I don’t know about you, but I have been taking my time these last few weeks, and really enjoying the slower pace after all the business from the holidays. I feel more relaxed, even though I feel like I’ve been making huge progress on tackling some of those household chores that got pushed aside during the busy season. This year I’ve really been embracing the “fresh start” mentality that comes with the new year. I’ve been cleaning out closets and drawers. And one of those places I’ve ignored for far too long is the buffet in our dining room. So today I’m sharing some simple things I did to organize the buffet and made it SO much more efficient.
This dresser turned buffet is a piece I’ve actually had since high school. It used to be my mothers dresser, and had a large mirror that went on top of it, and then in high school she got a new bedroom set, and I inherited her old one. I’ve given it a makeover since then, shared it HERE, and since my husband and I have been married we have always used it as a buffet in our dining room. It’s solid wood, and the drawers are really heavy, and for some reason they’ve acted more as a catch all.
Just imagine a really big junk drawer if you will, not really holding any thing we used on a daily basis. The top drawer was all miscellaneous. Like old cd’s, and lego instruction booklets, and old party invitations. The middle drawer held some larger serving pieces, that we honestly never really even used. And the bottom drawer holds my kids coloring supplies – and still does. (That was the only practical drawer)
I’m really trying to make a conscious effort to get rid of all the access, and the things we really don’t use. So one day, after the Christmas decor was put away, I set my eyes on tackling this concealed mess.
I started by completely emptying the top two drawers, knowing that the bottom drawer would stay designated for the kids coloring books and crayons.
Then I grabbed all my cloth napkins! I had grown quite the collection over the last few years of creating tablescapes, and I really like using them, just never had them in a convenient spot to grab them when I needed. I found two baskets I already had that fit in the drawer nicely, and filled one with most of my cloth napkins, and the other one I used to corral my napkin rings and name place cards (shown in the photo on the left below).
Then in between both baskets, I placed a few left over folded napkins I had (shown in the center photo above), then on top of those my set of linen napkins tied with ribbon (shown above on the right).
For the second drawer I placed my twig chargers, and then organized all the miscellaneous candles I had. Birthday candles, tapers, and I used a clear vase to hold all my smaller votive candles, which makes them so much easier to grab.
I even used a spare basket to separate my silverware sets, so now I have them on hand. Before they were stored downstairs in the basement with my china set.
Now I have a much better system in place to hold all of my tableware pieces, and I’m more likely to use them on a regular basis because they are neatly organized, and easy to find in one place!
Here’s a Before & After of the top drawer –
So much better right?! How about you have you done any organizing yet this year? Maybe you are thinking about it, but have yet to start. I shared HERE how I go about simplifying our home.
And, if you know you need to clean out some of those unused items, but just aren’t sure what to get rid of, or where to begin? I shared HERE on knowing just what to purge, including your home decor!
