The skeletons in my cupboard (expiration dates and rancid nuts)

Last night I purged and reorganized our microwave cabinet, the spice/canned goods/oil and vinegar cupboard, and the dishes cupboard.

I found a Costco-sized bag of raw almonds hidden away behind other stuff, rancid. When will we learn? Almonds seem to go rancid easily. What a waste of money!

I also got rid of some kind of Trader Joe's sauce (pecadillo?) that had an expiration date of 2005!!! How did I miss that last year? (Guess I didn't look at the date and still thought I would use it.)

I also found some kind of Indian marinade without a date on it, but I know we've had it in the cupboard for years. Out it went. I don't think it would have harmed us if we had used it (my oldest son is very concerned about expiration dates, though!), but it was time to go. We tend to keep our herbs and spices past their best times...and I know they lose their potency, but I don't think they do us any harm. I'm too thrifty to throw everything away.

I have a bag of culinary lavendar I bought a few years ago at the Farmer's Market. I used it once to make raspberry-lavendar muffins, but they were disappointing. Wondering what I will do with this lavendar or if I should dispose of it.

Maybe I will really get my kitchen organized in January after all!

What's lurking in the cupboards...

I still haven't completely given up on my focus on the kitchen in January. It's still January, right?

Last night I tackled one of the kitchen cupboards. I didn't take before-and-after photos because I thought I had done that last year...but it appears that I didn't. :) Oh well. It was the cupboard containing baking staples, rice and pasta, Japanese foodstuffs, lentils, dried fruits and nuts, etc.

I found FOUR unopened packages of this: Bob's Red Mill gluten-free pancake mix. I combined them all into a ziploc bag and will store it in the freezer. Just goes to show what gets hidden in jumbled cupboards. I got rid of a variety of other items too--prunes that were too dried out to be edible, wild rice that had never been eaten, root beer extract that we've had for years and have never used, etc.

Onward!

Never empty a dirty dishwasher (or load a clean one) again!

Do you ever empty the dishwasher when it is dirty or load clean dishes into a dirty dishwasher? I'm notorious for it! We have a very small dishwasher, and we rinse our dishes pretty thoroughly before we load them in.

I absolutely LOVE this tip found at parenthacks.com and have already passed it along to Mike. I'm hoping he can remember to apply it!! It is so simple, you'll wonder why you didn't think of it yourself:

When you empty the dishwasher, refill the detergent cup. If you open the dishwasher and see soap, you'll know the dishes are dirty. If there is no soap, they are clean.

350 pounds to the dump today!

Today Mike spent plowing through all the junk we had accumulated in the garage, and I spent the whole day on the kitchen.

My great resolution to keep the kitchen counters clean has fallen to ruin.

The dishes had stacked up all over the counter, and it needed some serious, down-and-dirty TLC. I am happy to say that it's clean now...although every time I clean the kitchen I want to redo it. We've been living with the same linoleum, paint, etc., for 11 years now, and it's definitely looking worse for wear. The countertops are still in good shape, fortunately.

Photos tomorrow!

New technique to keep the kitchen clean

Tonight we finished cleaning the kitchen nook (which tends to attract piles of junk) and the kitchen counters (while we were watching two extra kids, I might add--but fortunately all five children were entertaining themselves quite well).

Knowing the motivation I feel by using Wii Fit Plus on a regular basis and realizing how nice it is to compete against my previous scores, I have designed a new challenge for us.

I've written on the memo board posted on the fridge:

Days kitchen has stayed clean: _____________

Mike is a competitive soul, who also likes a good challenge, so I think this will help both of us stay motivated.

The goal is to keep the kitchen nook table and kitchen counters cleared by the end of the day (and ideally, the sink cleaned out as well).

We'll see how effective it is!

Took this afternoon off to deep-clean my kitchen

I'm already behind on my One Year to an Organized Life, Part 2. I had intended to reorganize and clean the kitchen in January. Guess what? It's the first week of February!

Life has been so crazy lately, both at work and at home (and hello? three kids!), so this has not gotten done.

I decided I needed a mental health break from work and intended to take the whole day off, but forces conspired against me and I ended up working at home in the morning. Today I worked for about 4 or 5 hours on the kitchen. Tomorrow I'm hoping to work another 1/2 day and get more done.

