Microwave Cart Frustration

I have a microwave cart that was given to me when I got married. It was handmade, and in that regard, is very special. I don't plan to ever get rid of it. I have struggled to keep it organized, though, especially the bottom part where I keep my plastic containers. I tried Rubbermaid wire risers/shelves, but they just didn't work for me. Finally, I decided to forget about the shelving. I got rid of a bunch of mismatched containers, and this is what I ended up with:

Believe it or not, it stays organized like this!

There is one shelf above this part, and it has been a mess for years:

The blue basket with snowflakes on it contains a mess of papers and coupons. I recently bought a bunch of paper plate/napkin sets that were on clearance at Target. Those were crammed in a drawer in my dining room buffet.

I finally had enough. I remembered that I had an extra plastic container from Target. It fits perfectly in this area and is a great place to store the plates and napkins. I moved the plastic wraps to another part of the kitchen (future post), stored the folders elsewhere, and added this container:

I also had my kitchen towels stored in different places in the kitchen and dining room. That was bugging me big time, so I had this revelation that I could corral them in a smaller storage container that fits perfectly beside the bigger container. And, of course the containers match. :) I got them both at Target.

So, here's the new and improved top shelf of my microwave cart, and there's even a little extra space to the right of the smaller container. I'm sure I can find something to put there. :)

I really can't believe I didn't do this before now. I've lived in this house for almost four years and have been frustrated with this cart from the first day I unpacked boxes. It's amazing how small things like this can make such a big difference.

My next task is to tackle that blue basket with snowflakes on it, which is sitting on top of the ironing board in the hall. ~sigh It never ends!