Weekend Gone By

 Friday skies

Saturday skies

I spent both evenings running errands and tiring myself out. I spent Sunday resting but also managed to dust my bookshelves and get rid of a few things. I spent a bit of time transferring things into the new containers I purchased on Saturday. I still need to get rid of a lot of things but for now I'm organizing things so I can better find and use what I need for crafting. My theme word for the year 2024 is 'create'. I need to crack on with it or the year will be gone before you know it and I won't have created some of the things I want to create.

I'll make some ground beef soup tonight because it's so easy to make. Last night I made some beef stir fried with capsicums and onions and a side dish of a wide variety of vegetables. 

I'm trying hard not to let food go to waste so I've tried cutting way back on buying food.  I still manage to let fresh vegetables and fruits spoil and that's a hard one to take given the current prices and the fact that people go hungry around the world and even here at home. The best I can do is keep trying.

My nephew's girlfriend called to say she'd been to the community plot to weed her garden and she reported that my garden was looking great. Dear hubby told me last week that the peas are ready for harvesting. I really need to get over to the plot and see what I can pick for cooking This year I'm  determined to harvest and use what I can from our small plot.

Checking In

Thanks everyone for your kind comments on my last post. I'm still not quite myself but am keeping busy and feeling better each day.

Mostly I'm focussed on trying to get a lot done in the next little while.  My niece will be here this weekend and will visit for a week. It is the one time over the year when I cancel all appointments so I focus on taking things slowly and enjoying my time with her.  She is autistic and needs my full attention and care.  When she leaves I need a time of rest and recovery and to slowly get organized again.

To make this week go smoothly I've done some batch cooking.  I didn't have a plan to do batch cooking but the thought came to me that this would be a good idea so I spent an afternoon preparing the following:

•  4 servings of rotini and meat sauce filled with vegetables which will be eaten with side salads
•  2 servings of vegetable fried rice and fried pork chop
•  4 servings of hamburger hash made with plenty of freshly chopped vegetables, frozen vegetables and rice
•  4 servings of BBQ chicken drumsticks which will be eaten with steamed rice and side salads
•  a large pot of rice pudding for desserts. I wasn't planning on making this but I made some IP rice intended for the stir fry and it was quite mushy so I turned it into rice pudding.

I didn't have enough containers to portion and freeze the foods so I used baggies.

Today I have also prepared a large batch of chicken soup for lunches.  I'm also soaking some pinto beans which I'll cook up tomorrow.  These days I cook my beans in a pressure cooker and there is no need to pre-soak them.  But today  I  watched a YouTube video where a lady said that pre-soaking beans helps with flatulence. I didn't find this to be true when I used to soak my beans overnight before cooking but I'm willing to give it another try.

I haven't ever done batch cooking before but I have done some sporadic meal planning.  Now that I've tried my hand at batch cooking I think it will be something I do more regularly for a number of reasons:

• It will save time in the kitchen during the week, both time for food preparation and time washing dishes each day. I still hand wash my dishes though I do have a dishwasher.
• I found some reusable silicone storage bags on Amazon. If I purchase them or something like them, I can greatly reduce the usage of plastic bags going to the landfill.  I will need something more than the few glass containers I already have and silicone bags stand up or lie down taking up less space. You can also use them to store soups without spillage. I also found some lightweight stackable containers that would work better since they help you with portion control and you don't have to thaw out excess food that you may not want at one meal.
• I've mentioned that I've done meal planning from time to time. Mostly it was done as a way to make sure I use a variety of foods, especially vegetables.  Now I am hoping to meal plan to save money, help prepare the weekly or bi-monthly shopping list, stop myself from buying way too much food (fresh or otherwise) and make sure I use the food I already have on hand.
• It will help free up my refrigerator storage space (and cupboard space) so I can put what is most important in there: fresh fruits, sprouted breads, yogurt and fresh snacks.
• It saves me from having to come up with (interesting)  meal ideas every day.
• It will help reduce buying food on the go. If I haven't got anything prepared or haven't planned ahead I often buy something when I'm out and it isn't always the best choices health-wise.
• It will help improve the consistency of meal times.
• It will help me streamline my daily task so I can focus on other tasks beyond the kitchen. 

Meal planning and batch cooking at not new concepts but they are activities that one has to feel ready to use.  Like any new habit it takes some thought and practice to implement.  To date, I haven't felt the need to consistently practice meal planning or employ batch cooking.  As time goes by I see the usefulness of both of these activities.