Earlier this week I did get some purging and cleaning done in the kitchen. I cleaned two of our cabinets, which hold oils, sauces, spices and herbs, pasta, rice, and baking supplies. I junked a bunch of stuff, such as croutons (how did we end up with croutons?), some sauces with high-fructose corn syrup that have been in our cabinets for years, and some obscure herbs that we never use. I also took out some jams, chutneys, and sauces that rarely get used and moved them down to the basement to make room for more canned goods in the kitchen.

Today, I have:

• Cleaned out and loaded the dishwasher (first things first!)
• Cleaned out and reorganized the snack and cereal shelves (why do we still have any wheat-based snacks that the kids don't eat, if Mike and I avoid wheat?)
• Moved the coffee up to the top shelf because it's not used very often, and the snacks to a lower shelf
• Reorganized the mugs and the tea shelf--we continue to have an abundance of tea!!
• Deep-cleaned the stove--inside, top, sides, burners, back, and underneath (including vacuuming and cleaning up the grunge on the floor under it)
• Cleaned the microwave and toaster oven (including under the microwave cabinet)
• Cleaned out the microwave cabinet and discovered the source of a seriously fishy smell we've had lingering around the house for several days! (a rotten potato!)
• Cleaned and reorganized the freezer

That's enough for now! Tomorrow I'll get more done--and hopefully move on to another room!

Healthier eating choices for the whole family

South Beach Progress

I've been on Phase One of the South Beach Diet for 8 days now, and it's going well. We bought a new digital scale to replace the analog one we've had since we got married (and doesn't seem very reliable), so I'm not exactly sure how many pounds I've lost...but they are melting away. I also feel much healthier.

I'm sure cutting out alcohol, sugar, and wheat is partially contributing to this feeling, although I am definitely counting the days until I can add grains and fruit back into my diet. Phase One (purposely strict to limit one's cravings) officially ends on Saturday, but I will end it one day early, since Friday night my sister and I will be helping my mom celebrate her birthday at Edgefield, and I want to be able to enjoy a glass of wine.

I did go out to lunch with friends twice this week, and I did fine. The first time was sushi, and I had miso soup, edamame, tofu, and sashimi. The second time I had a yummy roasted vegetable salad with grilled chicken on it--the dressing was honey mustard, which I realized later technically breaks the Phase One rule (no honey or sugar), but oh well. I have not missed bread, but I have missed rice and oatmeal.

I stocked up on tons of veggies, organic olive oil, jarred red peppers, and whole grains (organic brown rice, wild rice, and quinoa), in addition to Wii Fit Plus, at Costco this week. Last night I made Indian chicken (with coconut milk and cauliflower), spiced lentils, and garlic-sesame green beans. We had the leftovers tonight, and they were delicious.

Kids Get Healthy!

This week has focused heavily on food, because 3-year-old Nick has been horribly constipated, to the point of groaning and pain. He has a horrible diet--drinks tons of milk (regular and chocolate) and eats a lot of starch (toast, macaroni and cheese, rice, etc.) as well as string cheese and eggs. Very few veggies, and the only fruit he seems interested in at the moment are bananas (also not good for constipation). He's in that skeptical 3-year-old eating phase. Things he used to enjoy he turns his nose up at now. Fortunately, the constipation seems to have passed because we've cut way back on his milk intake, and we're feeding him popcorn (high in fiber) and other healthy foods.

We've decided that our entire family needs to eat healthier. As it is, we realize we our way healthier than most American families, but we still have lots of room for improvement. We typically eschew high-fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils, and most processed foods, but like any parents, we have our weak moments when we have given into our kids, or into convenience.

Mike and I have found ourselves being short-order cooks for the kids at times, even though we swore we would never do that! It's not all the time, but any time we make something we think the kids won't like as much we'll make macaroni and cheese, corn dogs, or spinach ravioli for them.

We've both been reading a lot about healthier eating (I'm reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan right now), and Mike read about a great idea to encourage healthy eating in kids: the "no thank you plate." Now the kids can put food on the plate that they do not want to eat. We've had some grumbling about the healthier choices we're putting in front of them (especially our efforts to limit snacks right before or after dinner), but overall I believe it's going well. They will get used to it!

