Bath Closet Clean Up

             Its very nice having a closet in your bathroom. As many of you might already know I am an EX-couponer. I have been out of the "loop of couponing" for almost 2 years. I would buy 4-10 papers, cut, clip, organize, stare at grocery ads, raid shelves, come home and stock pile. Well that works great when you have a family that can use everything. I learned from couponing that buying what was on sale this week for laundry soap, soap, shampoo, etc,  then buying something completely different the next week, started to cause all of us to have skin problems. Its one of the reasons I started in 2013 turning to natural and homemade products. 

BEFORE

Once I realized that all the switching of products was effecting my kids (and we had enough to last us a YEAR) I slowly stopped (we also ran out of room to put stuff). So with everything in this closet that causes us skin problems I had to find great homes for everything.


AFTER...I had my husband add another shelf to the top of the closet. I sorted everything, I kept what we could use. I donated the rest.

TOP Shelf- Now has a few body washes,

Middle Shelves- Wash clothes and towels

Bottom- Shampoo and toilet paper!

                                                 

                                               

Sorry this is so short, but its a bathroom closet. I cleaned it out. Organized the shelves. I donated stuff that could no longer be used.

What did you clean today? 

Adyson's Room Make-Over

OK so last March we decided it was time to give Adyson's room a make over.  We upgraded from the youth bed to a twin. Adyson picked the color of her room. I found TONS of ideas on Pinterest (so you know I created a board on Pinterest for it). I wanted to compile all the ideas and take the best ones and incorporate them into my plans.  (read about the start and curtains of the project here)

THE PROCESS---

Adyson picked a purple that she loved and we painted ALL the walls the same purple. She didn't want to get rid of her flower wall boarder. She insisted on keeping it. So it stayed!


I wanted Adyson to have a coloring area. She loves to color, we already had her favorite Cars table and 2 chairs. I did not want to get rid of the table so I had my husband create a shelf and paint it. We hung it above her table. The shelf holds all of her coloring books! We also screwed in hooks to the bottom of the shelf so she could hang buckets. The buckets hold her crayons, markers, etc.
                                 
                                                     

Next because she had so many book, as you can see from the full bookcase, I wanted her to have a reading area! So... the bean bag on the floor next to the bookcase! (Yes the Cars table gets moved, its also used as her night stand Per Adyson's request its her room!)

 

       BEFORE....                                                        AFTER....

Next I insisted opening up her closet. My husband was not happy about this but Adyson has had a ball with this. 

                                                    BEFORE...

AFTER...

                           

Because we opened the closet we were able to put her play kitchen and her Play tool bench in her closet. We also got rid of the dresser and used the closet organizer and hangers! So now Adyson can reach and get to everything in her room! 

I put her bed on bed raisers so I could utilize that space as well. Her Papa got her a Toy Story Car box that holds ALL of Adysons cars it has wheels on it and Adyson can push/pull it when needed. So that gets pushed under her bed when she is not playing with them! 

Adyson LOVES her room. I tried to keep everything in mind while redoing her room. Can she reach it without my help? Can she push/pull it without my help? Can she get it out with out my help? Can she put it away without my help? What does she play with the most? How long is this room going to be functional for her? Is this going to last? My child is taller then all kids her age. So everything we did was a little bigger/taller then most rooms of kids her age. I wanted her to start learning to be independent so I made sure she could get to everything she needed! 

QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS? LEAVE THEM BELOW IN THE COMMENTS!! 

                                                      

                                                   HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!! 

Tackling the Christmas Warranties~

                       Feeling very frustrated right now! I had been keeping notes all day of what I was doing and organizing and apparently I didn't save them! BREATHE, BREATHE. OK I'm over it! So Like I said I have started organizing -the master closet, master bedroom, master bath closet. I am going to move a little furniture around in the master bedroom too.

                      Tackling the desk is a big job! Its the catch-all of the master bedroom. I get so upset every time I look at the desk. I know its there somewhere but, its just buried in the junk I don't want to deal with. So today I it was time. I started gathering my receipts for taxes! Little by little I could see the desk. You guys should know by now that I am a complete organizing freak.  I started creating file folders for the new items we got for Christmas, I create file folders for ANYTHING that has a warranty. Around January  EVERY year when I create new file folders for the new stuff we got for Christmas, I go through ALL the folders and toss expired warranty paperwork/information. Do you just LOVE the envelopes I created for taxes!!! I also created a hanging folder for the Armada, yes I know I bought it 3 months ago, yes I know I am behind!