Meat and poultry is heavily used in the first batch cooking experiment because it's what was in the freezer.  My goal is to incorporate more plant based meals so as the meat and poultry is used up I will be buying more plant foods. I did eat strictly vegetarian and/or vegan for many months at one time in the not so distant past so the change won't be huge.  However I do need a system to make sure I implement the plan.

It will be nice to be more organized about meals and shopping for food. Earlier this week I bought a new daily and monthly planner and also a menu planning booklet with space for shopping lists.  I know many people make their own charts and list but I like ready made if they are not too expensive. I got mine on sale at Michael's at 40%  off.

Menu planning and batch cooking help to keep a modern household running smoothly and more efficiently.  Especially if you have children, hold a job, or are trying to get healthy or maintain health.

If you already do meal planning and batch cooking I'd love to hear about your experiences.Fee free to leave a comment short or long, in the comment box below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I haven't had much time for photo taking this week but I did capture these beautiful skies.
The first two photos were taken at 5:20 a..m. a few days ago just as the sun was coming up.

The garden at dawn.

~~~

The next sky photo was taken on Sunday night.

As for reading, I'm still working on the book about Denys Finch Hatton entitled Too Close to the Sun. I find I'm having to read this book quite slowly. It isn't a long book so I should have finished last week.  On the other hand I haven't picked it up much due to being busy with other things.

I forgot to mention what has been keeping me busy.  I did get to the dentist. The next step will be to get some fillings next month after my gums have healed and settled a bit.  Initially a crown had been proposed.  However it seems I don't have enough teeth in the back where surgery was done or enough strong roots to support a crown.  This was in the opinion of a new to me, older experienced dentist.  I tend to agree with his assessment after the explanation. It is a pity because I've worked so hard over many years to preserve my teeth but it is what it is.

Also, I bumped into someone I knew some years back with whom I'd lost touch.  He moved many provinces away and was only in the city temporarily when I happened to find him on a bus ride home. We got together a few times for dinner and chit chat to catch up on a few years news. Other than that I was treated to a nice dinner late last week by another friend who I only see once or twice a year. It is always nice catching up with her.  We never seem to have a dearth of things to discuss.

I have no updates from Kenya at this time though I'm touch with various dear ones over there on a daily basis.

~~~

Joining Our World Tuesday 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Have a wonderful week ahead.

Checking In

Hi friends,

Happy Friday to you all. I hope your week went well and that you have some rest or relaxation planned for the weekend.

Today I'm linking up with

 Skywatch Friday 

and

Saturday's Critters

I don't have a lot of exciting things to share today (I have some photos to share at the end of the post). That's because I've been busy the whole week long still trying to get my little home organized.

My organizing tasks mushroomed from doing my dresser drawers (only half way completed) and 3 closet shelves to organizing things in the entire condo.  Yes!

I've been bouncing from here to there. Doing this and then doing that. In between is a little shopping to try and find the right aids to getting things organized. I'm not obsessive about organizing or I would have already been organized. I just like to have a place for everything and everything in it's place. I also don't like clutter but have plenty of it. It is easy to end up with clutter if you don't keep up to purging on a daily or weekly basis. With my fluctuating energy levels, busy schedule and role as a caregiver  my time for taking care of more than the daily tasks is somewhat limited.  I do the best I can and every now and then, energy permitting, I am able to do more. That's why right now, my organizing and cleaning is priority. Not blogging, not taking photos, not reading or doing crafts or even socializing. I am taking advantage of the rare motivation to get some of the big tasks out of the way while I am up to it and before the cold weather arrives. Truth be told, I'm only half way through the things I want to get done and my energy levels are beginning to wane a bit.

Anyway I am happy to report that I'm making good progress.  This kind of most may not be all that interesting to many of you but it helps me to write down what I've done so I can remember later where I've spent my time!

Bedroom:  I have organized about half of my closet space and half of the dresser drawers.  There are far too many t-shirts, shoes and miscellaneous so a purge is underway. I put together 2 large bags of clothing and miscellaneous linens for giveaway.  I've also sorted through about 5 bags of mom's clothing and discarded some.  There is still a large bag of nice items for giveaway.

It was tricky to find the right size of plastic transparent containers for my closet shelves.  The photo shows one I found at Jysk. They are a bit smaller than I would like but they will do since the next size up is too large.The plastic covers will be stored under the tubs until they are needed as I'm leaving the tubs open on my closet shelves for easier access.

