Quite the disorganized mess!
I took everything out, threw out a lot of stale / expired things, and tried to group like items. We do still have too many bags of chips!
I was able to clean out the bottom space and can now store bottled drinks that would otherwise have sat on the kitchen table until we were ready to refrigerate them.
Now I have a clean pantry, and a clean table!
Despite the mess it makes (I’m sure this organization will not last!), I am thankful that our pantry is well stocked!
When we last checked in on the junk drawer, it looked like this:
Not bad, and much better than the original, but there was still work to be done. I picked up some modular bins and was able to further compartmentalize the junk drawer.
After that was done, I still had a few containers left. I brought them into the half bathroom that I use as my powder room.
I have a mess of makeup in both drawers. The “after” photos to the right aren’t drastically different, but I’ve got a bit more order. All of my daily-use items are together in the left drawer, and all lipsticks/glosses are in the right. Note to self: stop buying lip gloss!
The drawer on the right:
The drawer on the left:
Not a major change today, but every little bit helps!
While I’m definitely not done cleaning yet, my house is currently the cleanest it’s been in a long time. Possibly, the cleanest it’s ever been; a lot of the clutter I’ve been dealing with has been around since we moved in.
And for my newfound cleanliness and organization, I am very thankful!
I focused on a particularly messy corner of the office today:
After a lot of sorting, trashing and recycling, we have this:
I even vacuumed. The whole room, not just the corner!
And then I had to coax Jeter out from under the guest bed. He’s very scared of that noisy thing!
Though, I do have to confess, I have a box of papers that still needs sorting. I had enough for one sitting!
Also, this afternoon I put down peel-and-stick tiles in the hall closet. I had enough leftover from a bathroom project a few years ago. I didn’t prime the plywood so I don’t know how well they’ll stick, but it’s not exactly a high traffic area!
Today, we reheated leftover Thanksgiving food for lunch and dinner, and will do the same tomorrow.
I am thankful for leftovers. Yum!
It was looking so perfect, too!
I was cooking two things side by side, and couldn’t get a grip on it. While contorting myself, I hit my wrist on the top of the oven, and the potholder mushed the pie. Oops!
It’ll still be tasty!
There were no issues getting the apple pie out of the oven. This is my first attempt at a from-scratch apple pie (minus the crust — I’ve tried making my own crust and it just works better with the refrigerated kind!). The top is a chopped nut / brown sugar crumb mix.
We haven’t had dessert yet. Still letting dinner settle. Lots of stuffing, mashed potatoes and of course, the Tofurky!
(Yes, I made two pies, and also pumpkin bars. That’s three desserts for two people. My husband isn’t much of a sweet tooth, but he’ll have a little of everything tonight, and then I’ll eat pie for days …)
The Tofurky was delicious as always, and even came out looking like it does on the box!
Today I am thankful for lots of yummy food of course, and that it was a beautiful Thanksgiving day.
I ran a “Turkey Chase” 10K race this morning, and it was 70 degrees and sunny. In years past, it’s been cold and/or rainy for the race. Last year, I came home muddy and had to hose off my shoes!
Sure, it did get a bit rainy this afternoon, and the temperatures are supposed to drop. It will only be in the low 40s tomorrow. But today was just fabulous!
Too bad I was in front of the stove for most of it!
I stuck with the office tonight, building on last night’s progress.
It doesn’t look drastically different. Well, I bought another bookshelf to replace the plastic bins. But everything is a lot more organized now, rather than just shoved on an over-stuffed bookshelf!
Last night:
Tonight:
The box on top of the new shelf holds my diplomas, awards, certificates, etc. from college and high school. I’ll find a better place and a better box for those!
I’ve still got a small box of things to go through (conveniently out of view!), but it’s gotten much better. Oh, there are still a few days of work left in this room!
Today’s dedication of thanks goes to Ninja Poodles for the post that challenged “me” to show my messes to the world, and Cecily who suggested I combine cleaning with NaBloPoMo after seeing those messes!
Even though I’ve fallen far behind on my TV-viewing (Help! My DVR is almost full!), and I haven’t started reading my book for book club next week, I’m thrilled that I’ve been able to tackle so many disasters!