                       

My receipt catchers are awesome! HAHA

I am very proud of myself for tackling the desk. Cross my fingers that I will keep up with it in 2014. Over the next couple days I am going to be cleaning out more closets, finishing my bedroom up. Hopefully by Sunday I will be able to post about the meal planning app I found and how my cleaning schedule is going to go for 2014. I am still playing with it! 

I am still reading Six Times a Charm, I'm on the 3rd book in the set.  Carpe Demon by Julie Kenner Its funny and I can picture me in the book :) 

Today was a great start to 2014. How did you do today? What did you get accomplished? 

Happy New Year!!!! 2014

                 Hello ya'll! I hope everyone had a great and safe New Year! We had a blast with our neighbors. Staying at home, us girls did some online shopping while the guys went out and put the husbands tractor back together! So we accomplished a lot! It was great catching up with them. 

                 The husband got out there this morning and tested and ran the tractor! I cleaned up the cow stall. I checked the cows for bugs/mites, and good news everyone was CLEAN! I just love it when my animals are bug free! I have been thinking about a lot of things I would like to accomplish in 2014. 

So here goes my list of goals for 2014:

1- You know I LOVE books. But I think my husband will start throwing out books if they dont get read. I made a good dent in the books in 2013, but I still have many, many, many more to read. Sooooo..... I am not going to PURCHASE any books in 2014. (If its FREE that's not a purchase) I must read what I have already been blessed with. Read more! I want to read 30 books! 

NO PURCHASING BOOKS IN 2014. 

2- You know I love to be organized. So I have found an app "Meal Board" in the App Store. I LOVE this app. It has a pantry, shopping list, recipes, the works!!!! You can also go and get recipes from websites (there is about 15 websites connected to this app) I am going to be using this app a lot in 2014! I am very excited about it. 

MEAL PLAN BETTER

3- Ya'll know I have been moving towards better foods for my family. So in 2014 I am moving a little closer to CLEAN EATING. I have read some terrible things about the chemicals, hormones, pesticides, and all around junk in our food. So I have several goals in the category lined up. The first one is no more fast/fried foods. I also want to master a homemade hummus recipe this month! I have tried a few and can't seem to master any of them! 

MOVE TOWARDS CLEAN EATING. 

3- Adyson- Sometimes I feel that her needs are pushed to the bottom of the pile. For example, Adyson loves to go to Story Time at the library. Sometimes I just cant get going fast enough in the morning to take her. I feel bad that she misses out on that time, its only once a week!! Also I feel bad that I don't read to Adyson at night. By the time bedtime comes I am just ready for the house to be quiet and lights out! Adyson deserves my undivided attention for 15-20 minutes everyday.

4- Brittany- Her and I never have time to just hang out! There is always an excuse, - can't find a sitter for Adyson, there is work to do around the farm... She is a teenager and does want to go out with her friends but we don't get the chance to do much together. 

5- More Positive- I worked on this in 2013, I fell off the wagon a few times, it happens. 2014 is going to be the year! No more yelling. No more getting frustrated with things I can not control. I need to learn to ENJOY life. I will step in JOY! 

6- Blog on time- Life happens, lazy happens, but this year I will be more aware of blogging on time. My biggest issue is doing exactly what I'm doing now and thinking and typing at the same time. I need to take notes throughout the week so when its time to blog its easier! I plan on posting a lot more this year! 

7- Continue with natural cleaning-  I am going to continue with finding as many natural cleaners and making what I can! I can't wait to find recipes for window cleaner, tub scubs, floor cleaners, etc. 

8-Work out 3 days a week- I jumped on this band wagon for about 2 months in 2013. I lost interest when it got cold outside. Sorry I am not fond of the cold. Yes I know I can exercise inside, I guess I just needed the "cold" excuse. I am going to pick random work outs from my Pinterest. I'll work on getting a routine when I get into working out!