Part of my kitchen revisit will include getting rid of anything that doesn't fit into these healthy eating guidelines, including a big barrel of Red Vines, which I allowed Kieran to buy with his allowance during a weak moment at Costco! They are stale anyway. Who can eat a big barrel of Red Vines before they go stale, anyway? Personally, I hate the things. Hope Kieran won't notice their absence.

One Month Down, Eleven to Go! Kitchen-Check!

This is my last post about my kitchen...which I finished this weekend, with the help of my wonderful husband.

Friday night we actually watched a movie and I multitasked by cleaning the junk drawer--which I had been putting off! Here's the before:

And the after--yes, we have too much incense (and lighter thingamajigs). But we do use them (although lately our very sensitive 5-year-old complains that the smell makes him sick!).

On Saturday I tackled the refrigerator--which was chockablock with stuff!!

I chucked out quite a bit of stuff, including bunches of takeout condiments (as Regina Leeds recommends), clearing out quite a bit of space. I also reorganized the food into logical groupings and DEEP cleaned all the surfaces.

Finally, I followed Leeds' advice and went for the "bare" look for the front of the fridge. We both have decided that we like it! But we've decided that we'll put one thing on the front, just so it won't be so bare...we will select it carefully--either a child's drawing or a quotation. Doesn't it look much cleaner and neater than before (those of you who have been to our house will remember how cluttered it was before). Let me tell you how long it takes to remove magnetic poetry from a refrigerator: about 20 minutes of painstaking peeling!

While I was working on the fridge, Mike tackled the kitchen nook, which had become a clutter magnet. The nook was one of the things we loved about our house when we moved in, but we really have not kept it very well cared for. I would like to do some further work on the shelves, so they look a bit more artful. But at least for now it's cleaned up. Here are some before photos:






And the after:

It was nice to have a clear space to lay out drying valentines! Now of course we have to clear off the valentines so it looks neat again. A never-ending process...

At last, the corner of the counter was cleaned as well!

That yellow cup by the sink contains a growing toy soldier that my mother-in-law gave Kieran after Christmas. I had hoped to put it away until next Christmas, but Kieran rediscovered it and put it back into water again! I shall try one more time, so I can get it cleared off the counter!

I cleaned under the sink and was able to move our compost container down there and off the counter.

I also tackled the windowsill, which was looking cluttered and messy...washed the windows, dusted the tiles hanging above the sink and the windchimes...and scrubbed down the kitchen cabinets. As I was doing so, it was hard to keep myself from plotting about how to paint the kitchen. I'm planning on doing a Mexican theme--with yellow, red, and blue colors. After I do more organizing!

Now it's onto the bedroom next!

January: Week Four, "Whip Your Kitchen Into Shape"

Yes, I know it's the last day of January. So I'm a tiny bit behind...

I'm not completely done with the kitchen yet, but I expect to be this weekend. This doesn't include the kitchen nook, though--that will have to overflow into the bedroom month.

Author Regina Leeds talks about how to prepare for an organizing project (choose your peak time of day--in my case, there's not much choice--evenings are really the only time I have available for this task).

She advises a second round of speed elimination. I skipped that step because my first speed elimination was fairly thorough...although I'm regularly discarding items as I tackle each section of the kitchen.

Leeds approaches each section or aspect of the kitchen:

Kitchen tools: She advises where to keep them, and suggests that we really don't need multiple can openers, wine bottle openers, nutcrackers, garlic presses, etc. This is generally not an issue for us because I have regularly weeded through our gadgets.

Take-out stuff: She suggests discarding any extra chopsticks, soy sauce, etc. I think I have a few of these in my fridge, and when I clean my fridge today, out they will go! Also, she suggests keeping takeout menus in a binder.

Large equipment: She suggests storing large, seasonal, or rarely used appliances in out-of-the-way areas. As I've previously written, I've already been following this philosophy.

Countertop items: I do not like having a lot of crap on my counters, so the only items we regularly keep there are (1) a tea kettle, and (2) a compost container. When I clean out the cabinet under the sink this weekend, though, I think I'm going to look for a way to move the compost container. The tea kettle is used SEVERAL times a day, so it makes sense to keep on the counter.