Out of season shoes have been stored under the bed but the fabric boxes are not the right size. I need to find an inexpensive shoe container and have been looking in the stores each time I visit them. Oddly enough I usually see a lot of this item in the stores but right now it seems they only have the ones that hang in the closet. There is no room to hang shoes or handbags in my closet.

Living Room:  I keep yarns for multiple projects in beautiful woven baskets in my living room.  I've emptied some of the yarns I've been keeping in them as they were looking a bit too full.  The overflow yarn has been placed in  rubber baskets from Dollarama and stored in the closet space formerly occupied by shoes. Some formerly too small storage containers in a storage cabinet in the living room have been replaced with larger ones that fit perfectly into the space and the space (2 interior shelves) is being reorganized for maximum storage use.  Many craft and sewing items are stored in this cabinet as well as things like heating pads and other items that are needed on a regular basis in the living area.  A large number of reusable shopping bags were also stored in there to get them out of the way but they will now be moved or given away so the best use can be made of this precious space.

Bathroom:  The main objective in the bathroom is to corral the clutter on the counter top and to have easy access to products.  If products are visible it is easier to see what is there and use it up rather than buy duplicate items because you can't see what is there.  The other objective is to find a way to store all bathroom related items, in the bathroom.

A chrome toilet paper holder, a few small, wooden spice racks from IKEA, and a towel shelf have been purchased.  These items will help free up counter space and make everything a look more tidy. It will also mean towels can come out of the master closet and be stored in the bathroom. 

The IKEA spice rack idea came from the internet.  There are many photos on the internet showing how people have creatively used these spice racks in a variety of ways.  Here is just one example. In this case, the homeowner turned the spice rack upside down and made a towel holder too.

Photo Credit: Photo from Wedding Bee

Kitchen:  I've cleared out the shelf above the microwave where the cookbooks were stored.  In it's place are all linens and dishcloths in baskets.  Half of the cookbooks have been purged and are being given away.  The ones I want to keep have been placed into magazine holders because there are a lot of small, unique cookbooks I have. Really they are more like pamphlets and they need to be contained.

I've also reorganized the kitchen counter space. My kitchen is very small and storage is very limited. I have no pantry and it is always a challenge to keep the counter functioning as it should. That means I reorganize my kitchen counter tops at least once or twice a year. Since I now have a powerful Vitamix Blender, the blender I used before will be given away. It is still a good blender but I know it will give out long before the Vitamix does. It also doesn't grind grains into flour.


Paperwork:  All old mail has been opened and excess paper recycled.  I always get behind in this task though the bill payments are automated to ensure timely payments are made. I am a visual and tactile person so I like to handle the papers as opposed to have everything on line.  I just find it easier to review information in a paper format and to have it handy when I need to follow up on items by phone. I also make notes directly on the bills when I need too so I can keep track of who I spoke to and what was agreed upon.  This week I also caught up to organizing the bills by bill type (Hydro power, telephone, credit cards, etc.) in reverse chronological order. I like to keep them this way until I'm ready to discard them. I save discarding for when I have a lot of time because each paper needs to be shredded or burned to ensure no personal information is mislaid.  I also save all paper  receipts until I've had a chance to compare them with bank and credit card statements. This week I got rid of numerous receipts but have a few more to go through. Any receipts that are needed for warranty purposes are kept in a special file folder in the file cabinet.


Dining Room:  My dining room table is usually where all the sewing and organizing of things takes place. I have no other place to do the sewing but it is easy to get in the habit of leaving the sewing machine and other items out on the table.  I don't like all the visual clutter so I found a trolley that I will use to store everything but have it all to hand.  The trolley is from IKEA and I purchased 2 of them in black though they also come in turquoise and beige.

One trolley will be for my sewing machine and current projects.  The other trolley will be used to store books and office supplies near my desk, canned goods in the kitchen or possibly will be loaned to my mom so she can store her CD player and music on it.  The trolley is very compact so doesn't take much space.  Again, there are countless photos on the internet as to how creative people have used these trolleys. It will be so nice to have my dining room table back.  The only downside is that if you live in the USA these trolleys only cost $29.99, whereas in Canada they are $69.99 each. That is a huge difference and much more than the difference in currency exchange would rationalize. (If you are a Canadian and would like these trolleys but don't mind them in black/gray, you can buy them at Home Depot for $39.99. That is a much better price than IKEA).

Other:  In addition to all my shopping, cleaning and organizing I've been turning my mind to Christmas which will be here soon enough. While I was out shopping for my needs, I was also looking for what I could find for gift ideas for family and friends. I've purchased some small items like tea towels, calendars and different items specific to each friend or family member. So I've got a good start on what I need for Christmas though of course there is more to be done to be thoroughly ready.

