Posts tagged kitchen
I scrubbed the shelves. I wiped out the drawers. I took everything out, got rid of the junk, and put the rest back right.
My refrigerator: She is sparkling clean and free of clutter. Behold!
(Henry was so happy about it, he literally kissed the fridge!)
Click here for the Before pics!
Well folks, after my successful kitchen cupboard re-org earlier this week, I decided this morning to take on the refrigerator. It was high time.
I’m just gonna come right out and say it: My fridge and freezer were a hot (cold?) mess. Check out the Before pic above. Even Henry couldn’t believe his eyes!
Click here for the After pics!
And now, here are the After pics!
(If you missed the Before pics, click here. And if you want the story behind the re-org, click here.)
I pulled everything out and cleaned the drawers and shelves like the dickens. Then, I tossed the stuff that was no longer fresh, consolidated what I could, transferred the dry staples into Ball Jars so they stay nice and fresh for a lot longer and put things back where they made sense. I even made fancy labels for the stuff that wasn’t obvious.
So, in a nutshell, I pretty much bitch slapped these cupboards into submission.
Now, to take on the fridge!
I promised some Before and Afters of yesterday’s major kitchen cupboard re-org, so here ya go!
These, above, are the Before pics.
(Click here for the After pics.)
Good lord. Today went totally pear-shaped on me!
After breakfast, Dennis left for work and I decided to start what I thought would be a quick 30-minute kitchen cupboard reorganization project. Little did I realize the can of worms I was opening up!
Everything came out of that cupboard, I tell you what. I cleaned. I consolidated. I rearranged. I even labeled. There was some really extra serious Type A business going on in my kitchen this morning.
But cleaning that cupboard also meant that I needed to clean out the drawer underneath it. And my tea and spice cabinet. And the cupboard above the fridge. Before I knew it, every last inch of kitchen countertop was filled with stuff, stuff, and more stuff. I was up to my eyes in crazy. And it was right about then that I glanced up at the clock and realized I needed to leave the mess where it was and run Maya to school toot sweet!
On my way home, I stopped off and bought a few extra Ball Jars (so obsessed - I have three cases of different sizes plus 7 stately half-gallon ladies!) to help me finish my kitchen re-org project. But by the time I finished feeding and changing Hen and washing out the jars, it was already time to go back to school to pick Maya up.
See mama run.
We made it home from school at about 4pm. I darted around the kitchen at top speed, cleaning up the mess and putting things back together again so I could start making dinner before Dennis arrived home.
Alas, order was finally resumed; literally, just as I put the last jar back in the cupboard, I heard the jingling of Den’s keys in the front door.
I told Dennis the whole story, complete with detailed hand gestures, of how I tackled what ended up being a huge, hectic kitchen re-org project. I told him how it totally stressed me out and how just a few minutes earlier, the whole kitchen looked like Chernobyl had kittens. I whined about how I ran around like a crazy person all day. I insisted that he behold the fruits of my labor! I opened up all the cupboard doors and showed him how lovely and perfect and organized all of it looked. I even pointed out my fancy labels. Dennis admitted everything look nice, but as far as he was concerned, the kitchen looked pretty much exactly the same as it did when he left for work in the morning.
He said, “It looks good, but I guess I don’t understand why it took you all day to clean out a couple of cupboards.”
I just stared at him. I couldn’t even begin to explain it.
I’ll post some Before and After photos tomorrow morning. Stay tuned!
We made cookies. Oh yes we did!
I substituted 50% whole wheat flour just for kicks. Honestly, I don’t think you can even tell. My messy little sous chef agrees. The verdict: Yumster.
And now, our cookie jar runneth over.
We gave up using paper towels about a month ago.
Seemed like a radical idea with two little kids in the house (one of whom still spits up all the time), but I was determined to make it work. Up until recently, however, I hadn’t really found a good replacement for the paper towel concept; I found myself needing something for those little jobs that are dirtier than something I’d use a dishtowel for, yet cleaner than something I’d use a rag for. I really needed something to cover that middle ground of messes. Oh, the dilemma.
The other day, I stumbled upon these “Kitchen Cloths” at Trader Joe’s and they seemed like the perfect solution. Absorbent? Check. Washable/dry-able/reusable/durable? Check. Fun colors? Check. It even says “Replaces Paper Towels” right on the package! Even at the whopping price of $3.99 per package of 2, I couldn’t resist. So I bought some. 3 packages (for a total of 6 kitchen cloths), to be exact.
I’m excited to try them out, but I must admit I’m skeptical. They certainly weren’t a bargain, but then again, Trader Joe’s rarely disappoints. So my weary heart harbors hope, deep down, that for just under $12, I’ll never have to buy a paper towel again.
Will update on this in a month or so to let you all know how it’s going!