Baking gear: I already moved my Christmas cookie cutters (as she advises), and have weeded through my baking equipment.

Food storage containers: This is another area I've stayed fairly well on top of. We don't have tons of Tupperware or other storage containers...and the ones we have, we use regularly. (I often take leftovers in my lunch.)

Paper and plastics: We do buy paper products in bulk, but we keep them in the basement out of the way.

Dishtowels, potholders, and aprons: I weeded out the dishtowels, potholders, and aprons when I cleaned the linen drawer and one of the kitchen cabinets, and consigned the older dishtowels to rags, as Leeds suggests. She also suggests rolling the dishtowels to save room.

The pantry: She suggests organizing the pantry into categories and using shelf dividers.

Pet food: I skipped this section because we don't have any pets.

The refrigerator: She has some suggestions for refrigerator organization, but nothing that I hadn't already thought of.

But here is one thing that made me think: Leeds says that "refrigerator poeple come in two basic types: those who cover theirs with magnets, notices, and photos, and those who like an unadorned refrigerator. I would urge you to either join the latter group or at least pare your items down to a minimum."

Now this is radical notion for a busy family with three kids. Our refrigerator was adorned with magnetic poetry, various types of adult and kid magnets, notes, grocery lists, reminders, kids' drawings, and photos. No longer! This morning I took down all the photos and notes, got rid of a lot of the magnets, and consolidated the remaining items to the sides of the fridge. (Because we live in an old 1938 house, our refrigerator is a stand-alone item and is not surrounded by cabinets.) Finally, I took down all of the magnetic poetry that we've had up for over 15 years. Now that was quite a task! Do you know how long it takes to remove magnetic poetry? I haven't yet cleaned the front of the fridge yet, but when I do it will be very exciting. I really like the cleaner, bare look! Leeds is right that a cluttered fridge "looks messy and feels chaotic."

Shopping lists: Leeds keeps her own shopping lists in three sections, for each store at which she shops. I love the shopping lists on Cozi, because I can create one for Trader Joe's, one for Costco, one for Fred Meyer, and one for New Seasons.

Under the sink: I'm going down under today!! I don't think it's too bad under there, but we shall see!

The junk drawer: Check--I did this last night while Mike and I were watching a movie. I'll post photos later.

The kitchen counter office: Don't have one of those, but we do have a kitchen nook, which attracts a lot of clutter!!!

Leeds ends the chapter by talking about creating new habits and reminding us that she had said at the beginning of the chapter that it takes 21 consecutive days to form a new habit. I do feel that Mike and I are both much more focused on keeping the counters clean and cleared before we go to bed. And each time I open a cleaned cabinet or drawer, I feel such a great sense of satisfaction!!

A Place for the Teapots!

I took a bit of an organizing break over the weekend--I had a good friend visit on Friday night, and then we went to a party on Saturday and a marathon play on Sunday afternoon--but last night I spent about 45 minutes organizing one of my cupboards...and cleaning it.

My evening of tearing through the kitchen, discarding as much as I could in one fell swoop, resulted in a few empty spaces in my cupboards. (Especially when I got rid of all those silly vases!!) Last night I reorganized my main dish cabinet, and actually washed the darn shelves!! I am embarassed to admit that we've been living in our house for nearly 10 years now and we have never wiped down the shelves (to my knowledge). It continues to be a challenge to keep myself focused on organizing and stop myself from fantasizing about what color I would like to paint the cupboards and the walls!!

At any rate, some organization and a few more discarding resulted in a cabinet that looked like this:

Look at all that empty space!! Most of the stuff is on the bottom shelf, because I am very short (5 feet), and the cabinet goes all the way to the ceiling!! I need a chair to get to anything in the back of the middle shelf or on the top shelf.

I was trying to think of what to put in my free space, when I had a bright idea: how about our teapots, which we are always trying to cram into other spaces? We typically keep our coffee maker downstairs because we use it only when we have guests...but I found a home for it on the top shelf...and moved the teapots and french press to the middle shelf. And I still have space! From the perspective of someone who grew up with crammed refrigerators, freezers, and cabinets in my family of origin, and who has continued with that tradition in my own family, I am loving the idea of empty space!! :)

Tonight, I tackle the tea/coffee/cereal/snack cabinet, probably the most crammed one in the house! (And where we typically try to fit the teapots into.) I still have quite a few vases in the kitchen, as you can see...might move those downstairs to the basement.

