I don’t think I’ve ever shown you inside our kitchen cupboards. Probably because it’s not very exciting. I don’t have beautiful floor-to-ceiling cabinetry with chevron lining and rows of matching labelled Tupperware.

Nope, it’s all very average-bordering-on-messy. With only this small overhead cupboard to store our pantry goods, it gets crowded easily and things just get shoved in wherever they can. (By the way, sometimes my camera produces photos with lens distortion – this is not happennig here, the shelf is in fact bowing under the weight of no less than six types of rice and more icing sugar than I will use in a lifetime.)

Every now and again I will declare it time for a Pantry Challenge (feel free to chime in with a more creative name!). Which means we buy as little new food as possible in order to clear out the pantry and freezer (I already do this weekly with fresh produce in the fridge). Sometimes it’s motivated by a money-saving goal, other times because I’m sick of pork chops falling on my head when I open the freezer.

Either way, it always ends up with a few culinary experiments (seriously, you’ll be amazed at the variety of dishes you can make with what you already have on hand), a slashed grocery bill and a nice uncluttered kitchen.

Have you tried anything similar in your household before?

All Posters

I hesitated to choose this poster because the missing apostrophe bugs the hell out of me. But I can’t help it, those kitschy early 20th century public service announcment posters will get me every time.

100 Layer Cake

There are loads of ways to reuse an old frame, but this has to be my favourite. It’s so versatile: use your new tray on your dresser for jewellery or perfume, in the bathroom for your lotions or in living areas for decorative displays.

I’ve actually been on the hunt for a tray for my own home and am not having much luck, perhaps I should keep my eyes open for frames instead.

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Hope you all have a lovely evening tonight, I’m off to celebrate The Man’s birthday.

I’m embarrassed to admit that it’s not uncommon for my dresser to look something like this:

Putting away clothes has always been my organising ‘weakest link’. But I find that it becomes so much more of a challenge I avoid it like the plague as soon as there is no room to actually put things away. I certainly haven’t been on any sprees but  the gradual build up of clothes that occurs when you don’t regularly go through them meant that I literally could not fit all of my clothes away at once.

I spotted an ad for a community clothes swap at a nearby library which gave me the motivation to do a big purge. Without much effort, I quickly filled three garbage bags with unwanted clothes, shoes, jewellery and bags. Add to that a couple of binfuls of items that were too worn to donate.

Before you say, ‘What’s the point of swapping your clothes because you’ll still end up with an overflowing closet?’ I was never intending to come home with as many items as I left with. Anything that was left over was donated to charity, which is where my unwanted clothes normally wind up anyway.

Along with the pleasure of being able to close my drawers again, I now have a new winter jacket, pretty pink dress, cute cardi, a couple of versatile basic tees, a cosy knitted jumper and even a perfect pair of jeans… all without spending a cent!

Do you have anything like this in your area? I admit it was a little odd seeing other girls looking through and talking about my clothes, but all in all I think it’s a great idea and it worked out well for me.

Pretty hand-lettered print featuring  an e.e. cummings quote by oh my deer.

Do you have a decorating project that has you completely stumped? You’ve saved up a bit of money for new furniture but are finding yourself overwhelmed at where to start?

Out of Milk Design Studio wants to help you!

Up and coming interior designer Meg Wilson is launching her business Out of Milk andwants to bulid her portfolio with real-world projects. She’s looking to work with Adelaide-based clients who want a single room makeover and have an appreciation for the re-use of materials.

Keen? Get in touch with Meg… and if you’re one of the lucky ones to be chosen you’ll have to promise to drop us some before & after photos!

I haven’t been paid to write this post – nor any other post you see on Atypial Type A. I came across Out of Milk the other day and genuinely love what Meg is doing and wanted to do what I can do support other local indie creative businesses.

Think you can’t afford original art? Think again! This fun handpainted gem is yours for $25 from Twamies. It’s limited edition, though, so be quick.

Our tea and coffee making things were shoved in various cupboards wherever they would fit – plunger in the crockery cupboard, sugar in the servingware cupboard, tea bags shoved at the back of the pantry. You don’t have to be a storage junkie to realise this was clearly not the most efficient setup.

I recently bought this shelf (actually a dish drainer from Ikea) and The Man installed it in the dead space next to the microwave. It now houses the plunger, sugar , tea leaves, instant coffee and plunger coffee. I had been saving up old coffee jars in preparation (yes, I am the only one who drinks instant coffee at home so it took me a long time to empty those three jars!) but I did buy the cute tin new from Brown Button Trading.

It’s so handy having everything right there above the kettle and I love how it creates useful space from previously wasted space. Yes, I still have to wait around while the kettle boils, but now instead of having to spend the time putting everything back in the various cupboards, I can do something useful like take out the recycling or put away some dishes.

Freckle Ottoman from Lark

I had great fun finding 20 ottomans and footstools for this month’s Houzz Guest Pick.

Take a look and tell me what you think!

The Luckier I Get limited edition print

I concur, Lilco Letterpress!