January means a lot of different things to people, but for us, we love that it’s “Get Organized” month. If you ask us, spring is not the ideal time for cleaning and organizing because by that point, it’s so nice outside that you don’t want to sit in your house and clean out your junk drawer. January, however, is typically the crappiest month in every state. This is prime time to hide from the polar vortex and get your organizing on.

After the holidays, one of the most disorganized parts of our house is the liquor cabinet. Between digging through it for last minute hostess gifts and trying to whip up impressive cocktails for our countless holiday parties, our liquor cabinet has certainly seen better days.

If you are in the same boat as us, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Try organizing your liquor cabinet using the following steps and it’ll be back in drinking shape in no time.

 

  • Don’t keep all of your glassware and bar tools in the same cabinet as your bottles. Yes, it’s fun to show off all of your fun drinking things in one location, but they’re just creating a lot of clutter and building a roadblock between you and drinking.

 

  • Remove every single bottle from that cabinet and create an inventory of what you have. Take note of any bottles that are especially low (or noticeably missing) and make a shopping list. Tape the inventory on the inside of the cabinet so when you’re looking for something, you can easily check the list and see if it’s in there and how much you have.

 

  • You know that inventory? You should also categorize by liquor type, and then put the brand names under each type.

 

  • Before you put anything back in the cabinet, just wipe each bottle down with a damp rag. Bottles can get sticky and/or dusty and there’s nothing worse than a gross bottle when you’re trying to make a cocktail.

 

  • Some people say to put the tallest bottles in the back row and the shortest bottles in the front – we say that probably looks better, but it’s not necessarily as practical. You know that there are just certain liquors you drink more than others…put them closer to the front so you don’t have to dig around any more than necessary.

 

  • Behind your favorite liquors on the front lines, group the remaining bottles all by their liquor types again. This just makes everything easier to find.

 

This is how we organize our liquor cabinet, but we know there are also other great ways to do it. How do you organize yours? Any tips or tricks?