Survey Says...

Okay, two things:

1. If you're a tea drinker, how often do you actual sip tea from a teacup?  I don't unless I'm someplace fancy schmancy... or at my parents.  (I have to say that, because Mom will read this.)  Even at Thanksgiving when we get out the good china at our house, we often end up using mugs for coffee and tea with dessert.
2. If you own "good china" and live in a small home (like I do), where do you STORE your china?  Why am I asking?  Keep reading.

These are two things that I am mulling over as I clean cupboards out this week.

I have cups and saucers that match my everyday Pfaltzgraff dishes, and they never get used.  Oh, my son would argue.  He uses that size once in a blue moon to boil water in the microwave for his oatmeal.  Son -- you might need to choose another size, because these are getting filed away for the time being.  I'm going to see if we miss them, and if not, they'll likely be donated.

Several years back, I read that if your good china is packed away in boxes (as opposed to someplace where you SEE it), you will never use it. You know, "out of sight, out of mind?"  Well, I love mine, and I was determined to use it more.  So, to that end, I unpacked it all, and reconfigured my kitchen cabinets so that there was room on the top shelf for my china. The result?  Well, it's no longer a "pain" to get the china out for Thanksgiving.  And, we did have one celebratory kind of dinner when we used it.  But, basically it sits on my top shelf like it sat in the boxes.  Virtually unused.

Enter, real life.

As I remove the everyday cups and saucers, I think I might relocate the saucers to a spot with the small plates.  We're forever running out of those little plates for snacks and such, and maybe sometimes a saucer would fill the need?  Trial and error, folks.  Trial and error.

In the meantime, this pile of pretties is going down to the basement... somewhere.  For a limited engagement.  Afterall, if I keep them down there too long, I'm just relocating, and not purging.

And the good china?  Well, I don't know if I'll ever be able to part with it.  For now, it stays.

Okay, so fess up.

Since we've started tidying and organizing,

what is the thing you've realized about yourself?

What type of thing have you purged the most of?

ME?

I've realized that sometimes I care too much what other people think.  SOMEtimes, I hang onto something -- not because I LOVE it, but because I think I should hang onto it.  This can be true for things people gave to me, or just things that COULD be useful down the road.  Slowly but surely, I'm getting over that, and becoming bolder.  I play the "I just don't have room" card.  By the way... that's a real card folks.

As far as what I've purged the most of...

Well, we've been mostly in the kitchen so far, right?

I got rid of a few gadgets,

but mugs were a biggy.

So, c'mon.  Tell me what you've been up to.

And tell me,

where is your good china?

Letting Go, One Mug at a Time

Oh my gosh - between regular mugs and travel mugs, MUGS had completely taken over the mug-cupboard.  So, in cleaning out the cupboard last week, I had to come to grips with two things:

1. the fact that our travel mugs are necessary, as my hubby takes a cup of coffee for the drive to work every morning, and truth be told, they are convenient (travel mugs for hot, and insulated cold-cups w/ straws!)
2. we don't need as many regular mugs as we had

I mean to tell you, mugs were really piling up.  I had them stacked up the wazoo (ya'll know how high the wazoo is, right?) as if I was having 20 friends for coffee and tea every day. Um, there's only four of us who live here.  Three drink hot beverages on a regular basis. And really?  We drink from the same silly mug all day (sometimes longer) -- so why do I need 20???  Tell me.  Why do I even need TEN?

The "AFTER" shot -- and there's still purging to be done!

Some of these mugs, I actually felt a little sentimental about.  Shortly after we got married, my parents got us two mugs with the name of a country store -- that was also our family name. One mug has since been broken, but the other remains, and c'mon now -- I can almost still make out the name.  I think it's ours.  (Mom, no need to call.  I KNOW I have your permission to part with it...)

Okay, okay -- so I over-dramatize.

(except for that last paragraph)

But do you catch my drift?  It's called a RUT people -- a rut, and I am definitely in my share of them around here.  As I look at the photo above, I'm wondering why I even keep the cups with saucers that are part of our every-day dishes.  They were a wedding gift.  And LOOK - there's ROOM for them, isn't there?  Still doesn't really change the fact that we don't use them, huh?  Okay, okay - so there's more purging to do.  But things are definitely changing around here, and I think I'm on the right track!

Yep - I'm even thinking of getting rid of this "BURNS AND SCALDS" info sheet inside my cupboard door.  I'm pretty sure that all four of us have been burned any number of times in this very kitchen, and not once have we thought to look inside the cupboard door to see what to do.  Not. Once.

PURGE!

You can do it.

Don't be shy.

Just have a little talk with yourself,

and try to be realistic.

[There's the rub!]

Okay, I'm off to clean the cupboard under the sink.
*dislike*

WEEK TWO MISSION: Kitchen drawers and cabinets

Week Two of the Clean-Up ~ Ever Onward!

Were you wondering if I was still "on the wagon?"  Yup.  Still tidying up and organizing around here.  My counter tops didn't take me too long last week, so I was already purging drawers too.  I got down to the basic stuff, regrouped some things, and got rid of things that we haven't used in a long time.  It's amazing how things accumulate, isn't it?

