I know everyone says it when their children’s birthdays come, but I can’t believe my babies are one!!! I was talking to my twin mom friend, April, this morning and she was commenting how this is just as big of a day for me as it is for the babies. I made it! The first year with a baby is always challenging, but it sure is a doozy with twins! I want to use this space to share different things I do or get help about various topics to get through the day. So today, the biggest thing that’s happening in my house to help me get through is feeding the last bottles! I have prepared bottles practically every day for the last 2 years solid. I have poured, measured, blended, heated, and shaken so. many. bottles. When my second daughter finished with bottles, we handed them straight to the twins. They were born and she turned one 7 days later. With the twins, we started with 16 bottles a day and today we feed the last two. It’s really an unbelievable thought to me.
I have rid our house of bottle warmers, dishwasher baskets, drying racks, cans of formula, and 24 bottles. I had designated an entire shelf in one of my kitchen cabinets for all that gear. So when I cleaned it all out, I had to re-evaluate my cabinets. What could I use that space for? I had already purged so much when I was pregnant that I really didn’t need extra space for dishes, but my pantry had been feeling cramped.
Here’s how my pantry was organized:
Top shelf – storage: very high, so it’s space for things not used everyday
2nd shelf – breakfast: cereal, oatmeal, syrup, grits, muffin mixes, etc.
3rd shelf – cans: almost anything canned, beans, veggies, etc.
4th shelf – snacks: , chips, cookies, and my husband’s ever-growing collection of hot sauces (he totally wants to be the Sauce Boss!)
5th shelf – starches – pasta, potatoes, rice
6th shelf – baking: flour, sugar, oil, baking mixes, etc.
Floor – more storage: paper products, other random items
Pantry rack – medicine, spices, ziploc bags, foil, plastic wrap, etc.
Well the problem was those bottom two shelves. My baking items always overflowed to another shelf and they were hard to get to. And, to be honest, it always bugs me when I designate a space for something and it doesn’t fit there anymore. The oil on the shelf with the rice bothered me! (I do know there are bigger things in life. Just being real.). 
. So, the verdict was to move all the baking items to the newly available cabinet and separate the snacks completely from the sauces, including spaghetti sauce and other seasonings. Anyway, I think I like it. My baking items are also more accessible when I’m cooking, which is a plus. Isn’t it true that we will always fill the space we have no matter how much stuff we have and no matter how big or small our space is?