After all my hard work, I realize I am only really half way through this project. I thought I was farther along but each time I do something I think of another thing to do.

Some of these  organizing ideas and tasks have been on my mind for years so I am glad to finally be doing them.

It should take another week or two to get the household in good order and as organized as I am likely to get it before Christmas.  Eliminating all excess paperwork and paring my books back to bare essentials will be another major project which will take more time. I likely won't be posting about much of this for various reasons.

I only wanted to capture some of my organizing efforts here on the blog so I can look back and have something to reference later.  It is also for those of you who are used to reading a post from me on a regular basis.  That way you will know I haven't dropped off the face of the earth and I haven't forgotten about blogging.  I've just been occupied.

In a few weeks I should have more interesting things to post about.

I already feel so much better after clearing out  bags of giveaways and more bags of trash.

Tomorrow the utility carts can be put together.  After that the bathroom items will be put up on the wall and things can be nicely put away. It will be wonderful when things are contained.

 I leave you now with some pretty photos.

Poppy Macro

Sky watch in Vancouver

Vase of  long stemmed blooms

Rocky Mountains, Alberta Canada

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Thoughts on January so Far

Even though you're growing up, you should never stop having fun.

Nina Dobrev
(Bulgarian-Canadian actress)

Hi friends,


I've had a very busy few weeks and yet I've been feeling oh so tired. In some ways I've got a lot done and in other ways not.

Each year I find the months between November and end of February hard to take and especially January and February. I live in a place where we get so little sunshine over that period and by January I am really feeling it. This year I think more so than usual.

These kinds of days are still a few months away.

I've already done a lot of reading this month since I haven't been up for a lot more.

Here is a good book if you are interested in adventure to other lands or if you have an interest in elephants.

 
I've also done a lot of organizing in terms of setting myself up with things I need to move forward in the coming months: a stash of material to make a few items for my mother, a summer wardrobe that I've been pulling together over the last few months (almost done), a few additions to the winter wardrobe and replenishing linens and towels. It feels good to get these things out of the way. Bit by bit I've been also making my way through the house getting things tidied. I've got bigger ideas for moving things around but that will take a bit more time.

I found I haven't been sleeping well at all this month and my body really feels it. Then I started taking Vitamin D3. I don't know if that helps with sleep at all but since we don't get a lot of sunshine for many months where I live, I know supplementation is a must.  I think it is working already. After just a few days supplementation, I got the urge to start cleaning my kitchen cabinets and reorganizing them. Trust me, this is a job I don't like doing.  It is very hard to reach deep into and even to see into the backs of these cabinets. So as you can imagine, it is a job that very much needs doing and one has to feel like doing it. I'm glad I'm feeling like it now so I don't waste the sunny days to come with cleaning the cabinets, lol. Here is a link to read more about Vitamin D3 supplementation in case you might need it too.


I was inspired by seeing some videos of young women who totally organize their homes (I thought I was organized).  Seriously, I personally think people have too much stuff (myself included). Since I travelled to Africa many years ago now and experienced just how little so many people have, I've learned that we really don't need that much to live on a day to day basis. Food, shelter and a few garments are the key things besides family and friends. 

Over the ensuing years since my first visit to Africa, I determined that I needed to downsize my "stuff" and have been doing so bit by bit.  I do have to buy and replace things when they break or get worn out.  Add that to "stuff" I see and think it will help me organize or I can use it in a new recipe, and so on , and it does make it a bit more challenging to get to a good point of balance with "stuff".  I keep trying.  Knitting supplies and fabrics and all the tools required to make anything with these materials are what I tend to spend on besides food and household related items.  Yarn and fabric are  things I need to buy new if I want to make things.  (I gave up on buying used yarns because of the problems of not having enough to make any real projects I wanted.  Now I buy new yarns and fabrics on sale as much as possible.  It can take up quite a lot of time to build up the yarn stash and yet it still takes so much room to store until you have enough to start working with. I truly don't have space so I've had to purchase some baskets and try to limit myself to the colour batches I am going to use in future.  The challenge is to use these things and not just let them become clutter.  Some of you will remember that I also inherited a lot of fabric and craft items from my mom when she moved into care.  Though I did get rid of a lot, I still have a lot that I kept.  All the medical type equipment takes all the space in my downstairs storage unit and then some. I also have many of her papers and my dearly departed sister's papers and personal mementos too. I hope to give a lot of this to her son when he is settled down post education years.