9- Music- My wonderful husband bought me a keyboard for Mothers Day 2012. I have learned a few songs, but dying to learn more. So this year I am going to try to teach myself to read music and play! I am hoping to be able to play 12 songs (1 song a month) by the end of the year. I would love to be able to play some Christmas songs next year! Anyone know of a good music app that will help me read sheet music?

10- Christmas stuff- I would love to make our own ornaments and decorations this year and have an "old fashioned" Christmas. I have found lots of ideas on Pinterest on my Christmas Board. 

11- Do more myself- I hate when I can't do something and I leave it for the husband to do. I am tired of always giving him a "to do" list. So 2014 is the year I will learn to be more "manly". I will learn to use a drill, level, and a whole bunch more! 

12- Schedule- I need to create a schedule and keep it! I have certain things that I do on certain days (I will start blogging about all this, this year). Since the holidays have kept me hopping and has blown my schedule out of the water. I need to plan a little better this year! 

In case you haven't noticed my "theme" of goals this year is to take a step back and enjoy life. Try not to be so rushed. I'm going to start small so its not so over whelming. 

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Happy New Year! What are your goals? What are your resolutions? How are you going to make 2014 count?

Week 47 & 48

                I'm trying to get the last little bit of Christmas shopping done. I HATE shopping after thanksgiving. I go into a panic if I still have gifts to purchase. 24 days until Christmas! It's so exciting I'm totally feeling the spirit this year! 

The Girls decided they wanted a small tree in their room this year!!! 


Adyson is purple.                                                     Brittanys is Blue & Silver! 

             

I must admit I'm very proud of my self and all the goals I have accomplished this year! I had 13 of them. I have accomplished I think 10!  Which is more then I thought I would get done honestly, but when you write down everything you do and share it with the world it gives you that extra push you need! 

The family has been a little scattered this last week. We are helping Aunt  Nancy pack for her trips over the holidays!  Aunt Nancy had a few appointments to get through, Kids with dentist appointments, grocery shopping, etc! Hopefully now that Thanksgiving is over it will calm down. 

I know its still a few weeks off but has anyone started working on their 2014 goals? I have a few that might surprise you for next year! I'm getting excited for it! Gives me something to look forward to! 




FARM HAPPENINGS-  Very sad on the farm Tuesday morning. I went out to make sure everyone was OK because it was so cold Monday night. I found that my pigs had gone out in the middle of the field and made themselves a hay pile instead of going in their stall to stay warm. Many of you remember these cute little guys when we brought them over here in June. So Rest in Peace Hammy and Bacon. 

 HOMEMADE-   Well I have come to the conclusion after MANY DAYS of research and blog searches that my water is VERY HARD.  After a few weeks of using homemade dishwasher powder my dishes had a film that would not come off. I used vinegar as my rinse aid. I also can not make a dish soap for washing dishes in the sink that is tough enough because of my hard water. So I have gone back and researched some more natural dish soaps/detergents and found Ecos at SAMS Club  and this is my new dish soap, for a really good price! I bought some generic tabs to try until I find some natural/better ones. 




READING-   I know I promised to have Angels & Demons read but I'm about 40 pages in, and just can't stay interested. Sorry guys! Makes me mad that its looking like I won't make my goal of a book a week!! But I found a wonderful E-book box set titled Six Times a Charm and from the set I'm reading Haunted on Bourbon Street by Deanna Chase from Barnes and Noble. I have busted out my my long lost friend Nook Simple Touch from www.bn.com. My wonderful husband bought this for me while we were on vacation over the summer so I could read on the beach! I love this better than anything else. I can read in direct light/sunlight with no problems. Best of all Adyson doesn't want to play with it because its black and white. So its all MINE!!! 


EATING HEALTHY-  Well all the Halloween candy is just about gone.  I have been using my little crockpot (1.5 qt) like crazy for breakfast lately. Its just so nice to wake up and your house smells wonderful from breakfast that is already cooked! I am loving my Breakfast board on Pinterest. I have made a few different oatmeals and breakfast casseroles. They were all great!!!  I'm going to post more meals as I make them! 

I think I told you guys about Chickens in the Road she has a fabulous website about the "noodles and sauce" pouches you buy & how to turn them into homemade. So far everyone I have tried has been great! She gives me lots of inspiration! Thank you very much Suzanne! 

