Home Organization 101: The Kitchen {Week 1}

Some of you may remember this fabulous blog from last years Weekly Organizing challenge. Well, Toni from A Bowl Full of Lemons is challenging us again. Love it!

Last week I worked on a few areas of the kitchen. I had it pretty much organized, but just spruced some things up a bit. I actually added some stuff to the donation basket. It's  amazing to find what "lurks" in the back of your cabinets. Especially on those top shelves for us 5 foot nothing people....

Here are the pictures from what we were to work on that week:

1. Coffee & Tea (and breakfast) station. Bottom shelf: All my coffee/tea supplies - kcups, splenda, honey, etc. are organized and easy to find. Before they were just randomly in a basket. I found out the sad way that I ran out of tazo k-cups :( I did find a box of the tazo tea bags though! HA! All is not lost. The next 2 shelves are all of our breakfast needs: cereals, peanut butter, syrup, sugar (my hubby is silly - he adds more sugar to cereals that already have sugar...anyone else do that?). Also, the other basket has our vitamins.

2. Vitamin/Medicine Station - Our vitamins are kept with the breakfast stuff. It is just easier to remember to take/hand them out if I'm looking at them. Our meds are mostly above the the microwave. I say mostly because the rest are in our room. Anyway, this is all the allergy meds and children's meds pretty much. It seems that is the only thing we are currently getting into. In that red bag - our first aid kit - is a thermometer  (which I swear by this one - it is awesome and perfect for the wiggle-bugs...) and all the band-aids and boo-boo fixers possible.

3. Lunch/Snack station - I had this one done in time for school :) I love having a drawer like this in the kitchen! (original post here)

4. Spice Cabinet Organization - this is actually part of where I keep some pantry items, but we weren't taking care of that this week, So I just took a pic of this shelf. I keep this right next to the stove/oven. It makes sense for me since I cook almost all the time. I went through them and found A LOT were way expired. Ew. Like 2 years expired. Oh, my. The shame. And, how crazy I would find doubles of some that were BOTH being used. Seriously? Well those have been combined, and I have some extra space in there to put my pepper mill and olive oil. Freed up some space on the counters, too. Nice. 

5. Potholders (and fridge clean up) - As my wall space is pretty much taken up, I found that magnetic hook a while ago at Target - I think on one of my outings with Rachel. (Aw, that seems so long ago. Miss ya, girl!) I can't find it online, but it is in the kitchen textiles section with the potholders and kitchen towels. Right there next to them. Anyway, I freed up the fridge a bit, too. Cleared everything off the front and de-cluttered the side. So, now, I have my potholder, Andrew's school schedule, my cleaning routine (from Clean Mama), and magnets for tornadoes, doctors, etc.

6. Baking Sheet Organization - I thought I would spare the picture of my drawer under the stove. I keep the ones I use most oven in there, while the specialty one (cake molds, cupcake tins, etc) are in the pantry.

7. Baking cabinet and bin(s) - I bake A LOT. Especially between now and January (February depending on who is in the Super Bowl). So this is my baking cabinet! My mixer - named Mixi LOL. There is a storage container behind her with all of her attachments and such. On the other side are 2 bins - 1 has cookie cutters organized by season/occasion in ziplocks, jello molds, and decorations (sprinkles, icing tips, and such). The other has treat boxes and muffin/cupcake liners - also in ziplocks by season/occasion. The top shelf, as you can see, are all of my mixing bowls, measuring cups, jars, and a juicer. I love this cabinet. It is my favorite! 

8. Dish Placement - This is the cabinet between my fridge and stove. Can you tell we are Packer fans? LOL Clearly, I don't have enough G's... Kidding. This is where we keep our dishes/glasses/cups. Bottoms shelf - for the beverages complete with straws. Next up - dishes with a handy helper shelf to double the space. That blue basket is where the kids cups/lids are kept. Less chaos. Top shelf - cookbooks. My two favorites (Paula Deen SIGNED!! Cooking Bible and Betty Crocker's Wedding Edition Cookbook - gift from my friend, Chelsi) can be seen the others are just put away in that basket (found at TJMaxx one day). 

Well, that is the first week of the challenge. 

Next: The Garage! EEK! Eh, it's not that bad. Just no where to put stuff...gotta love builder grade nothing, right? Time to make it ours :)

Back-to-School Mantle

Yep, it is that time. Time to start putting some of the summer things away (Thank God I live in the South. I do not want winter...70s are perfect. 90s, yeah, ok...not so much. But NO SNOW) and time to start pulling out the school supplies and go through the fall clothes. I'm sure some people might be ready to put out pumpkins (Ahem, Hobby Lobby needs to slow it down. They already have Christmas stuff out...), but us? Not just yet. A change in decor was needed a bit, though.