Though I am fairly organized I do still have areas of too much clutter. It happens easily in a small home when you have a number of different collections, and if, like me you are keeping things that belong to others.  I need to keep better organized in some areas.  One area that needs a better set up is in my kitchen with spices and canned and dried goods.  I don't have a pantry or a closet or garage where I could store food.  So I have no choice but to make the best use of one awkwardly placed and shaped kitchen cabinet. It is the only real place I have to store food.

If I had a pantry like the one in this video  http://youtu.be/E0yF0Iz74yQ  I would have no issues with keeping my kitchen tidy.  The woman in the video  is an organizational expert and has lots of wonderful ideas. However she has so much space in her house that very little of what she does can apply to someone in a small space like me. I can still learn a little from her and from some others on youtube and see how I can use the ideas in a more modest way. Virtually everyone who has a video on youtube to organize small kitchens has far more cabinets than I do, and a pantry to boot. Alternatively they are living in a pied a terre and I don't fit into either of those categories.

I went to Dollarama Friday and bought several containers.  I don't know exactly how many I might need so for now I bought 4 large and 4 medium and I think I am going to need at least 4 more medium containers.  That is probably all that will fit into my cabinet anyway along with the canned goods.  I may also purchase some fabric "boxes" to put a lot of my canned goods.  Some of the cans are currently "hiding" underneath a stand alone cabinet in my kitchen. If I put them in neat little boxes they perhaps go above the cabinets.  It is warm up there so they probably wouldn't last so long but this will accomplish two things:  using them up more quickly and  putting an end to my stock piling.  The meal planning I started recently is going to help a lot with both of these goals. 

I also spent time the other night re-arranging other kitchen cabinets so I can ultimately clear more of the counter space.  It is very difficult to do since I have so cabinet and counter space overall but every little bit of improvement helps.  I  moved my coffee pot closer to the kitchen sink where I can easily dump the grounds into the garburator without dripping on the floor. 

Starting in February all grounds and food scraps need to go to the common compost for pick up by the city each week. This is a new rule of the City Council to help conserve the environment. I totally agree with the change but it is expensive proposition for the City.  Taxes go up when things get expensive and there is the problem of rodents if the garbage is not picked up often enough.  I guess what I'm saying is I'm not really sure how sustainable this program will be. I read recently that another municipality in the area started garbage compost collection twice a week.  They've already had to reduce compost pick up to once a week when they realized how expensive it going to be.

Soon our City Council and provincial  government also want to have us vote on building yet another skytrain (above ground remotely operated trains). This again means more tax hikes and we've just paid for a new skytrain on another route and and all the other structural upgrades for the recent winter Olympics.  We've also just paid for significant highway construction and upgrades.  I am just not feeling up to paying for yet another skytrain though I really would like one. Increases to strata fees and special building levies come for me like clockwork every winter and so it is a lot to contend with when it all happens in a short space of time. It will be interesting to see if the property owners of Vancouver vote for or against the new skytrain because I know pretty much everyone would like one despite the cost.

The good news is my pension is indexed so I got an increase this month. The bad news is the cost of everything has gone up and there is more to come. In these kind of circumstances where I feel pressed, I do everything I can to remind myself just how blessed I truly am and I am grateful to have a small raise which I know many people do not get.

I'm going into my 2nd week with the menu planning. I have to say it is working out very well and I'm enjoying it so far. I also noticed that my blood glucose levels have already improved and rather than worrying about them getting too high, I have to watch that they don't go too low. Getting too low is more scary to me than getting too high though high blood glucose over the longer term is definitely not good. When I go too low I end up eating stuff that isn't too healthy just to bring my blood glucose back up.  I'm sure that as I continue I will find a happy medium for just the right way to eat. I am pleased with myself and think I've found a new tool to help manage my diabetes.

I started the weekend shopping for containers for dry goods. Saturday I shop for fabric to make mom a skirt.  I will also take in the new movie "Selma" about civil rights leader Martin Luther King. Sunday is fellowship  and I look forward to seeing friendly faces at church. In between I'm doing a lot of things that most of you have to deal with every day as well: cooking, cleaning, catching up with correspondence and telephone calls. I don't have any social planned for tomorrow like I often do. I feel like taking in a movie on my own because I have errands to run afterward. I just find it easier that way.