 FAMILY TIME-  It was great this passed week with Thanksgiving and going to the in-laws and spending time with extended family! We all had a great a time! Then Daddy and Adyson decided to play TMNT. Daddy was a Foot Soldier, Adyson was Donnatello

Can't wait to post pictures of the house decorated on my next post! Until next week see ya later!!! 

Week 40 & 41 Already?!

               My SEAHAWKS are doing wonderful so far this season. Yes they lost a game last week BUT they are still doing good!! (Sorry to anyone who has a losing team). I can't wait for tomorrows game, SEAHAWKS vs the TITANS! This will be a divided house for sure!

I'm going on day 3 of a nasty sinus infection, today it feels like there is an elephant sitting on my chest. I'm rotating vitamins and meds. Drinking soup, yes I said drinking soup!!! Of course I get sick while my husband is home. But I guess that is a blessing because he is doing a WONDERFUL job handling the kids while I relax in the bed to get as much rest as possible. Oh did I mention that I have gone through 3 BOXES of tissue? There goes my stockpile for the cold/flu season, UGHHH!!! I am enjoying the cold/flu tea that I found on Pinterest. Go check it out! 

Christmas is 74days away!!!! 

FAMILY TIME- We have found a new love this week. Our Wii. Did a family bowling tournament on the Wii, and had a blast! Made some nacho cheese dip along with popcorn! 

Can't wait until next time! We even had a visitor, my hubby's cousin along with his daughter! 

Brittany & Jackie 

Cousin Chris

Special Announcement!!!! -

I would love to give my blessings to my husbands uncle Larry &  wife Becky on their wedding/marriage. May your life forever be filled with many blessings. Love to you both and enjoy your trip to Hawaii!! 

MOVIES- 

EPIC- was a great kids movies. Loved it! About good & evil in the forest. Father & daughter who need to reunite. Will probably be buying it. AWESOME! 

The Croods- another father & daughter who work through differences. About being brave! 

World War Z- so it's a movie about zombies, starring Brad Pitt. Wasn't bad. But I'm not a zombie person. 

Iron Man 3- it's ok. I'm not an action girl. (& I didn't see the first 2)

One for the Money- was great! Funny movie & book! Loved every minute! 

Sunday's at Tiffany's- James Pattersons book turned into a movie. COMPLETELY different from the book, more funny parts then the book. I would watch it again! It was cute! 

 HOMEMADE-  so I made a tasty breakfast the other morning. You know fall is here and my favorite flavor is FINALLY in season, PUMKIN SPICE!!! So I decided to make pumpkin spice French toast! I've got the recipe pinned to my Pinterest breakfast board. 

Pumpkin spice French toast

(This recipe covers about 8-9 slices of bread, so I always double the recipe & freeze leftovers in quart freezer bags for those rush days ;)

Find it on my Pinterest board.

1. 3 tbsp pumpkin puree
2. 2 eggs
3. 1/2 cup milk
4. 1/4 tsp cinnamon
5. 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
6. 3 tbsp butter
7. Maple Syrup
8. Half of a french bread loaf

1. In a shallow dish whisk pumpkin puree, eggs, milk, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice together.
2. Melt butter in a skillet or frying pan over medium high heat. Dredge french bread strips into egg mixture, allowing bread to soak up some of the mixture. Place into the pan or skillet and cook until sides are golden brown (or darker if you like). Cook on all four sides.

This Lady has a bunch of great recipes on her website go check her out! 

READING- I told you guys that I wanted to start reading books turned into movies. So I have started that goal!

Breakfast at Tiffany's by James Patterson.  This is not your typical James Patterson book. This is a book about an imaginary friend and how they become real. It was a slow but enjoyable book. 

One For The Money by Janet Evanovich- was hilarious! Loved it!!! 

Angels & Demons By Dan Brown- I just started reading and so far I like it! Hopefully Next week I will have it finished.

Well its time for me to get back to resting. Wish everyone a great week! What are you reading? What movies are you renting? 

Week 4

Everything this week is going well. I had a mishap this morning with my extra freezer in the garage, IT QUIT. So I've been bringing in food & reorganizing the kitchen freezer (again) so I can fit all the food in there! My apologies for being late in writing my blog.

1-Still haven't touched a smoke!!!

