Tackle It Tuesday–Organizing the Kitchen

 

On Tuesdays I am going to begin posting about a weekly organizing project.

This week it was a major rearrange of a shelf to provide more storage in my cozy kitchen.

The first step was to get the shelf out of the office.  After I determined that I didn’t actually need the shelf and could simply declutter it I started unloading.  Then DH helped me carry it into the kitchen.

(the metal shelf in the left corner – great one to pick huh? see Where is Your Office for the lowdown on my crazy office space)

Now it does block a window but the view isn’t great.  We live in a rental property that has too many trees.  In fact so many trees grass cannot grow.  Trust me.  I tried.  I counted the trees. 32 in the backyard alone, 52 total on the property.  That is a lot to this Texas girl from the land where you can see for 100 miles.  I supplement Vitamin D now.

Anyway, because of the trees we don’t get a lot of light on a sunny day.  Moving the shelf there wasn’t going to change much and would solve a ton of problems.

I have recently started baking 3 to 4 times a week, some times more (see Cheesecake Saturday).  My baking supplies were not easily accessible for that amount of baking.  I have this huge mixer that I LOVE and it was too big for the counter where it was.  My pans were down low where every dust ball & bunny, dying insect, dog hair, and leaves would accumulate.  Not what you want in your baking pans.  I washed them before and after I used them.  Who has that kind of time?

(Please ignore the awful paint job and butcher block laminate counter top. It is a rent house. There is nothing I can do.)

So now they are up, out of danger.  I moved the microwave because my kids are finally old enough not to use it to microwave their action figures. 

That also opened up space to move my beloved mixer within arms reach.  This opened up the other side of the counter which meant I could get the cabinet cleared above by moving some canisters out of there.  So now I have organized, viewable, baking supplies with more counter and cabinet space. 

I then moved the bins from the pantry/shelf to the rolling cart shelf where the baking pans used to be.  I also pulled out a punch bowl that didn’t fit in a cabinet above the refrigerator and put it on the large shelf. 

It was my husband’s grandmother’s punch bowl she had forever.  I love to keep those things out and hopefully use.  They make me feel connected and fuzzy inside.  Besides if you aren’t going to use it why do you have it? (not always true with antique items but most things)

You might wonder why many of my pantry items are in plastic containers with lids?  Well that story is for another post.  It involves a large rodent with opposable thumbs or at least it seemed like he had some.

Happy Organizing!

God Is In The Details

 

Recently my grandmother passed away, somewhat unexpectedly, and we needed to head home.  We were unprepared and couldn’t afford the trip.

My family insisted we come home and offered to pay for the tickets and provide us with a car to drive.  Even with such a generous gift there are still many small things that need to be purchased on a trip with 3 small boys and 3 dogs to leave behind.

We had to get there quickly because DH had to come home right after the funeral.  We planned as best we could, still missing a few key things like how to unlock the front door for the dog sitter and accurate feeding instructions.   We lost one night of sleep, finally got confirmed tickets at 4:30 am, and boarded our plane at 6 am.  Everything was working very well for such short notice.  We were even able to find tickets from the airport here to our destination with only one layover and no body scanners.  A miracle!  And at half the price!  Another miracle.

On the flight we bought some snacks for the kids because I did not pack any food and we were all without breakfast.  Not a good combo for a 3 hour flight.

Our layover was at DFW in Dallas where there was a USO.  This meant free food and a safe place with cartoons to sit with the boys.  Perfect.  As we were checking in  with the USO the flight attendant from our flight walked up to us to give us our money back.  She said that military gets free snacks on flights and thanked my husband for his service.

On our second flight we were on a prop jet which the boys loved.  The little ones fell asleep almost immediately and our oldest was content to watch iTunes on the laptop.

I don’t remember much about the second flight.  I had been awake now for 28 hours.   We got off the plane with our usual chaos, the boys eager to see Nana and their cousins. 

As they all ran ahead a gentleman who was on the plane with us walked up beside me. He handed me a folded piece of money and simply said “God told me to give this to you.”  I took it because I honestly didn’t know what else to do and asked him to repeat what he said.  He repeated himself and said “You know?”  I said I did know and thanked him.

He walked on and I didn’t see him again.  As I finally caught up with my family at baggage claim I told my husband what just happened.  I pulled out the bill and unfolded it to finally see he had given me a $100.  We were surprised and very thankful.

After we returned home I realized I had taken a picture of our mysterious friend.  I was playing with my camera settings during that flight and taking pictures of anything interesting near me.

So thank you friend whoever you may be.  We don’t often see the results of how God uses us but many times we are the recipients of that faithful obedience.

Thank you Lord for caring for the birds of the field and our trip home.  Nothing is too small or impossible for You.  I am grateful for the reminder.