The Kitchn Cure: Cure My Kitchen| Day Three

Day three of the Kitchn Cure has been a royal pain in my ass challenge. The assignment was to go thru tools, appliances and gadgets (including dishes, etc.) Easy enough, right? Wrong!

The Kitchn Cure | Day Task Three: 

Declutter appliances, gadgets and tools.

Like days one and two of the Kitchn Cure, this task was supposed to take 1-2 hours. That time frame just didn’t cut it for me. It probably could have, but I got all gun-ho during the first hour.

Yeah.

It took me a week annnnd I’m still not quite finished.

It’s all good though! I haven’t given up and while it felt like I was getting nowhere, I can see that I was getting somewhere.

Glasses mugs random before

Dishes. serve ware, random before

baking before

Pots and pans before

Cabinet before

The first hour of the cure was going well; I had moved all the glassware into one cabinet. I took a picture of the pretty new cabinet and feeling inspired, moved on to the bigger cabinet.

This cabinet had bugged me ever since 2011. Back when I re-painted the cabinets, I never got around to finishing all the insides. Since it was driving me crazy I decided that it was now or never.

I pulled everything out and got to cleaning and then painting but very quickly the project came to a 5 day halt because:

• the baby woke up
• I was exhausted
• it was raining
• I was overwhelmed
• we had a wedding to attend
• I had a hang-over

By Monday I couldn’t stand looking at the half done project anymore and quickly finished up the painting and shelf lining. A few hours later I finally put everything away.

Then I took another break.

Yesterday I wrapped up “day” 3 by rearranging some of our pots and pans. They aren’t staying where they are for too long though! We are picking out a pot rack to hang in the pantry area. I can’t wait to get that done.

It may take until December.

While rearranging the whole damn room I created a pile of things to donate. Once I drop everything off at Good Will our house will be roughly 150 pounds lighter. Okay, that’s an exaggeration.

I think.

Pots and pans after

Pots and pans after

Dishes serve ware baking after

Glasses after

Pots and pans after

I’m terrified to move on to Day Four: deep clean. I think the only thing to really worry about is the oven but the top of the cabinets are pretty gross, so we will see!

By the way, it feels really good to get all of this done! It’s almost as if I am creating a new kitchen. I already have a ton of freed up space and far less clutter! If you decide to do the Kitchn Cure let me know; I will happily link up to your progress!

naughteebits.com is linked up! Check out B’s Kitchn Cure Day Three post here

Weekend Wedding

I haven’t given up on the Kitchn Cure, not by far! I did run into a hiccup, only because (in normal Ginger style) I bit off a little more than I can chew. More on that tomorrow (or Monday) when I post day 3 of the Kitchn Cure!

As for this post… My BF’s best friend is getting married in just a few hours, and BF is the best man, so he, and the rest of the wedding party are getting their pictures taken. I’m not sure what I am supposed to be doing, so I am just sitting in my car, reading and now typing. Haha, quiet time is good time, right?

We had a great time at the rehearsal dinner last night and I met some nice people and I’m really looking forward to this wedding! BF’s best friend and his almost wife are really nice people and I’m very happy for them. The weather is a little iffy but luckily if it does start to rain the winery has a really nice indoor area that the service will be held in.

Anyhoo, I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend so far, what are you up to?

The Kitchn Cure: Cure My Kitchen| Day Two

After completing day two’s assignment of the Kitchn Cure our kitchen gained much-needed storage and counter space. I also have better insight on what might make the room function better. While working, I created two lists: one of foods that would need restocking and another of containers/organizing items we should buy.

The Kitchn Cure | Day Two: 

Declutter and clean your pantry and food storage areas.

Like day one, this task is also supposed to take 1-2 hours. I turned the assignment into somewhat of an event though. BF took little El to visit his parents, so as I cleared out all of our dry storage (baby-free!) I had a few beers. This slowed me down a bit, but none the less, I got my task done and had a good time doing it 😉

Cabinet before

Dry goods before

Pantry before

Believe it or not, I found only two ingredients in dry storage that had expired: spices and vinegar. THERE WAS A LARGE ASSORTMENT OF EACH! I even posted a picture on tumblr of the spice collection that was past its prime. Naughty cook! I never knew those two items could expire, but they do! And they did, some as far back as in 2006!