Here is what our summer mantle looked like these past few months:

And, here is out back-to-school mantle! 

And the awesome thing? This was a $0 change!!

Things used:
Mason jar filled with letter tiles and some floral branches from the vase in the first picture
Fake apple - it was on the top of my cabinets in the kitchen.
3 window frame filled with flash cards - from from previous gallery wall in living room; flash cards from a deck I used last year with Andrew.
Candle holder - switched it out with another item on the top of the kitchen cabinets
White candle - under the sink in my candle stock

No money, no problem. You what you have in the house!

**linking up with**

Thirty Handmade Days

The Grant Life 

Tatertots & Jello
Miss Infomation 
Skip to my Lou
The NY Melrose Family
Lil Luna - All Things Good
Southern Lovely
Tip Junkie
Home Stories A to Z
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Mercy(ink)

$6 Kitchen Update

It's amazing what 5 bucks can do for you. I grabbed a rolled of pretty contact paper at Target a few weeks ago and gave my kitchen a little makeover. Now, online it is saying that these rolls are $19.99 and the one I got is online only. I clearly bought mine AT the store. So, check yours. I got lucky with the price, too. Maybe it just rang up wrong? Maybe I have a smaller roll? I'm not sure but it was just under $6. I did ALL of my drawers and bottom cabinets (5 drawers, 3 double cabinets, and 1 small cabinet). Check it out :)

 Pretty snack/lunch drawer

LOVE IT!!

These guys liked it, too.

 Peek-a-boo!!

**linking up with**

Thirty Handmade Days

The Grant Life 

Tatertots & Jello
Miss Infomation 
Skip to my Lou  
The NY Melrose Family
Lil Luna - All Things Good
Southern Lovely
Tip Junkie
Home Stories A to Z
A Bowl Full of Lemons

Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake Baker MEN!

Last week, I apparently purchased too many bananas and, well, I had to used them up or lose 'em. So, after nap time, Andrew and Alex helped me make banana bread and banana bites.

Andrew has become quite the little baker! He is now in charge of peeling the bananas and adding them to the mix. He's allowed to turn on the mixer ONLY when I ask him. He pours in the stuff that has been pre-measured. He is just so great! Alex, on the other hand, he is the best little taste-tester and observer!

Another Project Done

Thanks to my nifty idea of actually doing the cool things found on Pinterest, I got another thing done today!

I found this cute idea a while back and loved it. Today, I finally got around to doing it. This was inspired by this link :)

I found my pieces in the candle aisle at Target for $7 each.

Target Home Pillar Candle Holder and Pillar Plate

All I did was hot glue them together...

Not a pretty glue job, but no one will see that part.

Once it was all dry and stuck together perfectly, this new display plate found it's home by my kitchen sink. 

SO PRETTY!

Are you getting any projects done this week? Please share!

Where's the party? Head here to find out! 

Home Goals 2012 - update

Remember when I posted about the updates we want to do with our home? Well, I thought I would give an end-of-the-month update :)

January To-Dos:
1. Clean glass between oven door Done! Go here to read about it if you missed that post.
2. DIY dishwasher tune-up/clean
3. Add Velcro to kitchen towels - Doing that this weekend :)
4. Make a casserole carrier - I cannot decide on fabric! How lame is that?
5. Homemade sugar scrubs
6. Rug for under kitchen table - I found it...I just have to buy it.
7. Paint touch-up - Doing that this weekend :)




Now, January got a little side-tracked due to our living room extravaganza, so a few thing of January's will be taken care of in February. Thank goodness for that extra day, eh? But exciting news for February - We are getting our fence!!! We are waiting on one more quote and then we will decide on fence date. I'm super excited! The boys are going to be so happy - and by boys, I also mean Max! He love being outside but he is semi-limited due to the yard leash. Poor guy. He loves to roam, but can only go so far (like the middle of the yard. Not even to the end.). He will LOVE it!

Here are some more updates on the list:

Living Room:
1. Media storage Yay! It is so pretty! I love our living room so much more now that everything is fabulous!
2. Updated gallery wall (hallway) with DIY photo canvases - just ordered some prints for the wall.

