Spring Cleaning Day 4: The Pantry

Sorry in advance about the horrible spacing on this post. I can't fix it no matter what I do. GRR.

I started working on the panrty at 8:35 this morning. Here is what it looked like this morning. I'm actually really embarassed of these pics - it's pathetically messy. Especially for having just been organized a few months ago.

Who just tosses cereal on top of an already messy pile of food? Apparently I do. Sorry to reveal so much about myself. :)

More formula cans than you can shake a stick at. Still unsure what to do with those...

9:09am - the pantry was totally emptied, swept, and mopped.

9:12am - I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. I had no idea how to even start going through ALL that food. Decided to take a break for my mental health and take a shower and take care of my neglected children.

10:15am - started working again. Found several expired things (Crisco that expired in Sept. 2007 and I used it last month), threw away those and some other things.

3:35pm - The dining room table is empty. The pantry is all put back together. But somehow, in the process, my kitchen ended up looking like a tornado struck. (Has struck? Has stricken? My brain is out of batteries.) And now I'm slightly discouraged. I decided to walk away for a few minutes - after over 5 straight hours of organizing and rearranging, I am completely mentally exhausted.

Case in point: I am totally stressing out about what to do with this stupid impluse buy of a seasoning packet for buffalo wings. Like we ever even eat those. Should I throw it away? Should I save it? If I save it, where should I put it? It doesn't fit in any of my pantry categories...I need to go lie down. Or is it lay down? Oh my.

P.S. Please note that I started this post at 3:45pm. Blogger is throwing a fit and won't cooperate with all my pictures. It is now 45 minutes later, and I'm more annoyed than ever. My kitchen is still a mess. (I have a picture of it, but I'm too frustrated with Blogger to mess with it any longer.) Leighton is crying to get out of his crib. Oh my, squared.

One good reason to clean my house

LDS.org - Liahona Article - Mothers Who Know: "Mothers who know are nurturers. This is their special assignment and role under the plan of happiness.5 To nurture means to cultivate, care for, and make grow. Therefore, mothers who know create a climate for spiritual and temporal growth in their homes. Another word for nurturing is homemaking. Homemaking includes cooking, washing clothes and dishes, and keeping an orderly home. Home is where women have the most power and influence; therefore, Latter-day Saint women should be the best homemakers in the world. Working beside children in homemaking tasks creates opportunities to teach and model qualities children should emulate. Nurturing mothers are knowledgeable, but all the education women attain will avail them nothing if they do not have the skill to make a home that creates a climate for spiritual growth. Growth happens best in a “house of order,” and women should pattern their homes after the Lord’s house (see D&C 109). Nurturing requires organization, patience, love, and work. Helping growth occur through nurturing is truly a powerful and influential role bestowed on women."

Spring Cleaning, Day 3: The Loft

My main task today was getting rid of toys and books. The upstairs is generally pretty clean - the kids don't eat up there, we have a shoes-off-in-the-house rule, so the carpet stays decent. I regularly dust, so that wasn't too big of a deal either.

The toys and books were another story. It's not that I buy my kids TONS of toys. I don't, because I don't believe they need that much stuff. But over the 2 years since we had offspring, we have somehow managed to collect a good amount of junk. Stuffed animals (almost against my religion, except for one or two per child) had piled up without my noticing. Hand-me-downs from friends and family and other random things had filled up our toy bins. And it was high time I get rid of it all. I have really taken to heart the quote in SimpleMoms ebook: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." (William Morris)

I started by gathering every toy in the house and dumping them all into a pile. (And, of course, turning on a nursery rhyme show for Eva.)

My bins (from Target) were already sorted by toy, but they had gotten a little jumbled in the last couple months. So I went through everything, threw out the junk, put the decent-but-unwanted stuff in my "Donate" box, and sorted the rest.

I moved in the bookshelf from Eva's room and sorted most of the books on there. I did put a basket in each of the kids' rooms of books that are special to them. They each have a copy of "Love You Forever," Eva has her Pinkalicious and Purplicious and a few other favorites, and Leighton has some educational board books. I brought in a clock and picture frame from Leighton's room, and I love the way they look in there. I really like the full wall of kids' stuff. Across the room next to the couch, I'm going to get some extra throw pillows to make a little reading nook on the floor. But overall, I'm really happy with the new arrangement. Here's the finished product:

And here's the "Donate" bin with all the stuff I'm getting rid of. It really is cathartic to throw stuff away. Gosh, I think I'm turning into my mother.

As I looked back at this post, I realized I neglected to clean out the TV stand drawer and cabinet. Oops. I guess this isn't a true "after" picture after all. So here I go to finish the job.

Guess what we ate for lunch today?

Refried beans. Leighton's first time. Apparently, he likes them as much as his mama does. Although, I have learned that smearing them all over your face and clothing, and even giving yourself an extra eyebrow, is not socially acceptable. He, on the other hand, obviously has not. Who is this child's mother, anyway?

Dude, why are you crying? I'm the one who has to clean you up.

I won't even tell you how many paper towels that took. Normally I am quite conscious about the way I use (or waste) paper towels. But today, I was more concerned about my amount of laundry than saving the planet. Or saving money. Sometimes, it's just really worth it to be non-green.

