My Organized Kitchen...In Pictures!

This is my kitchen. It needs some decorating in a big way...all in due time! But for now it's organized! :)

Back in September I shared that I was reorganizing my kitchen. I also promised that I would share the results of that endeavor when I was done. Oops! So I guess this is one of those better-late-than-never posts, hehe.

When we moved into our house, I did a quick stashing of stuff in cabinets as I was unpacking, fully intending to organize shortly thereafter. Well, we found out I was pregnant with Jeremiah just a few short weeks later, and with morning sickness, etc. not only did organizing not happen--it got even MORE disarrayed.

So when I started this project, my primary goals were:

• Get anything that I don't use in the kitchen out of the kitchen,
• Put anything that is used very rarely in the hardest-to-get-to spots, saving the easy-to-reach spots for everyday stuff,
• Find a way to fit some kitchen appliances that I was storing in the basement back in the kitchen so I would actually use them,
• and finally put everything as close to where I use it as possible

So on to the before and after pictures...

My kitchen is quite large, but I have a very small pantry for a family of 9. I solved this problem primarily by converting a larger closet in our basement into a pantry for canned goods, etc. But I still had all sorts of half-used packages of random stuff in my pantry, plus the basic staples like sugar, flour, and the like.



Here it is today. Now, it doesn't look all that different, but I moved most of my staples and made room for my rice cooker and big stock pot that wouldn't fit in any of my other cabinets. The white bin on the bottom right holds our rather substantial tea collection. (Yes, I have a bunch of kids who are big tea drinkers. Must be that little bit of English blood in our family line.)



This cabinet is over a desk area, next to the fridge, and faces the island. It had become a catch-all for all sorts of random stuff, and was the home for all those tea boxes.


Here it is today. I moved my pantry staples and baking supplies into appropriately-sized Rubbermaid containers, and labeled them. I LOVE this set up, as I can find everything quickly and easily, nothing gets hidden behind anything else, and it's accessible to the island, where I do most of my prep work for baking.

(Side note: I drooled over those Tupperware Modular Mates for YEARS but could never bring myself to pay $20-$30 each for containers, especially considering how many I would need. The Rubbermaid ones above are the same idea, and were purchased at Wal-Mart for about $3 to $6 each depending on the size. LOVE them!)



This is the cabinet next to the previous one...it also collected random stuff, and held all my cookbooks.



Today, this cabinet holds my larger bins of stuff like wheat berries, flour, cornmeal, powdered milk, etc. The middle shelf currently holds ziplock bags, although I want to put more of the Rubbermaid bins there eventually.



This is my spice cabinet. It is above and to the left of my stove.



The front section swings out on hinges and has storage on the back side and then shelves in the cabinet behind it as well. I love my spice cabinet!! It didn't need much work--just moving some of the stuff that was making it a bit overcrowded.



This cabinet is above and to the right of my stove. It held overflow spices, as well as other random things that come in bottles and jars.



Today it houses the cookbook collection, and a few things I don't need often that don't fit in the next cabinet since they are too tall.



Moving one more cabinet to the right is my corner cabinet. I don't have a before picture of this one, but that bottom shelf held all my china--which I use maybe 2-3 times a YEAR right now. I have a harder-to-reach cabinet above my fridge that was full of silver serving pieces that I use even more rarely (read: never) so I put all of those in the attic and moved my china to the cabinet above the fridge. Then I moved all those extra spices and bottles into the bottom shelf of the corner cabinet, right above the counter where I typically prepare stuff that's being cooked on the stove.



Here it is closer-up. It's not a perfect solution since it's deep and I sometimes have to dig for things, but it works.

I have other cabinets for dishes, etc., but since I didn't need to reorganize those I don't have pictures. Overall, I love my new set-up and find that it is not only tons easier to prep meals now, but it's also easier to have my boys help me in the kitchen or even cook stuff themselves, since everything has a definite place and is easy to find!

$1 Ribbon Spool to Adorable Korker Bow

I love the dollar bins at Target. I'm always picking up little things for the kids, either for holiday goodies or for school activities. Sometimes I have a specific use in mind; other times I'm just "collecting" until the fancy strikes to actually use these things!

For the past few holidays and seasons, they have had these little spools of ribbon. I've picked them up each time, mostly because they're so darn cute, but I've never actually USED them for anything...until yesterday, when I made a sweet little korker bow for my girly-girl. I took pictures of the process, so y'all could follow along and maybe even make some for the princesses in your life.



Cute Target Valentine's Day ribbon--6 different prints, 18" each.



Wrap ribbons on 1/4" diameter wooden dowels and secure with oven-safe clips.



Bake at 275 degrees for 20-25 minutes.



Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes until you can handle them comfortably, then remove clips and slide ribbons off dowels.



Cut ribbons--I cut mine every 5th curl, which ends up being about 3" long. You will want to seal the ends to prevent fraying. While I heat-seal the ribbons for the other bows I make, I find that it is easier to use Fray-Check on korkers.



Thread a needle (I used 2 strands of embroidery floss) and thread the ribbons through the center onto the needle, keeping them all on the needle as you go.






Pinch the ribbons together at the center, then pull the needle through. I sewed through the whole stack a few times, then secured with a couple small knots at the back (or bottom) of the stack.



Glue onto a lined clip.


And get ready for uber-cuteness!



Miss Joanna modeling HER bow. She immediately lays claim to all bows and other girly things as I make them, lol!




Enjoy!

Here We Go Again!

