I have been feeling under the weather for a little while but I'm back! It's crazy how it takes one good bout of an illness to make you appreciate your health!

Today, I'm sharing with you a little project I have been working with HomeGoods on. They invited me to organize my kitchen, yes you heard me right, organize my kitchen using wares I found at HomeGoods. I jumped at the chance because honestly, DualFood has needed some reorganizing for a long time. The week before they emailed me, Curtis opened the cabinet that has all of our storage containers and lids and containers came crashing down. He dubbed that cabinet the “crapalanche.” He has a way with words. Haha

I'm excited to share with you some tips, tricks and products I found at HomeGoods to make my organizing not only functional but also stylish! Yes, organizing your kitchen doesn't have to be boring…that's for sure!

First things first, I tackled my pantry.

1. Get rid of what you don’t need and make things that you use every day accessible in your pantry.

I got rid of expired food items, donated unexpired food that I didn't need anymore and reorganized. I put one or two shelves worth of food on a rectangular folding table so I could easily access items. It's actually faster to organize that way versus doing it with everything still in the pantry.

I put a lot of the stuff I still had in opened bags into storage containers like these OXO POP containers. You can find sets or individual pieces at HomeGoods.

And I also bought a lot of baskets at HomeGoods. These skinny profile baskets make it easy for you to grab stuff you need. I bought two of these, one for Asian noodles and the other one I use for tacos and tortillas. These kinds of bags slide and don't stack very well so putting them in a basket makes them easy to grab!

I bought a big basket just for pasta. I buy pasta in bags and boxes and often it's hard to see what I actually have. This basket makes them accessible and organized.

I bought a basket for my canned goods too! The shelves that are accessible height-wise is where I put everything I use frequently that way I can easily find it and grab it without having to dig around.

Next up is my kitchen tool and gadget drawer. This is real life, folks. I needed to show you what I was dealing with beforehand. I put every single tool onto a towel on my kitchen floor. Then, methodically went through and laid out what I would keep, donate or throw away. I purged a lot of the stuff I don't need or use all that often.

Some of my specialized baking stuff is going into a cabinet, I'll show you that later.

My gadget drawer is really deep.

2. In your gadget drawer, use drawer dividers and drawer organizers to keep every day items easy to find.

I used drawer dividers for the bottom of the drawer and put my zesters and graters on the left, my spatulas and spoons in the middle and odds and ends on the right.

On top of those drawer dividers, I put a drawer organizer. And this organizer has my every day items. The stuff I use every day so it's easy to grab and get to work.

3. In your cabinets, use baskets and bins to organize food storage containers & lids as well measuring cups and spoons.

I told you I bought a lot of baskets at HomeGoods. I'm using one of those baskets to store my cookie scoops, juicer, KitchenAid stand mixer attachments and baking odds and ends. Can you see the dog and cat bowls? We use those every day so they are placed in an easy to reach spot.

All of my baking measuring cups and spoons are in one refrigerator bin…these bins I bought at HomeGoods are actually bins for sodas for inside your fridge. When I saw them, I knew I could use them in my cabinet. The other one holds the little lids for our storage containers.

I also got rid of the mismatched storage containers — the ones that don't have lids and lids that don't have a container. And I purged the old ones and we're left with the ones we use all the time.

And no more crapalanche! Mission accomplished!

4. Remove clutter (put away things you don't use every day) and utilize vertical space on your counters.

More baskets! When I saw this at HomeGoods, I knew I had to have it. It's genius really. It's flat in the back so I can push it against the wall and it's vertical space. I can store more without having as much clutter on my counter top.

I found this OXO 2-Tier Adjustable Turntable, the “sugar” jar and the Milk pitcher at HomeGoods! I put all of my every day use things like salt, pepper and olive oil on the turntable and it's always there for me to use. We use sugar every day so I changed up the sugar shaker for the cute chalk screwtop container.

And the milk pitcher, it's so cute, I'm using it as a utensil holder for my wood spoons and a couple of my soup ladles.

We also found this Simple Human paper towel holder. I can't tell you how many times we would move the paper towel holder to make space and then I'm not able to find it. This makes it super simple, it's always in the same spot to the left of the sink and it doesn't take up any counter space!