It would also be nice to move the cold cereal to a lower cabinet so the kids could help themselves. Our oldest son, Chris, is a cereal FANATIC!! He must go through four or five bowls a day.

And Jennifer, over at The Year of Living Obsessively, has inspired me with her clean junk drawer. Must tackle that junk drawer...I've been putting that off!! And I have only six days left of kitchen organizing...or my husband will be very disappointed in me! Such a slave driver he is...

All the Right Tools to Hand

Part of what I've been focusing on in my kitchen organizing is moving the items we do not use regularly farther away from the kitchen. Our house is a 1938 Cape Cod, and we are blessed to have a good amount of storage space (especially compared to my sister's much-fancier and larger 80s-era "Street of Dreams" home). The basement is a major blessing! We have a utility room downstairs, where the washer and dryer and overflow kitchen items are stored, and we also have a storage room we call "Chai's room." (Chai was our cat, who died 4 years ago, and she used to stay in that room overnight so she wouldn't rip the house to shreds.)

So last night I focused on one of our lower kitchen cabinets that contains pots and pans, plastic storage containers, bowls, measuring cups, etc., in addition to starting on our hall closet cupboard (which contains cookbooks, rice cooker, baking pans, etc.). We have been using our slow cooker constantly, so instead of putting it away down in the basement (its former home), with all of my decluttering, I was able to make room for it in the kitchen cabinet, along with the frying pans, which we use daily for quesadillas, grilled cheese sandwiches, and sauteeing. The soup stockpot and some other items got moved to the hallway cupboard.

I also went through our massive collection of dish and tea towels and relegated about many of the stained ones to the cleaning closet to be used for rags.

I also identified some duplicate (and older) pans and bowls to send to Goodwill, and moved some of the baking items down to the basement. (Because how often do we bake? Once a month, if that!)

It's going to take us a bit of time to get used to the new places for everything, but I'm convinced it will be nice to have all the right tools closer to hand!

I have only 10 days left of my kitchen (and kitchen nook) focus, and have still much yet to accomplish!! (Because you know my husband will be very disappointed in me if I'm still working on the kitchen in February and fall behind in the book!!)

Now that I'm getting my kitchen in better shape, I want to paint and redo the flooring...but no time, because I will be on to the bedroom next! I can't get distracted yet in redecorating before I feel more organized.

Clean Counters!

Some of you will recall one of the resolutions I made earlier in the month: to clean my counters every night. (Actually, I said after every meal, but that is a bit unrealistic given our lifestyle.)

Well, I can't say that I've been entirely successful with that resolution, but I do believe that I've made an improvement. It's amazing how much CRAP finds its way to our kitchen counters!!! Usually little game pieces, paintbrushes, felt pens, coins, or other such things. Not to mention food items.


Last night I was going to continue reorganizing my cupboards but decided to really clean the counters and sink instead...so that's what I did, save for the little corner of one counter where a bunch of junk has collected. (That will be tackled next. Tonight has been wasted with perusing inauguration coverage and blogging...)


It's such a lovely feeling to have clean counters!! And tonight, when we go to bed, they will be clean again. Yippee!!




Before the end of the month, I plan to also tackle that windowsill collection of junk and bric-a-brac!


And the forementioned corner of junk...

But not much got done today--was too excited to clean and organize!! :) Oh happy day!!!

Week Three: Kitchen Questions

1. What do you like about your kitchen?

When we moved into this house, I liked the white cupboards (as opposed to the oak cabinets we had in our old house); the newness of it all (new linoleum and formica counters; new paint on the walls and the cabinets); the plentiful storage space; and most of all, the lovely kitchen nook.

Eight and a half years later, nothing is new any more. The counters are still in reasonably good shape, but the white cabinets and walls are looking very shabby! They really need a nice paint job. The kitchen could also benefit from new flooring. I loved the white linoleum and cabinets when we moved on, but I soon discovered how difficult it was to keep clean...especially with three children. Still love the kitchen nook, but we don't really take advantage of the space like we could. We still have nice storage space, but we could improve on the way we use it.

