Organizing Kitchen Silverware

Something is refreshing about opening a drawer and seeing it perfectly organized. Some call it anal-retentive, others call it obsessive-compulsive as if it were a bad thing, and I simply call it bliss. We all have our foibles, but how can you find fault with one that looks so good and makes finding items easy?

We collect vintage and antique serving pieces, and for years, they were heaped in a tangled mess at the back of our silverware drawer because it was the only place left to store them. Searching for a particular utensil usually required emptying the entire compartment because, invariably, the item we were looking for was at the very bottom. I tried organizing the utensils by categories. I placed all the ladles in one direction, the spoons and forks in another, but what do you do with the nutcracker and nut picks? I’d band them with a rubber band, but by the time holidays rolled around the following year (the only time we use them in our house), the rubber band would be snapped, and we would be searching through the pile once again.

One day, this idea came to me, and I don’t even remember what prompted it. A permanent solution that organized this clutter, made items easy to find, and made it simple to return those items where they belonged thrilled me. I don’t know if you suffer from this also, but not everyone in our household is afflicted with anal-retentive, obsessive-compulsive, organized bliss. So, I jump at the opportunity anytime I can help guide those wayward souls into the light of my orchestrated joy. Some of you may be asking yourself this, so I will go ahead and answer it for you. No, I’m not controlling at all. I’m just trying to spread the joy.