Hey folks, guess what!?! I'm baaa-aaaak! Did'ya miss me? *grin*

Not only am I back from my 5-month blogging hiatus (has it really been THAT long??), but we're also back from our 5-week nearly sea-to-shining-sea road trip. It's only nearly sea-to-shining-sea because I can't convince Jeremy to drive all the way to California. So Arizona was as far west as we made it from New York. Our farthest north stop was Lansing, Michigan; and our farthest south was Corpus Christi, Texas.

This was our first major road trip spent living out of our travel trailer. The verdict is in: living out of a travel trailer is SO MUCH BETTER than stopping at hotels every night and lugging all our stuff in and out, eating way too much fast food, and getting the kids out of any semblance of routine. The best part, though? Pulling your very own porta-potty! Seriously.

I never dreamed I would ever have an opinion on such things, but I have a favorite truck stop now. And they have good coffee. Almost as good as Starbucks. And MUCH cheaper, which makes it even better than Starbucks, since I love a bargain, lol!

We had quite the adventure! There were highlights, and there were complete disasters! These included, in no particular order:

• trains, race cars, and bumper boats
• a hot air balloon
• becoming quite familiar with truck stops and Wal-mart parking lots
• roasting marshmallows over a fire pit
• the nastiest tummy bug of all time--which all 9 of us managed to contract at the same time
• meeting our sweet new niece/cousin
• Joey stealing the spotlight at a sweet 16 party
• our house flooding while we were 2000 miles away
• feeding a zonkey and a zorse
  
• hiking and sledding
• accidentally frying most of the electrical components in our trailer
  
• and lots of (fake) groundhogs!

A few pictures, also in no particular order:

I've almost dug my way out of the chaos created when we unloaded an entire 36' trailer and 12-passenger van into my kitchen and dining room. The washer and dryer have been working overtime! Then I'll find the time to sit down and tell y'all about all our adventures. :)

Hooray for Labor Day! Now Please Pass the Advil...

We spent a beautiful Labor Day weekend up at Mohonk Mountain House with friends from our church in Manhattan. This was our 4th Labor Day spent here, and the boys absolutely LOVE it. Between miles and miles of hiking trails, and daily afternoon tea complete with all-your-parents-will-allow-you-to-eat cookies, it's a veritable kids' paradise.

We started out at the lake. The pedal boats were all checked out, so we tried a row boat. Jon and Jordan, who insisted on being the rowers, couldn't do anything but go in circles, so I took over. I am just barely more skilled at rowing, but let's face it--struggling to row in a straight line while 2 of your boys whine about not being able to row is not exactly fun holiday fare.



We abandoned the row boat and waited our turn for a pedal boat. And I didn't have to pedal at all. Nice.



While we boated, Josiah fed the fish.



...while Joanna ate the fish food.

Then we were off to The Labyrinth.

The Labyrinth is a rock scramble that is a big favorite of the bigger boys. Joseph, who had never been allowed to try it, got to go for the first time this year. And since I didn't want him falling off any cliffs without an adult present to call 911, I had the privilege of going along as well. Jeremy had already graciously offered to watch the littles, so off we went.



Yes, I stopped to take a photo of the entrance sign, but apparently didn't bother to heed it. Somehow or another I confused being no longer pregnant and miserable with "excellent physical condition." Ha! Well, at least I qualify for the "not afraid of heights" part.



Here are the boys at "Pancake Rock," after patiently waiting for me to hoist myself over, under, and through countless rock formations, which, by the way, were also very wet and slippery. The boys, of course, scrambled nimbly over all of them with hardly a pause, except when they had to stop and wait for the 40-year-old, 8 weeks postpartum lady who thought she was in "excellent physical condition" to gingerly pick out the safest route.






I wouldn't let Joey on Pancake Rock, since it's pretty cliff-like all the way around, and I really didn't want to have to make that 911 call.

Here's a snapshot of what he thought of that decision:







Towards the end of the hike we had to navigate "The Crevice," which is a tall, narrow fissure in the rock navigable by narrow wooden ladders. Here are some of the boys waiting to get on the bottom ladder. It's a one-at-a-time-type thing.



Courtesy of all the rain generously brought to us by Irene, the bottom of The Crevice was several inches deep in mud, and the rock walls were slick.

And the air was full of the lovely aroma of wet bat poo. I was, of course, at the back of the line. Those boys couldn't get up those ladders fast enough for me. And I spent the rest of the day and evening trying not to think about what was all over my clothes.



(Note to self: Next year, bring a change of clothing. And perhaps some soap.)



When we finally emerged on top, I tortured the poor boys by making them pose for photos.









By this point we were late for dinner, but fortunately the way back down the mountain is easier (and faster!) than the trip up.




Jeremy and the little guys were waiting for us at the playground further down the mountain. And since I happened to have my camera...









Sunday, it was Jeremy's turn to go boating. Unfortunately for him, the big boys were off on another hike, so HE had to do all the pedaling himself. Ha!







I think Josiah really wanted to go in for a swim--he couldn't keep his hands out of the water.



And I just relaxed in a rocking chair on the porch and visited with friends, while a content Jeremiah was passed around and doted on.



A good time was had by all...



Which is why I am currently sitting here so sore I can barely move.

In other extremely exciting news, Jeremiah has slept 7-8 hours at night for the past 5 nights now. Woo hoo!! Sleep for Mommy is a wonderful thing! I'd almost forgotten how much I enjoy it.

Since I'm all rested now (Ha!) I'm taking any extra time I have during the day to completely reorganize my kitchen. Stay tuned...the big reveal will be coming soon! Aren't you just completely overcome with anticipation?