Since we moved in, we installed a small dishwasher (well, okay, my dad installed it with a bit of help from Mike)...and I very much like that!

2. What do you dislike?

See above. The kitchen could use some updating. I don't like how grubby fingers sully the white kitchen cabinets and the appliances. If it were up to me, everyone in the house would wash HIS hands before touching the cabinets or the fridge! :) I dislike the cluttered, haphazard way we've displayed items on the built-in shelves in the kitchen nook. I would like the whole kitchen to be more organized...a goal toward which I've been making some progress.

My dad has often encouraged us to build out our kitchen, and it would be nice to have more space...but I don't want to give up our nook. The reality is that of all the possible home improvement projects we could invest in, that's at the bottom of our list.

3. Do you have things from past generations that don't serve you other than giving you a sense of familial devotion?

Not really.

4. Are you eating off chipped plates and drinking glasses?

There might be a few dishes with chips in them, but for the most part we've made small investments in aesthetically pleasing plates and glasses.

5. Do you like the color of your walls?

See above. White is fine, but it attracts dirt. My fantasy is to have a Mexican kitchen, with lots of contrasting, bold colors.

6. Is the lighting adequate?

It's adequate, yes, but it would be nice to replace the flourescent light fixtures in our kitchen, if we do remodel one of these days.

7. Do you have space for furniture in your kitchen?

The only "furniture" we have in the kitchen is the microwave cart and the kitchen nook table and chairs. Someday it would be nice to have a custom-made island for the kitchen nook with additional storage and table space...but it might detract from the period quality of the nook, so I'm not sure.

8. How much time every day is spent looking for things?

Less and less time, the more I organize the kitchen! I've definitely been noticing a difference already in this area, and I'm looking forward to it spreading to the other areas of my house (where we are still spending time looking for things!!).

9. Do you have counter space to prep meals or has that space been usurped by stuff?

We have counter space, but some of it has been usurped by stuff. We've been doing a better job of clearing off our counters this month, but we're far from perfection!

10. Do you cook every day or just on special occasions?

We cook nearly every day, and we make an effort to eat together every evening. My husband usually cooks during the week, and I cook on the weekends.

11. Do you ever bake?

Yes; every few weeks. Mostly for special occasions (like birthdays).

12. Are the items in your kitchen the right size for your family?

Yes.

My only other wish for my kitchen is that I were taller...because we have some very high cabinets that are difficult for me to reach, making them a bit impractical.

There are a few remaining areas in my kitchen (under the sink, the junk drawer, the refrigerator [inside and the top], finishing the cabinets) that need work, but I'm already seeing a lot of progress. My plan this week is to try to plow through as many remaining areas as I can, and next week focus on any final spots and work on the kitchen nook.

Week 3: Kitchen Questions

I haven't yet read this chapter yet, but last night my fingers were itchy to do some more organizing. (Plus Mike has been dropping hints that I have to get back on my program.) He had meetings three nights this week, plus his mother just left on Wednesday, so I have let up somewhat. But back to the program!

Chapter 3 starts by asking lots of questions about how the kitchen is set up and whether it serves my purpose. I will get to those later. But in the meantime, I scanned through the chapter last night for a task I could tackle in the kitchen, and saw the suggestion to take a minimum of 15 minutes to "literally tear through your kitchen...identifying items that you can eliminate quickly." That sounded like just the kind of quick activity I needed to get back in gear!


I announced my intention to Mike, and again recognized how different we are in these types of activities. He declared that the would not want to approach things way and would much rather tackle each drawer or cabinet methodically, one at a time. That is the plan, eventually (Leeds later talks about going back through each area and revisiting it), but I think it's nice to mix things up a little. My most gratifying part of organizing is decluttering, and this was a fun way to do it. I've been meaning to tackle these top shelves of our two kitchen cabinets for some time, beyond other spots:








That's right, we had a shelf and a half of valuable kitchen cabinet space (granted, it is very high and I have to practically stand on the counter to reach anything)...taken up with vases!! Very impractical. How often does one use a vase? AND HOW MANY VASES DOES ONE HOUSEHOLD NEED? We even have more vases out in the garage!! So out went most of the vases...plus various items from the lower cabinets and other drawers and cabinets I haven't gotten to yet. Including a huge package of Japanese green tea I bought in Hawaii 5 years ago, which is most likely incredibly stale and tasteless by now! And breast milk storage bags I haven't used in well over a year. And a once-beautiful glass salad bowl we got for a wedding present that had a chip in it, so we never used it any more.