Just because we're moving on to the drawers and cabinets this week, don't forget about your sink.  (One finger pointing at you, THREE pointing back at ME!!)  Things also accumulate in the sink quickly, don't they?

Drawers:  I have four stacked drawers of various depths.  Here they are, bottom to top -- all purged:

Drawer #1 - larger tools, and various hotpads.

Drawer #2 - family Rx, seasonal meds, vitamins, and the like.

Drawer #3 - measuring cups, measuring spoons, travel cup lids, and a few misc. things.

Drawer #4 - everyday silverware, some knives, and straws.

I don't know about you, but my idea of a tidy kitchen drawer doesn't always mean that everything is always lined up perfectly.  After all, I am in and out of these drawers a million times a day reaching for things, and putting things away.  I'm happy just to have purged some things.

My one other drawer is just to the right of my stove.  Here are the things that I use the MOST.  Kitchen scissors, rubber spatulas, small metal spatulas, vegetable peeler, lots of little paring knives, my firestarter, and some silicone "trivets" that I use as potholders.

<<Just a side note: After my mom asked about these "trivets" at Thanksgiving, I went looking for some for her.  When I bought mine, they were EVERYwhere.  Not so much now. When I finally found some for her (read: when my sweet hubby hunted them down), they were called "trivets" and said they were NOT to be used to remove things from the oven. Well, hello?  That's exactly what I use mine for, and they are the bomb.  I love them because if they get messy, I throw them in the dishwasher, oh yes I do.  AND, they look SO much nicer than washed-dried-washed-dried-washed-dried cloth potholders.  Just sayin'. Just pay attention to whatever the "label" says about temperature levels, okay?  End of sermon.>>

How about you?

What's your idea of a "tidy" and organized drawer?

WEEK TWO MISSION: Kitchen drawers and cabinets

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Also - have you heard?  Layla at The Lettered Cottage is having a “This Little Word Of Mine (I’m gonna let it shine!)” link party on Monday, January 16th.  Write a post about the word you have chosen (or as Layla says, "the word that chose you,") and stop by to link up. If you don't have a blog, you can stop by and leave a comment about your word.  Hope to see you there!

Easy Veggie Couscous

I've never made couscous before -- how about you?  While watching cooking shows on PBS last weekend, I saw someone making it, and thought "I have to try that!"  So, I purchased some, and have just been waiting for a day of inspiration.

Oh, okay, it was a last minute scramble.  Who am I kidding?

Anyways, um, it's my new favorite.

I checked out a bunch of different recipes, and then combined a few of them to make something I thought our family would enjoy.  Here's what I did:


Easy Veggie Couscous
1-1/4 cup water
1-1/4 tsp. instant chicken bouillion granules
1 cup couscous
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
3 green onions, chopped
1 plum tomato, diced
small handfull chopped cilantro
2-3 T. lemon juice
salt & pepper to taste

Bring chicken broth to a boil.  Add couscous.  Stir & remove from heat.  Let sit for 5 minutes until broth absorbs couscous, and is fluffy.  Add all other ingredients and mix well. Serve to your adoring fans.

I basically just added what I had in the refrigerator, but you could certainly add any spices, herbs, or veggies that your family enjoys  -- or use what you have on hand, like I did!  The water-to-couscous ratio is the important part.  The rest you can vary.

Super quick.  Super easy.  Try it, you'll like it!

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May 14th-21st, 2012

And in other news:
Remember the Christmas stars that my daughter and I made?  Well, after putting away most of our Christmas decorations, we still couldn't part with them.  They aren't exactly the kind of thing that stores well.  We knew we'd have to toss them eventually... but not yet.

TaaDaa!  And here they will stay -- at least until Valentines Day, we think.  The manger scene might just stay out that long this year too...

Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Muffins are the latest thing around here, especially since our son started public school.  We have transitioned away from the waffles, and I now make most of our favorite quick-bread recipes in the form of muffins.  I stash them in the freezer, and pull a couple out for him each morning.  He usually grabs them on his way out the door.  Yep.  That's how he rolls in the morning.

Suffice it to say that I've been going through cupcake liners left and right.  AND, the price of them has gone up for even fewer liners!  So, my latest find was plain white liners at Target. They were a better deal, but not as convenient to purchase since Target is not as close-by as my local grocery store.

I know what you're saying.  Just bake the muffins in the pan.  Yeah, well, you don't have to grease the pan (extra calories) if you use liners.

Enter, the silicone mold.  Genius.  And my new best friend.

My sister had some of these molds, and I thought they were such a good idea.  I put them on my wish list for Christmas, and my dear daughter searched high and low.  Apparently, they aren't necessarily easy to find.  My hubby finally found them for her at World Market.  I've looked on their site, and didn't see them.  The labels on my packages (which I ultimately received from my daughter for Christmas) just said World Market... no other branding.

And. I. Love. Them.  If you let the muffins cool, you can peel & pop them right out of the molds.  The molds come in regular and mini-muffin size.  After use, I turn them inside-out, soak them in soapy water, and then scrub with my dish-brush.  Easy peasy.

And now, you still may not know the Muffin Man -- but you DO know his secret!

Happy Weekending!