5. Use a great looking mail center to relieve the clutter from daily mail.

One of the biggest things I knew I had to tackle is this counter where we put our mail. It gets out of control and becomes the junk counter. So, when I saw this cute little rustic mail center at HomeGoods, I knew I had to have it.

See those cute little clothespins? I found those at HomeGoods too! They have the days of the week, Today, Tomorrow…etc stamped on them. I use these to clip things to the mail center to remind myself to take something with me. Those are dog treats…so I don't forget to take them with me when I was taking Charley to rehab.

We keep our mail, coupons, gift cards and cluttery kind of stuff in this little mail center. Isn't it so cute?

And that's my stashe…isn't that cute? Chocolate and candy fix in my stashe. I got it in the kitchen organization section of HomeGoods.

And last but not least.

6. You can use your cabinet doors as storage too!

I found these towel holders at HomeGoods and we use these every day. It's super useful and helps you cut down on using too many paper towels.

And those kitchen towels? I found them at HomeGoods. They have the cutest kitchen towels, cloth napkins, placemats and tablecloths…their kitchen linens section is a can't miss section.

And there's to my organized kitchen! PS I got that new stainless steel trash can at HomeGoods too. They always have a few in stock and you save tons of money buying it at HomeGoods. We love love this addition to our kitchen. It matches well with the appliances and it's super convenient because it has a foot pedal to open the lid. Swoon. Who knew I would fall in love with a trash can?

I hope you find these ideas useful! Which tip did you find the most useful? What part of the kitchen are you going to tackle next to organize?

Be sure to enter in the Win: Homegoods $100 Gift Card Giveaway!

Disclosure: Thanks to HomeGoods for sponsoring this post and for helping me organize my kitchen. As always, I only work with brands that I love and the opinions shared here are my own.

The post 6 Tips for Organizing Your Kitchen in Style appeared first on DualFood.

Is it possible to love a dishwasher? I didn't think it was possible until I got this particular dishwasher (similar) last year from KitchenAid. The guy who installed it said that it was the best dishwasher on the market. I asked why he thought that, he said that the owner of the appliance shop he works at just had the same dishwasher installed at his house and declared it was the best one.

1. It's so quiet.

First, let's compare, we got Five Things I Love About My Puppy, Angel last year before the Five Things I Love About My (Little) Kitchen arrived and when we turned on our old dishwasher, she jumped wondering what the heck the noise was!?!?!

This KitchenAid dishwasher is sooo quiet, we actually opened it several times to make sure it was still running. One of our friends, who is a homebuilder, said that he had heard they added the little light on the front so that people would know it was on…that's how quiet it is.

I have to admit, I still open it just to check to make sure I didn't forget to turn it on.

2. I don't bump the buttons anymore.

The dishwasher is located in a spot of the kitchen where I stand the most. It's right below my main work area in the kitchen. I used to bump the controls on the old dishwasher all the time – turning it on, turning it off when it was supposed to be on.

And I love the vents are on the bottom. I don't want to die of heat exhaustion while I'm cooking/prepping/working in the kitchen while the dishwasher is on.

3. I love the adjustable utensil caddy.

I can flip the top down and stand up my utensils to get them cleaner and faster since there's space in between in each one. But you can also load the way you usually do with the utensils face down. Curtis and I can't agree on which way we like better so it's nice that's it's configurable either way.

4. It has a third level culinary tool rack.

I put our spatulas, BBQ tools, Curtis' knives and cheese graters, etc. on the top culinary rack. It's pretty sweet. I don't think I can ever have a dishwasher without this third level!

5. It holds a lot of dog food bowls.

We use 6 dog food bowls a day – as they each get three meals a day. I go through a LOT OF DISHES. I love that it holds a lot and although I still have the habit of scrubbing everything before it goes in the to dishes, Curtis doesn't share this habit. This dishwasher is versatile enough to handle different loading styles.

I love love this thing. Sooo tell me what features do you look for when shopping for a dishwasher?

Disclosure: KitchenAid provided me with new appliances for my kitchen last year. I’m happy to share them on my blog along with my own honest opinions. I was not compensated for this campaign and I only share with you brands that I love.

The post Five Things I Love About My Dishwasher appeared first on DualFood.