Out went a lot of tall water cups and bottles that never get used (not very practical), various straws and bowls, tupperware lids without bottoms, and wonder of wonders, Mike even tackled his egg cup collection and got rid of a bunch of them! (Even though he disagreed with this process...) Our kitchen cabinets have all sorts of space now and are ready for me to reorganize next week.


The result of last night's binge was a box and a garbage bag full of vases, cups, and other stuff to go to Goodwill (and that doesn't include items that went in the trash). Took me about an hour, while talking on the phone to my sister part of the time and watching "Brothers and Sisters" online on my laptop (on the kitchen counter).


Anyone want to start a flower shop?

Last Night, the Drawer Under the Stove and an Appliance Drawer!

As I was on my hands and knees, scrubbing the gunk from underneath the stove last night, I said to my mother-in-law (who was observing from the next room), "This is what people pay housecleaners to do!!!" However, (1) after reading Nickel and Dimed, I can't bear to hire a housecleaner, (2) I'm too cheap to pay for one!, (3) most people I know who do hire housecleaners are not very happy with them, and I've heard a number of horror stories!, and (4) I would not have the wonderful sense of satisfaction that comes from cleaning, if I had someone do it for me!

But. Those types of tasks need to be done more often.

As does cleaning out my drawers regularly. Last night I tackled a drawer that contained the blender, coffee grinder, food scale, cheese graters, tons of cookie cutters, and various sundry appliances and gadgets. Many items went in my Goodwill bag, and others into the garbage. The many cookie cutters will get sorted through and moved downstairs to basement storage, since we use them only once or twice a year.

I do believe that this drawer might never have been cleaned out and scoured since we moved into the house 9 years ago!!! Oh my! Talk about skeletons in my closet!

The best part of last night's activities? I found the toast soldier cutting device Mike's mum had given us a few years ago...and Mike had been looking for it! ("Perfect Soldiers")

Never heard of toast soldiers? Read here and here.



Personally, I HATE runny eggs. So I never use it. I like my eggs poached, scrambled with salsa, in an omelet or frittata, or in egg salad or deviled eggs. And only when I'm in the proper mood.

Microwave Cabinet--Check!

Regina Leeds lays out January in four weeks: the first two focus on thinking and journaling about time management, scheduling, and list making, and the last two focus on the kitchen. However, I've decided to adapt that plan a bit and work on the kitchen all month long (in addition to pondering my time management habits). Otherwise, I'm afraid I would be cram-organizing during the last two weeks.

My husband has informed me that he would never do it this way. He is a rule follower. I am a rule "adaptor." I will follow rules when they are important, but following the book to a tee does not seem very important to me. The most important thing is for me to organize my space and my life, and the book is simply a helpful means to an end.

Besides, I made a list of all of the cabinets and other areas of the kitchen (and nook) that I plan to organize (and clean), and it is going to take me all month!

Last night I tackled the microwave cabinet...which is where we keep potatoes, lunch bags, large bottles of oil, the popcorn popper and popcorn, a big bag of dried Shiitake mushrooms, and Clif bars, among other things. I cannot remember the last time it was cleaned out! I also cleaned the microwave and toaster oven (which sits on top) and dusted and vacuumed behind and under the cabinet and the stove. I'm surprised I didn't have an allergy attack last night...the dust!!!

Most exhilarating is the task of crossing off one of the items on my list after I am through!!!

Mike Is Getting into the Act!

I declared my intention to organize our jumbled kitchen pantry a few days ago. It was designed to be a broom closet, but we have another one of those in the hallway, so we use it for phone books, the food processor, cutting boards, reusable bags, garbage bags, and ziploc bags. We also use it as a repository for library books that need to be returned (by putting them in one of the bags).