2- family time is working PERFECTLY. I love having the kids to talk to while I cook.

3- anyone got any ideas for a 4 year old room? Still haven't found anything I like.

4-Eat Healthier- started making my own bread! Thus way I know EXACTLY what goes into it!

5-Dying for spring to get here! I want up be outside so bad!

6- Reading more- read a couple of canning & preserving books. that sounds like a lot of work! I also read Self Sufficiency by Abigail R. Gehring this book has awesome ideas, recipes & even activities for little children to do & over 400 pages. This book provides advise, tips & more! I am BUYING this book!


7- Brain Games- I'm addicted to Logic Games, it's a free app in the App Store. It's kind of like Sudoku. I also found Ruzzler in the App Store (free)but you have to play against someone, (you can purchase the app to play alone)my screen name is cpappleby if anyone wants to play! It's like a word find game! I also love Chain of Thought, it's great!!!! Can't forget my favorite app Sudoku!! Oh did I mention my 4 yr old is addicted to Flow Free. It's helping her match colors and use her brain to figure out the path, without crossing over another path!

8- I'm still blogging!

9- positive thinking - this has really changed the way I view & do things. Staying positive is probably the hardest thing to focus on. No matter how bad my day is going, just thinking that today is not permanent. I choose what happens!

10-still working on a craft. We have done a little if the planter sticks to label the plants in the kitchen.

11-music- hasn't gone well this week. I've been reading so many books on canning and preserving.

12- no chemicals- making bread & coffee creamer. They taste so much better then store bought!

13. Gardening- taking a challenge this week. I'm going to see if I can grow African Violet shoots! I'm going to try it!
I researched them & supposedly if you cut off a branch/stem with a leaf attached, then cut leaf in half. Then cut stem down to 1 inch below leaf. Place stem in pot mix up to the leaf, then put plastic bag over it to create greenhouse effect. In 4-6 weeks you should see shoots and then transplant to its permanent home.

Sorry this isn't more in depth, but trying to deal with a freezer not working didn't help me today. Next week will be more exciting.

Week 2

        Hope everyone has had a great week! I know I have been challenged this week. 8 days on the kitchen was fun and exciting. Well onto the goals that I have done!

1. Smoking- I fell off the wagon for 2 days this week. But I'm back down to 4-5 cigarettes a day.
 2.Family time- is coming along. The kids got a little involved with me in organizing the kitchen. We are all eating dinner at the table at night. I also got the kids outside since the weather was actually warm for Jan. We pulled weeds in front flower beds!

 3.Organizing- my "new" kitchen looks great. I was able to save so much space! When I open my cupboards now they almost look empty. Me being a couponer, I had stockpiles of everything! Now it's all condensed down into containers. No more stuff falling over in my cupboards. I even put my cookbooks into categories (breakfast, dinners, desserts, etc) so no more searching for the right book! Look for my previous post Operation Kitchen Reorganization. I think next month I will do Adyson's room gathering ideas right now. 

4. Healthy eating- coming along great. I made HOMEMADE Stroganoff the other night, I only have a few "dinner helper" boxes left.

Homemade Stroganoff
1/2c dry/powered milk
1/3c cornstartch
1.5 tbl beef bouillon cubes crushed
1 small onion chopped
1/2 tsp each-basil-thyme-pepper-parsley-
1tsp garlic powder
2 c egg noodles
1.5 lbs hamburger
3.5 cups water
1c sour cream

mix hamburger & onion, brown & drain fat.
whisk cornstarch and 1/2 c of the water together until mixed well. Then add everything to pot EXCEPT sour cream.
Bring to boil - reduce heat, cover & simmer 15-20 minutes until noodles are done, stirring occasionally. 
Just before serving add sour cream. I chose to add sour cream separate-on top of servings, this way I can freeze leftovers, since sour cream doesn't freeze well. I froze leftovers in quart size freezer bags. Don't forget to label & date! 
This was awesome!

5. Yoga- still going great! researching now to find new moves for my yoga ball. If anyone has a suggestion to a magazine or book for this let me know!

6. Reading- I have read HomeMade by Readers Digest. Its a great book I bought it on my NOOK Color, so friend me & I can lend it to you. Teaches you to make a lot of your own homemade cleaners, beauty stuff, gardening tips, etc. So right now I am only 1 book behind!

