As a Black Southern Belle, I am all about fine China and a formal dining room complete with a China cabinet. As I literally buy glassware and dishware every couple of weeks, I have found my cabinet to be in complete disarray and figured 2020 may be doing the same to some of your spaces as well.
To end the year with some organization, I figured I would organize my cabinets and have enlisted some tips from Celebrity home organizing expert and HBCU Alum, Tanisha Porter of Natural Born Organizers.
According to Tanisha ” Whether you have a China cabinet, an entertaining armoire, a buffet, or a credenza, below is a step by step approach to organizing your pieces, whether its Fine China or not, in preparation for the holidays.
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Here are Tanisha’s tips for organizing your Fine China and China cabinet, just in time for the holidays:
- PREPARE
- Prepare the space for cleaning, sorting, & reviewing by making sure you have a large clear flat surface to use
- REMOVE
- Remove all of the items and lay the items out by category, if possible
- CLEAN
- Dust each shelf with your favorite dust-cleaner
- If your piece of furniture has glass doors, use vinegar & water for a streak-free result
- ASSESS
- If your cabinet has a combination of solid & glass doors, glass doors are for display and solid doors are for functional storage.
- Look at what you have and start putting all like items together for example
- Stemware (glasses)
- Dinner Plates
- Salad Plates
- Soup Bowls
- Serving Platters / Cake Stands
- Gravy Boats & Butter Dishes
- Pitchers & Vases
- Flatware (silverware/eating utensils)
- Serving Utensils
- Accessorize & Organize
- Start arranging your cabinet with the largest pieces which tend to be the serving platters & cake stands
- Style your crystal pieces (or glass) on the shelf closest to the display lights or behind the glass doors
- Plates can be displayed vertically on the shelf utilizing the ‘cabinet ridges’ or ‘plate stand’
- Stack the remaining plates (dinner & salad) in symmetry
- Step back and observe the negative space to ensure you don’t pack the cabinet
- Complete the styling process by placing smaller serving pieces like the gravy boat, butter dish, and salt & pepper shaker decoratively
- Solid Doors / Cabinet Drawers (whichever is applicable)
- Use these areas to store more functional items such as:
- Flatware (Eating Utensils)
- Serving Utensils
- Cloth Napkins
- Napkin Rings
- Place Mats
- Table Cloths
- Extra sets of dishes that don’t fit in the display cases
- Use these areas to store more functional items such as:
- Things to Avoid
- Keeping any pieces “just in case” especially if you don’t have enough space
- Using the cabinet as a place to stuff and stash items you don’t know what to do with
- Not using it to store nicer dishes because it is not Fine China
- Overcrowding the shelves with every piece you own
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