A few days ago, I was doing my weekly 20 minute de-clutter sweep up throughout the house and I got stuck on the little table by the front door that acts as my landing strip. It is a two tier table (not the same one as this one) that serves double duty as my landing strip as I come in the door with my hands full of keys, mail and bags, etc., but also houses useful items like telephone books, pool rules, head lamp and take out menus. Those take out menus had been building up, and unfortunately they were in a spot where I never remembered to use them when I needed one. Truthfully, they’ve never had a permanent home wherever I have lived over the years. They just flitter from spot to spot. It’s a rather unfortunate tale really.

Those unkempt menus needed to get their act together. The harder that I tried to organize them into a neat pile, the more they rebelled and fell all over the place. I thought to myself enough is enough. If I am going to keep these menus, they have got to go somewhere where they will all be in one place and actually be used. I considered a drawer in the credenza but those are unruly as it is.

Then I had an AHA! moment. To the kitchen, I went. It was so obvious. Want to take a guess? When do you need a take out menu the most? Answer: When you’re looking at your stock pile in your pantry and refridgerator and are still uninspired by the contents and unmotivated to cook. And filled to the brim with enu, what do you need? A take out menu! (Okay, only sometimes.)

The drawer option was out though and I didn’t want to leave them on the counter. Hey, it’s a small kitchen and not much counter space as it is. So they needed to go up in the cabinets to hide any residual unruly tendancies. In a moment of genius I  used gallon-size freezer bag, aptly labeled “TAKE OUT MENUS” to contain them all in one spot.

Now the trick is how to put this up in the cabinet. I’m a renter and didn’t want to leave any holes in the cabinet doors. I was out of those awesome 3M Command adhesive things, so I tested some clear packing tape to make sure it would not take off any paint. It didn’t damage the cabinet door. So I taped my new take out menu holder right up there. If it ends up leaving some residue I’ll just need to clean it and repaint.

Here’s a close up of what that looks like. As you can see, I left a folded-over pull tab on one end of the tape to make removal easier, when the time comes. Please remember to (1) always, always test your tape and paint relationship compatibility and (2) don’t tape the bag shut – just tape one side of the opening.

The really nice part though, is that, although the menus are all hidden away behind the cabinet door, the bag is translucent so I can see the contents, when I need to. Now the menus are out of sight, but not out of mind.

Free organization in like 2 seconds. Done and done. It doesn’t get better. What have you done lately to take command of your clutter?

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