7. Brain Teasers- I think the last 11 days of dealing with the kitchen were a brain teaser enough. So I got out the Suduko book & its sitting on my night stand to work a puzzle tonight.

8. Blog- Still going! or you wouldn't have anything to read!

9.Positive- Been doing great at having a "Can Do Attitude" the kids are starting to pick up on it too!

10.Crafts- Did 1 craft that went with my kitchen about creating my own cookbooks out of all the recipes i found laying around. I took spiral notebooks and labeled them and added recipes. Some recipes I stapled (if they were already on recipe card) and some I wrote in.

I still have to make them "pretty". Thinking of using  wrapping paper to  cover ?
We shall see what works, or old pieces of fabric? 

11. Music- My hands have been tied up with the kitchen (ha ha sometimes literally). I have scheduled music time for later today! :)

12. No Chemicals- has been working out great. I made my own coffee creamer this week, and the Homemade Stroganoff.

Coffee Creamer
1-14oz can of sweet condensed milk
2 c milk (what ever you normally use)
This make a good "base" to start with. You can make it sweeter if you would like. Take 1/2 c milk heat in microwave about 1 min. Then pour in your sugar, mix until sugar is dissolved let it cool! Then you can add it to the rest of the batch.

You can add flavorings or extracts to it & get a flavor you like. Mine is Cinnamon!

1.5 tsp cinnamon extract
1/2 tsp Almond extract
1 tsp Vanilla extract


13. Gardening- I had a great idea for starting plants indoors. I already had soil, starter pots, most of the seeds. I did go buy a wire shoe rack & assembled it. Put it near back door (now that I have room in my kitchen) it cost me $10 it also collapses for storage! Yes I know its early to plant, BUT when we waited and planted indoors in Feb, the plants were only 2-3" tall come April. NONE of those plants survived. So this year we are starting a few weeks earlier, so the plants can be 6-8" tall by April.

Labeling for now I stapled a stick to the seed pack. Adyson & I are looking into "cooler" ideas for labeling. I planted....
HERBS
Rosemary-basil-cilantro-oregano-tarragon-thyme-sage-parsley

VEGTABLES
Cherry toms- Slicing toms- cucumbers-Kohlrabi-green peppers

FRUIT-
Watermelon

So far this year has been awesome! So 11 out of 13 goals started!!! I need to get better about Music and brain teasers! Much better then last weeks 7 out of 13!!! Now since my attention has been focused on the kitchen the last week, its time to show some TLC to the rest of the house, dust, vacuum, etc....

Until next week, I hope all of you are achieving you goals for 2013! 

Operation Kitchen Reorganization

Finally all my oils, vinegars, syrups in 1 cupbaord!

     This week has been challenging. Trying to quit smoking, organizing my kitchen, etc. But I survived!!! That's the important part.  My "new" kitchen looks great. I was able to save so much space! When I open my cupboards now they almost look empty. Me being a couponer, I had stockpiles of everything! Now it's all condensed down into containers. No more stuff falling over in my cupboards. I even put my cookbooks into categories (breakfast, dinners, desserts, etc) so no more searching for the right book! This took 8 days, but you have to understand how detailed I got with my kitchen, I also have a 3 year old who tried to help me, plus one day the Seattle Seahawks played (I had to stop and watch the game)!

 All these containers were part of my starting point. I'm sorry I forgot to take good pics before I started but I did post pics of all my ideas, & cupboards along the way. You can kind of see the tops of my cupboards as you look through the pics. Before I started this the tops of my cupboards were FULL of stockpiles from couponing. I had no more room on top of my cupboards.

Here are all my containers. I purchased them from Walmart.com because I could buy them in 4pack or 6 packs. (PS look
at the top of my cupboard at all that JUNK! )

BEFORE

AFTER

This entire project took me 8 days. It was VERY detailed

Day 1- I went through cupboards and took inventory of what I had, and what would fit into containers. I found that MOST of my stuff would fit and stack better in containers. So I worked clockwise around my kitchen (so I didn't miss any cupboard or drawer). As I was doing inventory I would measure my cupboards & shelves (so I could purchase the containers to fit my cupboards). I also adjusted a few of my cupboards to fit my needs. I also found stuff in back of cupboards, who knows how long some of it had been opened so in the garbage it went! I found I had multiple spices open, 3 black pepper, 2 salts, 2 garlic powders, etc. So I combined them into 1.

