tea supplies for easier storage

I’ve found tea boxes don’t stack very well and often get lost in my cupboards.  You can upgrade your tea storage by decanting it into smaller containers.  These clear acrylic containers from Target are airtight and make it easy to know at a glance when it’s time to restock. 

Placing coffee filters in a napkin holder makes them easy to grab when you are brewing that early morning pot while half asleep.

clear acrylic stacking tea containers

As always, labels keep the chaos away, so make sure to add a few to your canisters.  

I used my Brother P-touch Label Marker with black on clear tape to label “tea” and “herbal”.  The font is called “US” and is printed with a simple square border.

One last before and after:

Before

coffee cabinet before

After

coffee cabinet after organization

Much better.

It’s 100% worth it to invest a little time in organizing your mugs, especially if it’s a cabinet that you use every day or even multiple times per day.  Maximizing mug storage, decanting, and using matching coffee cups help create a beautiful, functional space that greets you every morning with a smile. 

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Hi! I’m Lisa and I dig smallish homes. I believe they bring families together and provide a constraint on the accumulation of stuff. I’m obsessed with rethinking room design and storage solutions in order to live the life I want in the house I have. I hope you stay a while!
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Only three more sleeps until Christmas and I’ve Only three more sleeps until Christmas and I’ve literally just crossed the last thing off my to-do list.  All the planning, shopping and prep work is done and I’m ready to enjoy the next few days.  If you need me I’ll be eating a gingerbread cookie (or two) while drinking cup after cup of coffee.

Before I go, I wanted to share a few pictures of our minimalist holiday decorations in our living room/ dining room. 

This year we tried something different and cut our own mountain grown tree and I’m LOVING the change.  Even though it’s real skinny, it has the nicest placement of branches and is truly a beautiful tree.

The delicate branches can’t hold heavy lights or ornaments, so I reused the white crocheted snowflakes  and matte black balls from last year, along with a single string of copper LED lights.  So simple, so easy, but still beautiful.  Just what I needed this year.

Wishing you a very happy holiday!
The crows are back! The best decorations are the o The crows are back!
The best decorations are the ones you are  EXCITED to see each year. The ones you instantly pull from the box and start placing in your home. They don’t need to be fancy, or new each year. They just need to bring joy to you and your family. ✨❤️
Surprise! We bought a new home!  And sold our ho Surprise!

We bought a new home!  And sold our home!  It’s been a whirlwind and I’m exhausted.

We are incredibly lucky to have bought our neighbor’s home FSBO.  It’s larger than our current home by ~700 square feet and is a split entry home with most of the living space upstairs and a bonus family room/bedroom in the basement.  

While the rooms (and closets!) are still small, there are more of them.  There will be room for office space for both my husband and myself, a bit more storage, and even a laundry room/mudroom (woo hoo! No more garage laundry for me!)

So what do you think? Do I need to change my name from smallishhome to sortofmidsizehome?  No matter what, I’ll continue to share how I maximize storage in small spaces, because, well, that’s my life and my passion!  

Be sure to check out my stories for a walk through of the new house.  Don’t miss the avocado green tub and original 1960’s kitchen cabinets. So many projects ahead of us!
Hey there! It’s been a while! I’ve had a lot Hey there! It’s been a while!

I’ve had a lot on my plate personally these last few weeks and have had to drop all social media as a way to stay sane and focused on the path ahead.  I love this community, but I just couldn’t give it the time it deserved, so I took a break.  Hopefully you understand. 

I’m trying to ramp back up but could use your help.  What spaces are you having trouble organizing?  What kind of videos would you like to see?  I appreciate each and every one of you and love hearing your suggestions.  It’s what keeps me going when I start to feel stuck!

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Only three more sleeps until Christmas and I’ve Only three more sleeps until Christmas and I’ve literally just crossed the last thing off my to-do list.  All the planning, shopping and prep work is done and I’m ready to enjoy the next few days.  If you need me I’ll be eating a gingerbread cookie (or two) while drinking cup after cup of coffee.

Before I go, I wanted to share a few pictures of our minimalist holiday decorations in our living room/ dining room. 

This year we tried something different and cut our own mountain grown tree and I’m LOVING the change.  Even though it’s real skinny, it has the nicest placement of branches and is truly a beautiful tree.

The delicate branches can’t hold heavy lights or ornaments, so I reused the white crocheted snowflakes  and matte black balls from last year, along with a single string of copper LED lights.  So simple, so easy, but still beautiful.  Just what I needed this year.

Wishing you a very happy holiday!
The crows are back! The best decorations are the o The crows are back!
The best decorations are the ones you are  EXCITED to see each year. The ones you instantly pull from the box and start placing in your home. They don’t need to be fancy, or new each year. They just need to bring joy to you and your family. ✨❤️
Surprise! We bought a new home!  And sold our ho Surprise!

We bought a new home!  And sold our home!  It’s been a whirlwind and I’m exhausted.