My post started with a quote about having fun. Sometimes I need to remind myself to have fun especially when I'm feeling tired and a bit down because of constant gray skies. Today I made my own fun. While I made dinner I listened to music in my kitchen using my phone and mini-speakers. This is so simple and something I never do though I know a lot of people do.  I'm hoping to listen to music in the kitchen more often. Mostly I listen when I am sitting at my desktop with the headphones on.  I may need different mini-speakers because the ones I have don't have very good volume. Or perhaps I can simply dig out my small radio from the emergency kit I've prepared and listen to the radio.

Tomorrow I will have fun getting out and about and seeing a movie. I'll also feel like I've accomplished something when I get the fabric for mom's skirt. Next I have to make a sewing day later this week as I now have 3 full slips and one long skirt to make.

Whatever your plans are, I hope you too have fun. Before I know it the winter here will be coming to an end.

I Do Love Antiques

I am not sure why but I have always loved antiques and I have a few pieces that I cherish. I wrote before about one such piece which I will sell due to it being too large for my condo.  That didn't stop me from buying another treasure.  This one I purchased more for practicality than anything.

My latest acquisition is a Chinese Elm wood blanket chest. It is about 150 years old so not terribly old but I like the character it has. I immediately wiped out the inside and filled it with some of my craft supplies which are overflowing in the living room.  I covered the stop with some of my African craft finds and my Aloe Vera plant which really does need to be re-potted into a larger container.

I have been wanting a Chinese antique for years.  Initially, I was thinking of an altar table to be used in my front entry.  But really I have no room in that area because it isn't a hallway and that is where I have bookshelves housing many of my books.  The altar tables don't have the kind of practicality I need since they don't have doors and drawers to hide things.  I think this piece is more suitable for my needs.

I got it for a wonderful bargain and paid almost one quarter of the original price. These days, antique shopping is a luxury for most people and the store owner is branching out in many ways to try and save her business. She can no longer afford to just sell antiques. She understood the value of off loading her inventory by giving me a fabulous deal.  It also helped that I had my eye on other pieces in a different shop and so knew my prices as well as the market right now.  Learning how to establish bottom lines and haggling in Kenyan market places has helped me here at home. At least with stores that aren't big box stores.

I'm very pleased with this piece. I see that I  need to give it a good cleaning on the outside as well but that can wait until I re-organize things a bit more.

What about you dear reader? Do you prefer antiques that have the character and vibe of days gone by or do you prefer the modern look?

Bathroom Ruminations

Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.
A. A. Milne

Another day has come and gone and I'm happy to report that the decluttering and reorganizing project continues and much progress has been made in the bathrooms and in organizing the master bedroom.

The master bathroom does not have enough cupboards and drawers to keep everything nice and neat. In this country you will rarely find adequate closet or bathroom storage. I'm guessing this is the case where you live as well, especially if you live in some of the older buildings in Europe.

Years ago, I purchased a kitchen pantry unit to address this deficiency in bathrooms. Currently the unit is standing in the master bedroom to keep things organized and out of sight. The pantry unit has served me well for a number of years in this way. It is a simple, plain white pantry. I could paint or stencil it but I like in its simplicity in white.

Right now this unit is housing many items. Mainly overflow items from the master bathroom. For example, it contains a basket of items that I need when I travel like a cell phone for use in Europe/Africa. The phones we use in North America do not work in Europe or Africa though I understand this will change within the year. The basket also holds things like extension cords and converters, passport holders, plastic rain gear, small sized containers for carrying shampoo and lotions, etc. Another basket contains small gifts for those occasions when I have to have a gift item ready on short notice. I also keep a few cds on hand for those occasions when I want to listen to some soothing music in the bedroom. Finally, the unit holds some decorating magazines and some books I placed there recently.

I also placed a wing chair in the corner of the room. My plan is to add a lamp and make a cosy reading nook. The wing chair was one of my excellent thrift store finds. It is in perfect condition and only cost $35 (Canadian). The chair was previously languishing in the front room until I found a good spot for it. Here is a photo of it along with my cherished Pendleton blanket.

Now let's go back to the bathroom shall we? Both bathrooms in the apartment have these generic light fixtures above the bathroom vanity as in the photo below. They are great for throwing a lot of light but I really don't like them because they take too many bulbs and are hard to clean.

The master bathroom in the photo above has not had any decorating attention since I moved in. In fact the shower curtain is 23 years old and the hand towel is from the thrift store. I think it needs a change to liven things up a bit. Do you have any suggestions in terms of colour, pattern, solid, etc.?