I also won't tell you the havoc this spring cleaning is wreaking on my showering and personal attractiveness schedule. Although my house is clean, my hair is not. But hey - there's only 7 days left. All is well.

Spring Cleaning, Day 2: The Living Room (Part 2)

All the stuff I found when I moved the couch...

I vacuumed the ceiling, dusted every surface in sight, cleaned inside the coffee and end tables, cleaned the ceiling fan, and even vacuumed the piano keys.
Unfortunately, the sliding glass door only stayed sparkling clean for a few minutes. Then Eva put her little paws on there while watching the fence men in the backyard and left another handprint. It never ends...










I never got around to taking an "after" picture, as I was unavoidably detained by some obnoxious, weaseling (did I spell that right?) Kirby vacuum salesmen, a.k.a. Satan's sidekicks. (Learn from my mistake: DO NOT ANSWER THE DOOR.) At least I got my living room carpets shampooed for free...how convenient. Three hours later, they were gone...but by that point, it was dinner, YW visits, and bedtime. Now the lighting is too dark for a decent picture. But tomorrow I'll post one. I LOVE being in my living room - I don't even think it was this clean when we moved in. Every corner, every square inch of that room, is perfectly clean. (Well, except that handprint on the window, of course.) I can't wait until every room in my house looks and feels this amazing. I just might be addicted to this spring cleaning business.

Spring Cleaning, Day 2: The Living Room (Part 1)

All stripped down bare (except for that one bookcase - we just rearranged those books there 2 weeks ago) and ready to be DEEP cleaned.

I spent over an hour going through our massive music collection and trying to pare it down a little. I am pretty sentimentally attached to all my classical books from my piano years, but I managed to get rid of a few. And, of course, organize it all alphabetically.
The dining room was where I piled all the stuff from the living room. It looked pretty awesome in there. Those are curtains hanging over the chairs. I didn't wash those ones because they are pretty new, but I did wash the blue ones - delicate cycle in the washer using vinegar instead of soap, and hung them on the banister to dry. Worked like a charm. But now I like my living room so much without curtains, I just might not put them back up.

Spring Cleaning Day 1: Clean Sweep (Part 2)

My bathroom sink, before and after.


The loft, before and after. It's right outside the laundry room, and I generally fold laundry while watching TV in there, so there is usually a basket of folded clothes in there. Also, toys are always tossed on top of the toy shelf. I left some up there (a basket of books and the lego box) but organized them a little better.





Feels good to have that done. Now I'm ready to tackle deep cleaning the living room tomorrow! I did end up purchasing the eBook, Spring Cleaning for Normal People. Originally I thought it would be a waste of money and I could just get the info from her blog, but it was $7 WELL SPENT. I am so glad I bought it, and I recommend it if you are participating in this Spring Cleaning Party. One day down, 9 to go!

Spring Cleaning Day 1: Clean Sweep (Part 1)

Forgot to take before shots of the scrapbook room, but I probably spent the longest on that room. The desk is HUGE, so it's generally where we stack things we don't want to deal with. I threw away LOTS in that room.

Living room, before and after. The coffee table is another "hot spot" where we stack things. Obviously. I didn't do any dusting or deep cleaning like I normally do on Mondays; I just cleared the surfaces. Got a little sidetracked and decluttered and organized the inside of the table...oops.

Are you spring cleaning?

It's spring cleaning week. I am joining in the community of cleaners at Simple Mom, where she is directing a week of beautifying your home. I will be tracking my progress here on my blog. Today is day 1, "clean sweep." I've spent the last couple hours cleaning off surfaces and, in the process, throwing lots of unwanted things out. It feels great. So get cleaning!

Attack of the killer duck

Kim is married! The wedding was great. Despite a few intensely stressful moments, we pulled it off with no serious hiccups. Kim was happier than I've ever seen her.

After it was all over yesterday afternoon, we had one incident that made me so angry, my blood boiled. Eva was out playing with the ducks with Andrew and her little cousin Tyler. They were feeding them grass (is anyone else surprised that ducks are grass-eaters? I never knew...), and the duck went INSANE. He reached out his puny little neck through the fence and grabbed onto Eva's lip. He was latched on, pinching hard, and Andrew finally thumped him hard on the head and he let go.

Andrew brought Eva in the house, screaming and bleeding from her little mouth. Unfortunately, this only fueled my non-love of animals. I went into a rage and had every intention of going to kick the duck to death or snap its neck. (I did neither, so PETA, relax. Although I'm thinking of starting PETCD - People for the Ethical Treatment of Children by Ducks.)

She stopped bleeding, my anger subsided, and all was well. Although a few hours later, Eva was still talking about the "mean duck" who gave her an owie and we should kick it. (She kicked Grandpa as a demonstration of what she wanted to do to the duck. Where did she get that idea?)

This morning, she was talking about how the duck gave her kisses and she wanted to go feed it grass again. So forgiving - maybe I should learn from her. Because next time a duck attacks my daughter, it is ON.

Back in Zion again

We made it to Utah.

Despite my intense wrath at the terrorists who caused the ridiculous security measures - two kids, two strollers, and two carry-ons was no easy task - and Leighton's less-than-stellar behavior for the duration of the flight (except, of course, the last 5 minutes), we survived the plane trip.

Let the wedding festivities begin!

Two little monkeys, jumping in the crib