Day 2- I went through and double checked my measurements, researched containers and moving stuff. I this was the day I started having piles of stuff on my counters & table. You may notice the orange post-its on the top cupboards, my notes of measurements, how many containers needed, & what is going in those containers.

This is what my kitchen started looking like about day 3-4.... :)

Day 3- I went through ALL of my cookbooks. I was so tired of searching for the right book. So they all got organized my category- breakfast, lunch, snack, desserts, etc. They all got a good dusting and set aside. Then I found all those pieces of paper with recipes on them. So I found a spiral notebook, labeled the front and wrote or stapled recipes in them.

I chose to have all the books a different color so I could "grab & go" by color.

Day 3-4- When I found all those recipes I chose the ones I know I would cook, and tossed the rest! So I spent the rest of day 3 and most of day 4 writing/ stapling into my own cookbooks. By the end of day 4 my containers had come in.

Day 5- As I was pulling EVERYTHING out of my cupboards I found 2 wine bottle holders. We don't drink wine so who knows why I had them. But I got creative! I bought those decorative pebbles (cheap at the dollar store, $1 a bag, used 2 per wine bottle holder) this gives it weight to hold up my cookbooks!

                    

Also as I finished day 5, I noticed that my kitchen doesn't make sense. I had oatmeal & poptarts in cupboard, but cereal on top of fridge. I had pudding in one cupboard but other lunch snacks in other cupboards. So EVERY cupboard in my kitchen now holds a "category" of food. I chose what fits ME! Be creative with your cupboards and make them fit YOU!

Beans, canned veggies

Dinner boxes, rice, salad toppings. The other cupboard is spices.
Like my beautiful display of my cookbooks on top of my cupboards?
No more junk on top

Seasoning packets, broth packs.

You guys get the idea. I organized  according to what fit ME.  

Now ALL breakfast in on top of fridge.  5 boxes of oatmeal fit in a large container. 2 containers of cereal, 1 healthy & 1 for

kids. 1 container of the breakfast shakes, my protein powder, 1 box poptarts. All the "extra" boxes of cereal now fit stacked toward back of fridge

Look at all that empty space! It was COVERED
in all my stockpiles. Now the only thing up there
is what goes in the cupboards below it. So proud.

  

In large container is ALL 7 packs of puddings/fruit cups.  In the smaller red lined is the  cracker packs,  green lined is granola bars. Drinks to the right. In the back of cupboard on shelf is all the snack/lunch bags of chips. So when I make lunches every morning, EVERYTHING that goes in them is in this cupboard. The kids also know this is for LUNCHES ONLY. The "home" snacks are in a different cupboard!

Day 5-6- Washing/dusting everything and putting the stuff in its new home! I did have 1 box that went into the garage. It was full of stuff I only use once a year during the holidays such as my Christmas serving platters & trays, deviled egg holders, Christmas baskets, holiday cookie cutters, why keep all this stuff in your kitchen if you don't use it on a regular basis. I understand some people may not have that ability to do this, but I do so I am taking advantage of it!

Day 6-7 Putting away more stuff. So all food now has a proper cupboard to go into. I have made a Baking cupboard & drawer. All my mixers & bread maker, special cake pans fit into 1 cupboard. In the drawer was all my measuring cups/spoons, cupcake holders, cake decorating kit, candy thermometers, spatulas, etc.

I have all my "frying" stuff together, my Deep Fat Fryer, griddle, George Foreman grill in a cupboard together!

Day 7-8 getting the table cleared off, the poor table, it was the "catch all" for the entire process. The box packed properly and taped and put in garage. Sweeping & mopping.

I'm glad I did it! I was able to go start to finish. The whole project cost me about $150. So to me that's not bad. Especially for all the space I now have in my cupboards! I really feel like I need to go grocery shopping, after having stockpiles/boxes of stuff all over my kitchen for the last couple years and to look at my kitchen now with all the extra/open space (even though I only took 1 box of holiday stuff to garage) feels weird!

HAPPY ORGANIZING!!!!

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