1. the after is way better than the before

   Don't you agree? We moved into this house, more than 8 years ago, less than a year after we got married. Our first home purchase and it was overwhelming. We planned a ton of renovations and the first one was the kitchen. Curtis bought our countertops and the cabinet kits from Home Depot and put them together all by himself. It was a huge improvement from the dark, dingy cabinets the house came with.

   With our new appliances from KitchenAid a few months ago, our kitchen got a much, much needed boost. It's pretty amazing, we have burners on the range that actually work, a dishwasher that doesn't sound like it's taking off. True story, our old dishwasher scared the heck out of our puppy when she first heard it. She ran around the house barking when we turned it on.

2. the kitchen is my space

   It's definitely my space and it shows, most of the time it's disorganized. It's where I cook, where I spend a lot of time and where I feed my family. In my family, cooking and feeding is how we show love. The place where I spend the majority of my time these days and I'm loving it.

   Even though it's little, it's mine. I truly, truly believe you don't have to have the biggest kitchen to make amazing food. To give you an idea, when the dishwasher is open, there's not much room anyone to stand on the other side of it and a dog or two can just about eek by.

   The space is limited so I'm known for throwing people out of the kitchen to get out of my way (most of the time nicely). The only thing I miss is that I don't have enough space to be able to have family and friends join me in the kitchen while I cook or even space for bar stools so people can hang out there.

1. two ovens is better than one

   I think you'll agree with me on this one. I love, love having two ovens. I can make 3-4 trays of cupcakes at once. We can make two pizzas at once and I cannot wait until Thanksgiving to give the two ovens a huge workout!

   And I love the glass cooktop, way easier to clean and maintain than my older range and I just love the way it looks too!

1. having a wonderful dishwasher

   The appliance guy who installed both the dishwasher and the microwave was so excited when he brought in the dishwasher. He proudly said the dishwasher I had picked out was the best dishwasher on the market. I was so excited and really…really you're thinking? Yes, really. Because it was a huge step up from what we had before…it's so quiet, I forget often that I already turned it on. Anyone that does a lot of cooking, knows you need a reliable dishwasher and I'm so darn excited to have this one.

2. 

   I'm thankful the pantry is not in the kitchen

   And ummm, I'm kinda sorta really embarrassed to show this to you…that's the next thing I need to tackle organizing! The pantry is not directly located inside the kitchen, it's off to the side in a hallway next to the kitchen and I'm totally glad. It's good and bad because I can avoid it.

   It's semi-depressing to open this pantry, I can NEVER find anything and that's why I'm so glad it's not a part of the main kitchen. I'm going to have to put some gloves on and dive right in…send help!

Any ideas to help me organize my pantry? And tell me what you love about your kitchen?

Disclosure: My kitchen appliance remodel was sponsored by KitchenAid. I received no compensation and my opinions and the words written on this site are ALWAYS my own. As you know, I only share with you brands I love. The end.

The post Five Things I Love About My (Little) Kitchen appeared first on DualFood.

I'm saying good bye to the old and saying hello to the new!!

Seriously! She (above) was delivered on Friday and I'm so excited to be cooking again. Am I strange for calling it a she? I haven't given her a name but you can imagine my giddiness when it arrived! And yes, I have to admit, I haven't been cooking much. A new job and new puppy…

Her name is Angel and we adopted her from Save a Life Pet Rescue

leads to not cooking that much. Anyways, I'm happy to be back to cooking and sharing with you my thoughts, loves and opinions on my new appliances.

Taken with my iPhone

I can tell you Angel loves the new appliances. How can I tell? Can you see the slobber kisses on the dishwasher?

I can't tell you how freakin' happy I am to have a double oven. Two things will make my life easier – making pizzas. When Curtis and I make pizzas from this cookbook, we each make our own. I like a simple margherita pizza and he likes either a Hawaiian pizza or loads up on pepperoni & black olives. Now we will be able to make them both at the same time. Another word, Thanksgiving. That's all I have to say.

Disclosure: KitchenAid provided me with new appliances for my kitchen. I'm happy to share them on my blog along with my own honest opinions. I was not compensated for this campaign and I only share with you brands that I love. And one last thing, there's an affiliate link in this post.

The post Some Changes Going on in DualFood appeared first on DualFood.