If you learn anything from this series of posts, let it be this: Check your spices for expiration!

Aside from the expired items tossed were many almost-empty packages and foods I knew we’d never eat. Again, my line of thinking was this: if I wouldn’t eat it this week then I won’t eat it ever and it was trashed.

Cleaning out the cabinets and pantry wasn’t hard at all. I just sprayed them with some Mrs. Myers and easily wiped them out. After the shelves were clean, the pantry floor got steam mopped and the flour, sugar, and rice canisters were washed. Lastly, shelf liner was added to the spice cabinet and the remaining food was put away.

Dry storage after

Pantry after

Spice cabinet

I thought day two of the Kitchn Cure would be much harder than day one but it really it wasn’t! The process was quite enjoyable; there is something refreshing about getting rid of things that we won’t (or shouldn’t) eat!

If you decide to do the Kitchn Cure let me know; I will happily link up to your progress!

naughteebits.com is linked up! Check out B’s Kitchn Cure Day Two post here

Hey Linda..

I know you’re just itching..

Do it!

😉

The Kitchn Cure: Curing Our Kitchen

I was really excited yesterday when I saw The Kitchn hosting a 10 day project called the Kitchn Cure to help their readers with kitchen cleaning, organizing, and refreshing. This couldn’t have come at a better time for us! Home keeping has been on the back burner since little El was born and I feel overwhelmed with all the disorganization that’s crept in.

Our kitchen has especially suffered. BF brought a ton of cooking equipment with him, but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to bring any extra storage space 😉 Add to that all the baby paraphernalia and what I’m left with is a completely cluttered kitchen. I am lucky and grateful to have such nice things to work with but cooking has become a total headache! I feel defeated every time I walk into the room.

I am joining the Kitchn Cure a bit late (the project started last Monday) but joining it now is okay! In fact, starting this project at anytime is easy to do. The Kitchn makes it really easy to find and follow the cure, it’s organized well. If this sounds like something you’d like to do, or you just want to check it out, you can find the projects main page here. If you do check it out, be sure to poke around on their site, it’s really a good one!

Now on to the project 🙂

The Kitchn Cure | Day One: 

Declutter and clean the refrigerator and freezer.

This task is supposed to take 1-2 hours and essentially the amount of time I spent working on it did fall into that range. It did, however, take me longer start to finish because little man was fussy and wanted full attention.

Freezer before

Refridgerator before

Normally, we are in the habit of going thru the fridge on Wednesdays to get rid of any expired foods. Sometimes things escape our sight or we miss a week but because it’s done regularly here, purging the unwanted food wasn’t very time-consuming. I did find some moldy soup in the back on the bottom shelf (yum) but that was the worst offender. The freezer was easy enough to clear out. My line of thinking was this: if I wouldn’t want to eat it this week, then I wouldn’t eat it ever, and it got trashed.

Cleaning the fridge and the freezer were more time-consuming for me. I usually spray the shelves down with Mrs. Meyers or Method when they are almost empty (or obviously dirty) however, removing the shelves and drawers, then scrubbing the walls and crevices only gets done about 3 times a year. So although it was time-consuming the task was perfect and just what the fridge and freezer needed.

Freezer/Fridge after. *the stuff in the bottom freezer is paint or something, not dirt, it’s clean!,It was just ruined by something!

I think Day One of the Kitchn Cure is probably going to be the easiest of the days for me. Next up: cleaning out the pantry. Oh boy! That is supposed to take another 1-2 hours, but I have a feeling it will take me longer. There is a pantry, two cabinets with food storage, and a spice cabinet that need addressing. I am super excited and motivated to get my kitchen in order though, and right in time for the colder months, which happen to be my favorite time of the year to cook!

If you decide that you’d like to do the Kitchn Cure with me (or even at a later date) let me know; I will happily link up to your progress!

naughteebits.com is linked up! Check out B’s Kitchn Cure Day One post here

Eat Sophie While Mommy Works

Here, play with Sophie..

Or eat her..

No, no, keep playing!

She’s fun!

In between feedings and diaper changes, occasionally, some work gets done.

This wasn’t one of those times.