This has been an unusual week - we are taking off on a ski trip Friday after school. So, no real menu plan - just eating up what's in the fridge. I didn't go out and do my normal shopping runs although I may still get to Walgreen's and CVS this week. However, there has been a lot of time spent packing, researching deals and planning our time away.
I'm sure I'll have a full report when I return on how we manage an annual ski trip for very little money - at least compared to the thousands we used to spend to go skiing every year!
In the meantime, I promised to talk about how I re-organized my kitchen in January.
I started by going through EVERY cabinet and drawer. I took out everything I hadn't used in a year and either took it to Goodwill or tagged it and put in in the garage sale box. Then, I reorganized each cabinet one at a time. A few things I changed: I elminated most of the mugs and cups. Simply by moving extra mugs and wine glasses to the basement - that way when we have large parties I can run down and get them, but the 90% of the time that it's just my husband and myself drinking coffee and wine we have what we need and have lost all the clutter. I also moved the potholders from under the sink to the drawer next to the stove - makes a lot more sense! I eliminated all small appliances except the Kitchen Aid, waffle maker, rice cooker and small George Foreman - these are the ones I use on a regular basis and they are now hidden in a cabinet near the sink. The coffee maker and toaster are on the counter.
I also redid my pantry - I got lucky early in the month and my son took a long nap ond day, my daughter had a friend over and my husband had a card game going in the basement so I had several hours to accomplish this task. I did a shelf at a time and used a lot of baskets and plastic containers to contain similar items (chips in one, mixes in another, puddings/jellos, etc.) The very top shelf is used for "extras" - I can see what I have extras of and can use my stepstool to grab them when needed. It's been a month and a half and the pantry still looks great!
Finally, I did a deep clean of the entire kitchen. I've made an effort since then to pick it up every night and at least wipe down the counters and sink. So, overall, it's stayed in pretty good shape. I do have two junk drawers near the laundry room that are getting out of control again - I may have to invest in some containers to help corral that mess.
This month I've been focusing on the Master bedroom and it's looking good!
No comments:
Post a Comment