It has a receptacle for saran wrap, etc., but the bottom fell out awhile ago and we have not yet fixed it. We rigged a temporary repair by putting a bag inside of it, but it didn't look very nice. It's very hard to find the cutting boards or correct size of ziploc bag because they are buried under all the reuseable bags.

I took Kieran on a "date" this afternoon, and while I was gone, Mike installed some shelves in the closet (which we had owned for several years; they were away in storage) and did some reorganizing of his own! I plan to continue reorganizing the closet--I want to move the phone books (which we use only once a month) and continue refining the organization...but this is a vast improvement. The bags have not returned to their proper space, but I plan to do some sorting and purging first. Mike very proudly showed his handiwork when I walked in the door.

We also plan to repair the saran wrap receptacle to create more useable space. Small thrills for small minds! :)

Organizing the Kid Dish Drawer

My intention is to take "before" and "after" photos of my organizing projects, but I must get into that habit. (Mike is horrified at the thought that I will be posting our messy habits online...but I figure it will be a satisfying exercise...maybe we DO have skeletons in our closet, our house!!) I forgot to take a before photo this time, so I took a "during" instead!

Anyone who has or has had children knows how easily one can accumulate kid cups, plates, etc., especially when so many restaurants give plastic cups with kid meals. We have designated a lower drawer for our kid plates and cups, so that the kids can retrieve them on their own. The drawer has not been cleaned out for over a year! (or two or three?) It was a jumble of junk.

After fishing everything out of the drawer, this was what was left--pens, cheerios, paper, soy sauce, Christmas tree ornaments, game pieces, feathers, magnets, and pieces of junk:



Here are all the lids I threw away (can't be recycled, alas)--most of them did not have matching cups to go with them!



Here are some of the cups and plates lined up (after many of them had been thrown away!).

And here, at last, is the organized drawer--much easier to find things!

My intention is to organize my house and life without spending tons of extra money. Therefore, our house will not look like House Beautiful or an IKEA catalog. We will invest in organizing systems when we need to, but I'm hoping to make a lot of progress simply by getting rid of stuff, so it's easier to organize what we have.

January: Understanding Time Management and Working on the Kitchen

Here we go! Today I read the introduction of the book, which advises readers to create a "dream board" full of photos of the kind of lives we idealize. Mine will be full of photos of beautifully designed, spare spaces (probably not very realistic with three kids) and time spent productively doing crafts and making music, furthering myself, and spending time with my family.

Each month has suggested habits to develop (on the theory that repeating an action for 21 consecutive days turns it into a habit). Regina Leeds advises readers to choose one or two of the following actions for this month:

• Wash dishes rather than leave them languishing in the sink.
• Put your clean dishes away immediately.
• If you use a dishwasher, unload it when its cycle is complete.
• Wipe off the counters after each use.
• Once a day, take out the garbage.

I am going to focus on washing the dishes (or loading the dishwasher) and wiping off the counters after each meal. I told Mike about these goals, and he freaked a bit. He has expressed his desire to do this project and read the book with me, but the prospect of implementing these habits every day worries him. He said "after every use??" I know it's hard for him to do this, juggling three active kids all day long. We'll see how we do. I would be happy if we at least stayed on top of the dishes throughout the day so that cleaning the kitchen before bed didn't take so long.

January focuses on getting to the heart of why we are disorganized..."Why Am I Like This?" Leeds' introduction begins by saying she knows me..."You engage in a near constant quest for your house keys. Invitations, personal notes, and letters are lost in a sea of paper debris...You never use a calendar because you store your schedule in your head...Your home is not your castle; it's your prison. Guilt is your frequent companion..." and so on. This is all way more dramatic than I feel about my life; however, we have vast room for improvement in terms of getting our lives organized. Furthermore, I would love to organize my work life as well.

The major reasons I want to get my life and house organized follow:

• I want to know where everything is.
• I want to avoid buying more of something that we already have (but cannot find).
• I want to feel more at peace in my home.
• I want to not be embarassed when visitors show up unannounced.
• I want to vastly reduce our amount of possessions, and specifically, clutter.
• I want to teach my children to clean up after themselves on a regular basis (and model that for them as well) and foster more independence.