Here is a photo of the adjacent bedroom to help you make your suggestions. The wall colour is a deep navy. I know some people find it a "cold" or "cool" colour, but I find it restful. The bedroom is a nice place to be in the heat of summer here. In winter months, I simply add flannel sheets, a mattress pad warmer and more bedding as needed. Since it can get rather chilly here in winter with a lot of rain, I have more blankets than I would actually like to have. But most of the blankets have been purchased to last my life time and I will only need to make the odd purchase of bed sheets and pillow cases when required.

If you have decorating suggestions, just know that the bed covers are not always floral in design and the wall colour will likely stay. In summer, the bedding could be a white matelasse coverlet or a large quilt with blue, gray and off white squares. A lot like this one here except the colours are not as vivid. In winter, the bed sometimes wears a wool Pendleton blanket with geometric design (as in the above photo) or a floral quilt from India in brick red, black and off white.

All the bed coverings, except the floral one in the photo, have sentimental value or have been purchased as investment pieces meant to last a lifetime. That means they will likely remain as part of the decor. This also means that I won't have to spend more money on bed covers.

The main bathroom in the photo below is going through the final stages of re-plumbing, as are other areas of the apartment. The light fixture above the vanity will be changed to a brushed nickel light fixture in a more traditional look. It looks a lot like this 4 light vanity fixture here. This fixture can take energy efficient light bulbs. Yeah! I hope to purchase another one like this for the master bathroom. The old fixtures can then be recycled by taking them to the thrift store.

The bathroom tub and floor tiles, towel bar, toilet paper holder and vanity were all replaced in September and new towels purchased in shades of teal blue, gray, and tan. We still need a waffle weave shower curtain which will likely be purchased in a tan colour (I may sew a contrasting colour like teal blue on it to brighten the room and blend with the towels). The previous towels in this bathroom were all about 16 years old so I think they have served us well. The shower curtain which was a green/burgundy/tan floral and the green soap dish, were still in good condition and they have been taken to the thrift shop.

Besides the organizing described above, the master bathroom was given a good cleaning and a lot of extraneous items were tossed or donated to the thrift store. I dropped off two bags at the thrift store today and several last week. I have a few more to deliver there later in the week. Two boxes of computer discs, old appliance warranties and old video tapes in the living room were sorted and eliminated altogether.

I will tackle the final two unpacked boxes in the living room and the other two in the master bedroom later this week. Once the plumbers are gone, the master bedroom closets can really be culled and a home found for the remaining photos and pictures which have not yet been re-hung. At the end of the month, the master bathroom will be re-grouted and re-caulked and some minor updating done to the fixtures. Then I can see about painting, changing the light fixture and adding new linens. So you have a few weeks to let me know if you have any suggestions. I hope to hear from you!

By the way, watch this blog as soon I will be posting about a giveaway. It will be my first one and I think I have just the right thing in mind. I'm excited and will be telling you more soon.

Kitchen Declutter ~ Before & After

Never again clutter your days or nights with so many menial and unimportant things that you have no time to accept a real challenge when it comes along. This applies to play as well as work. A day merely survived is no cause for celebration. You are not here to fritter away your precious hours when you have the ability to accomplish so much by making a slight change in your routine. No more busy work. No more hiding from success. Leave time, leave space, to grow. Now. Now! Not tomorrow!

Og Mandino

Decluttering, downsizing and simplifying. Those words are my mantra these days though I am still a long way off from my goal of implementing these ideas in full. I am part of a Christian Women's Group that is using the month of January to declutter and we are encouraging one another so I feel I am making progress. The Og Mandino quote above is not so much about decluttering the house but decluttering one's life. My feeling is that one needs to declutter and simplify one's surroundings (home, office,private spaces) before one can declutter a life and focus on fully seizing the precious moments in life.

Here is a little project from the weekend that involved cleaning out my kitchen drawers and lower cupboards. It involved purging the "junk" and reorganizing things to make the drawers and cupboards tidier as well as more efficient.

Drawer #1 - Before photo

The cutlery drawer was not organized as such but was cleaned. Now I'm thinking I would like a new cutlery tray. I don't even remember where I got this cutlery tray but it is truly ancient and I don't even like brown. I have a knife block but I find I like to keep my knives in their sharpening holders (the white things on the right). There is also block for knife sharpening at the back of the drawer.

Drawer #2 - After photo

This is drawer # 2 Before photo

This is drawer #2 After photo

I decided it wasn't tidy enough and it looked like it would quickly get disorganized again, especially when my roommate rummages around. To remedy this, I went to purchase some inexpensive plastic baskets to keep things better organized. This is what the drawer looks like now.