We are incredibly lucky to have bought our neighbor’s home FSBO.  It’s larger than our current home by ~700 square feet and is a split entry home with most of the living space upstairs and a bonus family room/bedroom in the basement.  

While the rooms (and closets!) are still small, there are more of them.  There will be room for office space for both my husband and myself, a bit more storage, and even a laundry room/mudroom (woo hoo! No more garage laundry for me!)

So what do you think? Do I need to change my name from smallishhome to sortofmidsizehome?  No matter what, I’ll continue to share how I maximize storage in small spaces, because, well, that’s my life and my passion!  

Be sure to check out my stories for a walk through of the new house.  Don’t miss the avocado green tub and original 1960’s kitchen cabinets. So many projects ahead of us!
Hey there! It’s been a while! I’ve had a lot Hey there! It’s been a while!

I’ve had a lot on my plate personally these last few weeks and have had to drop all social media as a way to stay sane and focused on the path ahead.  I love this community, but I just couldn’t give it the time it deserved, so I took a break.  Hopefully you understand. 

I’m trying to ramp back up but could use your help.  What spaces are you having trouble organizing?  What kind of videos would you like to see?  I appreciate each and every one of you and love hearing your suggestions.  It’s what keeps me going when I start to feel stuck!
⁣I woke up today and saw it - 10K. I’m in sho ⁣I woke up today and saw it - 10K.  I’m in shock. ⠀
⠀
I’m so grateful for each and every one of you who chose to follow my account and watch me organize my smallish home. ⠀
⠀
My goal has always been to share my love of organization and design - while hopefully inspiring others to show their own home some love. ⠀
⠀
No matter how small or large your space may be, I hope you are able to walk away with a few ideas of ways to maximize the space you have.⠀
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In the meantime, I’ll keep working space by space in my own home, adding functionality and order that fits the needs of my family and the space that I have.⠀
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I’d love to know what you would all like to see more of - let me know in the comments what you’d like to see me tackle next!⠀
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#10k #10kfollowers #organizationmotivation #motivation #simplifylife #simplify #organizedmom #organizing #homeorganization #declutter #diyorganizer #diyorganization #smallhomeliving #getorganized #stayorganized #letsgetorganized  #tidyhome #mysmallishhome #lessismore
⁣It’s a rainy Monday here and all I want to do ⁣It’s a rainy Monday here and all I want to do is drink mugs of hot tea nonstop.  But tea can be a tricky item to store!⠀
⠀
When it’s in the box, you never know how many tea bags are left.  But take them out of the box and they slide all over the shelf!⠀
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Using some sort of small, clear, lidded container keeps the bags together and helps you see when it’s time to restock.  Bonus points if the containers can stack, allowing you to store multiple varieties in a small space. ⠀
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These containers are from Target, but any food storage container will work. Even the cheap plastic food storage containers from the grocery store. ⠀
⠀
What is your favorite variety of tea?  I’m a big fan of English Breakfast if I need a little caffeine boost (which I’m definitely in need of today!)
⁣Do you ever have weeks where you just can’t g ⁣Do you ever have weeks where you just can’t get back on track?⠀
⠀
Where you feel tired, and all you see is work that needs to get done?⠀
⠀
It can be hard to figure out where to start.⠀
⠀
I’ve been struggling to get myself moving the last few weeks after experiencing a family emergency that knocked the wind out of my sails. ⠀
⠀
But I know it’s time to turn things around.  Here are my go-to steps for getting back on track: ⠀
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1️⃣Get those machines working for me.  I always get the dishwasher running and then start a load of laundry.  It makes me feel productive and gets the momentum going for the rest of the day.⠀
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2️⃣Grab a pen and a notebook, plus either a glass of water or a cup of coffee, and sit down.⠀
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3️⃣Take everything in my head and write it down.  Everything that needs to be done, everything that needs to be bought, every card that needs to be written, bills that need to be paid, people I need to message back.  I write it down so it isn’t in my head.⠀
 ⠀
4️⃣Circle one thing that I can do now and finish.  Maybe I only have 10 minutes, but in those 10 minutes I can pick up a room, put away laundry, or go through a stack of paperwork.  Anything that will make progress on my list but Isn’t too big of a project that I can’t finish.⠀
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5️⃣Once I’ve done just one thing, I try to reward myself with some sort of self care.  It can be anything that makes me feel good - going for a walk, stopping in at a store, looking at a magazine, or maybe just scrolling on my phone for a few minutes.⠀
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6️⃣Then, I look back at my list and prioritize in order of importance.  I’ll choose the task with the highest priority and start working down. ⠀
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While this process works, it sometimes takes a few days.  I just keep repeating it over and over until things start clicking again. ⠀
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Getting outside helps too.  Fresh air and movement seem to do a world of good.⠀
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How have you been feeling lately?  Are you crushing that to-do list or are you feeling like you need like 3 clones of yourself in order to get it all done?⠀
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Photo by @callimechemphotography

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