Some Kitchen Organizing

In my mission to simplify things around our home, a big part of that is clearing out unneeded, unused and unwanted items from every room in our home. This week I worked on that in the kitchen. Many of my cabinets and drawers have been a jumbled mess and since I spend so much time there I thought there was no better place to start my purge. This is the cabinet that housed our small appliances.
Before: (I can't believe I'm showing anyone this.)

 I cleared everything out, wiped down the inside and shelves and then put back only things that belonged there and that I used.
Here is the After:

 Not perfect but so much better. Things removed and donated to Goodwill: electric wok (I stir-fry often but my stainless steel saute pan works much better and is easier) and a rice steamer (again my rice turns out just as good on the stove.)  And things relocated: mandoline.
Now, because my mandoline did not belong in the cabinet and it wasn't the ideal place to store it anyway, I moved it to a (more kid-safe) drawer, but that caused that drawer to be cleaned out. 
Here is that drawer before:

I relocated all of these items to the pantry and plan to purchase this from the Container Store for all of it.   

Here is the After:

 Ahh. Much better.  Now I only have about 42 cabinets/drawers to go. But it's a start and honestly now when I open this drawer and cabinet I get a little thrill.  Ridiculous but true.

A resolution.

My #1 resolution for 2011: Simplify.  Easy to say, but specifics are needed to make that a reality.  In regard to my home, that means organizing from top to bottom, declutter and purge, purge, purge.  I have a favorite cabinet in my kitchen.  Here it is:

It's my favorite because, as it stands, it's the only one in my house that look likes this. Yes, I love cookbooks but I have kept only the ones that I love and (more importantly) use. (Note, the beat up Joy of Cooking.) So this will be my inspiration and all others will follow.  They will, they will, they will.