In the back (left) are gadgets we don't use that often. On the right, are items we use almost daily. In the fore are the measuring spoons and few gadgets that we use often. After adding the plastic organizer there was no longer room to store the blender but I kept the beaters there.

You might wonder about the blue plastic. It came as a "gift" in the plastic baggie box. It is a reusable plastic cover for bowls. I know that many in the frugal movement would not use plastic and/or disposable wraps, etc. I agree that reducing usage and reliance on disposables is an excellent idea. I do it in other areas of my life. For example, I use re-usable totes for food shopping and other shopping. Where I have to rely on store provided plastic bags, I re-use these rather than toss them as part of my overall "reduce, reuse, recycle" effort. These days I seldom have to use a plastic shopping bag as I usually have my own with me. Once I've simplified my life, I can perhaps make some reusable wrapping products or I can buy some here. At least it is something to think about.

This drawer is a catch all for hammers, screwdrivers and pliers, as well as some bungee cords and various weights of string for packing. We also keep our flashlights here for those power outages that occur from time to time. I do have a small tool box which I keep in a closet as well but it doesn't hold much and it isn't handy for those quick jobs that always need doing around the house which is why I keep the tools in the drawer.

Drawer # 3 Before photo

Drawer # 3 After photo

Here is the final After photo of the same drawer after adding one plastic tray. It might still look a little cluttered but everything is neatly stored in zip-log baggies (like-with-like) to keep them from spilling all over and getting jumbled.

This is what the drawers look like when they are empty. I put the ivy patterned mactac in the drawers when I first purchased the condo. I like the pattern and I also like the ease of wiping the drawers clean with this coating on them.

The bottom kitchen drawer in the Before photo below, is probably for holding pots and pans. I was using it for linens and such. Over time it became a catch all for other kitchen items that didn't fit anywhere. It had become a place where I feared to look.

It is much neater now in the After photo below. I've decided to keep my nicer damask table cloth, napkins and place mats in here. I probably should take them out of the plastic bags and find something more suitable so they can breathe. I'm thinking of trying to make something like this linen keeper (fabric not yet decided). The brown wooden chest contains my collection of better flatware.

A close up of the flatware. For every day use, I have a mismatched assortment for daily use pictured in the first photo in this blog (above). The set was wasn't always mismatched. Somehow though, cutlery pieces just seem to go astray, much like socks disappear when doing the laundry.

A side cupboard in the photo below has undergone several usages. The most recent is storage for the thermos and juice flasks, food wrapping materials (plastic, foil, baggies, wax paper), and big jugs of vinegar for cleaning.

The lower shelf has two plastic trays. I've placed one in the very back where I've put my new dish cloths and tea towels. In the front, I have my apron and another daily use table cloth, as well as the electric beater.

I have two of these side cupboards, pictured in the photo below. One on each side of the kitchen sink. I don't actually like them because they have very small doors and it is hard to reach into the back of the cupboards to clean them or to reach things you need. But I must make use of them as that is what I have. One side of the cupboard is for plastic containers, mixing bowls, and saucepans as well as glass bake ware. Other pots and pans are stored in the stove oven and in the stove drawer. A few larger pots are stored atop the kitchen cabinets.


The cupboard on the other side (pictured below) is used for food storage. The upper food shelf is for canned goods as well as dried items like legumes, beans, etc. The lower shelf (at back) is for baking items (like sugar, coconut, specialty flours) and small baskets of potatoes and onions/garlic. This side of the cupboard will need more organization but for now this clean up will do.

Whew! I think I accomplished a lot. Not only did I clean these shelves and drawers and reorganize them but I had to go out and purchase some new baskets, tablecloth and dish towels too.

I have much more de-cluttering and organizing to do in the apartment over the coming weeks and months and the kitchen is not entirely done yet. But I have made some good progress this month.

Later this week, I will tackle some of the unpacked boxes in the living room. I also hope to begin going through some of the unpacked boxes in my bedroom. Some of you who follow my blog will remember we had a fire in May 2009. We were lodging in a hotel for several months. Now that we have moved in and have a lot of new furniture (replaced by insurance) I have a lot of things I want to eliminate. I was contemplating a major de-clutter project before the fire but after the fire, I didn't have any choice! Now that I am retired I can also get rid of boxes and boxes of files and papers I no longer need or wish to keep.

As we enter into 2010, I find many people are de-cluttering. How about you? What de-cluttering projects do you have underway? If you are like me, clutter makes you feel disorganized and somewhat overwhelmed. Cleaning up the clutter frees up my mind as well as my spirit and makes me feel so good!

Good luck with your de-cluttering.