Hooray for the buffet!

Here is the story of my first witnessed organasm:

It was a late night in August, 2012.  The temperature was high, and my mind was wild with a desire to find a foolproof way of organizing the kitchen in preparation for the new school year.  Weeks before, I had spotted something that caught my eye on a local website's auction: a Thomasville wooden buffet, in perfect condition, circa 1965.  There were 3 drawers.  The top drawer had solid wood dividers, and the other 2 were wide and deep enough to store an entire years worth of business- one per child.  This was getting good, and could only get better when the solid doors opened up to reveal 2 deeply set shelves and lots more storage space.  The measurements couldn't have been better for the space I intended to place it, and the color was a near match to my kitchen cabinets.  I bought the beast for less than $100, borrowed a truck, and got it home just in time for the new school year to begin.  Bring on the paper trail, I was ready!

But first, I had to get started organizing some goodies.  I sorted, sifted and shuffled my way through the supplies that I already had in order to be able to have everything in it's place before the first distress call cried out from the snack filled mouths of the happy homeworkers.

I started by organizing the top drawer with papers, pencils, erasers, pens, crayons, and the miscellaneous items you'd expect to need easy access to.

I added some empty folders for the girls in the drawers below, and moved on the side cabinet which was the most fun.  I placed a basket full of coloring/puzzle/activity books, a tower of dry erase supplies, a bin for paint supplies, and a spot for stickers.  This is all at eye level for my 4 year old, and close enough to grab for a quick distraction when the time calls for it.

At this point, it was close to midnight when my husband approached and ask that the heck I was doing.  With great glee and utter giddiness, I displayed all that had been accomplished.  His quick assessment was equaled to a simple view of these pics, with little evidence of the monstrous task I had tackled: I had gathered the best of the best and created a nice little nest of creative happiness for my little angels. I felt that further explanation was required, so I summed it up by saying "I'm having an organasm!".  And only then, do I think that he and I both finally could understand that collecting, categorizing, and carefully organizing our surroundings really does make me ecstatic.

Of course, as with anything else in an adult's life, when the reality of the kids mess took over, it was partially ruined.  By the holiday break, the drawers looked more like this:

 And this:

 

Still not too bad, but I needed to do something before things got out of hand.  Thankfully, we had some returns to exchange and I found my excuse to drag the entire family to Target the week after Christmas.  That is where I found these colorful gems in the dollar isle:

With minutes to spare on the eve of January 2nd, beauty and function returned to the buffet before the school break had ended. 

 

It is with great relief and pride that I declare "Hooray for the buffet!", as it has done so much for my sanity this year.