Master Bed/Bath:
1. Framed bathroom mirror
2. Better storage
3. DIY headboard
4. Bedframe

Boys' Room:
1. Wall art on Andrew's side - I made a few things last week for this, I have a post coming up soon!
2. Toddler bed for Alex (this will be sometime next Fall - wow!)
3. Book sling & reading area
4. DIY curtains (the ones we currently have are fine, but the two monkeys who live there are a little wild with them...)

Office/Playroom:
1. Window treatment
2. Lamp

Hall Bathroom:
1. Framed mirror

Linen Closet (formerly the hall closet):
1. Add shelving to closet for towels and bedding (there is a sad hanging shelf in there now that doesn't do anything except annoy me)

Front Yard:
1. Planters by front door
2. Brick/stone bordered beds
3. Touch-up mailbox and fix the flag

Now for February's To-Dos (there wont be too much going on since the fence is a BIG ticket item)
1. FENCE!!
2. DIY dishwasher tune-up/cleaning
3. Make a casserole carrier
4. Homemade sugar scrubs
5. Rug for under kitchen table
6. Gallery wall in hallway
7. DIY Chalkboard tray for kitchen

How are your home goals moving along?

Recipe Organization

Finally!! I have ALL of my clippings and print-outs and cards organized! All in a pretty binder complete with labels, pocket dividers and OH! It is so pretty! Now I can actually cook some of those meals :) Exciting!

I dubbed January as Kitchen/Dining Month. All this month, I will be cleaning out and organizing areas that somehow have gotten neglected or bombarded over the year. I have a few places that need fixing... And! I even have some renovation to get done :) So excited for that day to come!!

Back to my fabulous recipe binder! Last month, one of my friends, Kelly, made her mom this AWESOME recipe binder (and wished she had made me one, too). It was amazing! Quotes about food on each of the divider page, pretty paper, the works!

After looking around on Pinterest for a while, I finally found the right place to go to:

Tiffany has some great ideas on organizing your recipe madness. I loved her pocket tab divider idea :) I just hope I don't about those pockets and end up having to reorganize what I organized...

A whole mess of recipes

 Ah, the organization of it all :) LOVE! Next week's menu plan is so coming from this exciting binder!

What do y'all think?

**Linking up with**
Skip to my Lou
Home Stories A to Z
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Today's Creative Blog
I Heart Naptime
Creatively Living
Tip Junkie 

January is Kitchen/Dining Month :)

Maybe I should have put "procrastinate more" on the top of my list. Then, I would feel a bit more accomplished. Lol, it is almost the 3rd... Time for life to get back to normal, right? Preschool starts up again and Jason heads back to work. So, yep, I do believe it is time. :)

I am appointing January as "Kitchen/Dining Month." That is actually what I was doing today and part of yesterday. Clearing out everything that doesn't go in the kitchen, isn't needed anymore, or isn't needed right now (i.e. all the Christmas stuff pretty much). It is sad really. The tops of my kitchen cabinets are bare now. I want to put some things up there!

I also worked a bit on our kitchen command center. I had it in a cabinet over there and a cabinet over here. I have had stuff on the counter, the fridge and a set of dry erase boards on a skinny wall. It is madness. Now, it has a home! On the back of my pantry double doors. It is wonderful. But, not finished. I will share soon. :)

I also am working on my cleaning routine. I am using the one that Becky @ Clean Mama has put out many times before and it is always awesome. She had a January Cleaning/Organizing challenge going on this month. Go see!

I have a few other things that I need/want to get done with the kitchen:


Add a backsplash

Fix my stupid light over the kitchen table. Seriously. It is stupid.

Fix the pantry light... I know...I may have to call someone...

Organize all my recipes that I have printed/clipped/etc

Get a larger crock pot

Anyhoo! That is January! What do you have going on this month?

Christmas in the Kitchen

This was the first year that I have done this - decorated the tops of the kitchen cabinets for Christmas. I usually have collection of baskets up there, but we have collected a lot of things over the past 4 years of marriage  that I wanted more of it out. I must say I am quite pleased! :D

 

 The "cooking" side of the kitchen (left to right):

"Home Sweet Home - Where something good is always brewing sign" Found that at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago. Not Christmas, but the red worked and I loved it so much! It's sitting on a basket with a huge handle to help hold it up.

Grandmother's vase filled with Christmas ornaments (from Dollar store a few years ago)

Mini Tree (from Hobby Lobby a few years ago)

Random candle

My "W" sign I painted place in front of our wreath that used to be on the front door - I have a new one outside this year!

