Getting Organized for 2012

In the current issue of Martha Stewart Living, I read the article on Martha's workroom. My first reaction was, "This is obsessive." My second was that I would love to have such an orderly space for projects.  On a smaller scale, I saw @ElbieSwan on Twitter. She'd reorganized her pantry so nicely. I have two. One just a tiny slab, the other more spacious. This morning I tackled them. Here's what they looked like at the outset.

Here's the smaller one, supposed to be my pasta pantry. Note ragbag of aprons and Graves teapot that long since stopped its Gare du Nord whistle.

Am I obsessive, or is this really a satisfying little project.  Behold: I have a Jamaican painting in the pantry. Bet not even Martha has that!

Now in the pasta pantry, I have room for the pasta pot and for the bottled water that was on the floor of the other pantry.

In reorganizing, I was noticing how beautiful the contents of the pantry are!

A chic Parisian woman who once interviewed me for Maison looked at Bramasole's bookshelves and said, "There's a good mess and a bad mess."  Walking around the house after this project, I thought maybe a few spots filled with my treasures have moved over into the latter category. My next project:

But not today. Onward to dinner–a big risotto with odor and shrimp.