Now that I have a bench with three drawers in my kitchen I have myself a new dilemma. What goes in the drawers? I know, not a bad problem to have at all. I thought about putting all my paper plates, plastic cups and plastic utensils in there but I’m happy with all that in the built in hutch in my dining room. Then I thought I’d make the drawers my paper towel and napkin storage. Too bulky and the extra paper goods are better off in the garage right now. 

I was mulling all this over as I got some play dough out for my youngest one day. That is when the lightbulb went off. The cabinets next to the kitchen table are used for all sorts of items. Cookbooks and office supplies are in the upper cabinet, as well as three magazine file boxes. I use those for all the items my kids bring home throughout the year that I want to hold onto. Special projects, artwork, report cards, etc. At the end of the year I buy a plastic scrap paper box like this one from Joann Fabrics. I include their school pictures at the top. Paper, coloring books, markers, crayons, paints and play dough are in the lower cabinet. It is a mess. The kids are in and out of the bottom section all day. I do like that their art supplies are easy for them to access. I thought to make it even easier by using the drawers to hold the bulk of these items. 

So here is what I started with. Behind closed doors it isn’t too bad. The counter is pretty full but in my defense those are items we use everyday. I blame my children for the rest. The art caddy is always in use, and we can’t forget the crayon tin. Then comes all the paperwork, homework and “stuff” kids bring home. I’ve found love letters in my 7 year old sons’ backpack. 

Once the doors are open you are greeted with this…

I emptied out the upper and lower cabinets, then cleaned and purged. Now that I have my craft closet downstairs and my gift wrap closet I was able to redistribute a lot of it. I have a big problem with never putting things away. I just shove little items in these cabinets with plans to eventually put it in the right place. That second part just never seems to happen. So after a couple trips to get everything in its’ rightful place I was left with a lot less stuff and some empty cabinets. 

I moved all the craft items to the three drawers in the bench. It is easy for my kids to access and each drawer will have a purpose. No more random cabinet to throw our supplies into and hope the door shuts. 

One drawer is for paint bottles, watercolors and paintbrushes. Another for supplies like glue, glue sticks, goggly eyes, rulers, new pencils. The third drawer is for all things play dough. Over time this will change of course.