The apple from my fall mantle sitting on a candle holder in a basket of red flowers

The "prep" side of the kitchen (on the left cabinets):

Basket

Angel of Prayer on a candle holder (she goes with our nativity)

Square vase filled with gold beaded garland (Hobby Lobby a few years ago)

 The "prep" side of the kitchen (on the right cabinets)

Another vase filled with more red flowers and ancient candy canes (Ew. Seriously, I found them in one of the boxes from the attic. Thought to use them here instead of throwing them away.) 

My awesome vase from my Maid of Honor, Christina, filled with Christmas bells

So what do you think of the kitchen cabinets?

Do you decorate the tops of yours throughout the year, just at Christmas, or leave them alone?

Of Elephants and Pancakes

This past Sunday was so nice. We got out of the house for a bit to enjoy the nice weather and check out the new exhibit at our zoo - Trails of Africa! We only saw one elephant, but it was enough for Andrew to thoroughly enjoy. You know how he has a huge elephant obsession! So, he loved it!!

We used our new sit-n-stand stroller, too (That - yes, I'm gonna brag - I got for $89 including the carseat! Go me!). Andrew loved that he was in the "big boy spot" and that he was Alex's helper. :) Anytime Alex's binky fell out, Andrew would turn around and say, "Uh-oh, X." So cute!!

Later that day, dinner turned into breakfast made by 2 of 3 of my favorite men. Yum!

Cute, right? These were the best pancakes ever!

The Simple Things

I am a little late on this one, but we had a AWESOME Super Bowl Party I was getting ready for. So, ya know. But anyhoo! What made me smile last week?? My little kitchen helper, of course!

You can see more about this here.

What made you smile???

Kitchen Helper

A few nights ago, I had my little kitchen helper with me while getting dinner ready. Jason got a few good shot of us mixing up some good stuff :) I actually had dinner on the stove in these pictures, but had extra chicken that I needed to use. So, this is a dinner for a different night. This night it was Crunchy Onion Chicken. Andrew and I are making Chicken Pot Pie. YUM!

He's holding the bowl for me while I open up the cans.

He loves to mix all the ingredients together with me. 

He's a very good little helper!

No More Scraping for Me!!!

HAHAHA! Merry Christmas to meeee! I bought myself a present that I didn't know existed until today. I wish I had come up with the idea though... Ever since my mom gave me the ever-so-wonderfully-amazing KitchenAid stand mixer for Christmas a few years ago, I have been able to fall in love with baking over and over again. Every time I see it's beautiful onyx shine, I clap - seriously. Some of my friends have been lucky enough to see this, too. LOL!

One downside...I have to scrap the stinkin bowl every few spins of whichever attachment that is in use to ensure all of the ingredients are mixed. WELL NO MORE!! Look what I found!!

I totally had this idea first, but whatever! It is being shipped to me as we speak! Oh, you still want to know what it is, huh? Ok.

This is the Beater Blade. This attachment fits the 5 quart mixers (they have bigger ones, too) and it's just like the normal one - BUT BETTER! It has this nifty built in scraper thingy on each side. It actually reaches the sides of the bowl and scrapes it while keeping the mixing going! HA! Seriously?! YES, PLEASE!

I cannot wait for it to arrive next week! I'm gonna be baking up a storm! Get ready, family! I will be bringing some fantastic goodies with us!

A Sweet Mess

This afternoon, during naptime, I made some super easy sugar cookies. I found a great recipe that only calls for like 6 or 7 ingredients. If you don't follow Southern Plate yet...what is the hold up? She's amazing and I have to thank my friend, Rachel, for telling me about her! Awesome stuff! Go check it out!

Anyway, after nap time and once the cookie dough was chilled and ready for the little hands of future Master Chef Andy, we got to work! I took out the rolling pin, cookie cutters, frosting, sprinkles, everything. It was a sweet mess! It seriously looked like a bakery had EXPLODED on my kitchen table. But, it was totally worth it!

He loved it! He loves being in the kitchen and "cooking" anyway, but this really made his afternoon!That last pic (above) - yeah, those are his cookies. I let him have the leftover dough to make his own cookies. I just showed him how to grab some and squish it however and put it on the pan. He made about 7 cookies all on his own. What a cutie!!

After dinner, Jason helped by taking pictures of the decorating part of this sugary madness. Andrew loved squeezing the icing out and making dots on the cookies. He picked out a snowflake to decorate. :)

Finally, the shaking of the sprinkles began and he loved that the most, it seemed... There were tiny red sprinkles all over the kitchen when he was done. Oh, well. He had fun and so did I!

He enjoyed every last bit of the frosting, too. These last pictures just made us laugh and laugh!! Good times!