Cheryl's Clutter Challenge

Menu Plan Monday

2009-12-07T09:44:00.004-05:00

Monday - Spaghetti with meat balls and garlic bread (not sure what sauce I'll use yet)

Tuesday - 50's Style Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and corns

Wednesday - Chicken wings with white rice and green peas

Thursday - Salmon cakes with baked fries and tartar sauce (old recipe from Parent Magazine)

Friday - Pizza Friday (as usual)

Saturday - Burritos (as usual)

Sunday - Honey Soy Porkchops, Chinese Ramen Noodles and Broccoli

Notes: We have a potluck at the karate dojo on Saturday. I'll be making black bean and couscous salad that everyone loves - I always get a recipe request. I think I'll also make popcorn balls for the kids. I add a box of cherry jello for colour and flavouring. I find it tastes just like the expensive flavoured popcorn you buy at Kernels.

Recap of Last Week's Menu: I made the baked chicken with acorn squash for the potluck at my church. There was lots of main dishes there and I was pretty much the only one who brought home a single piece of chicken (and that was it!!!). I made a huge batch and it went right away. Everyone loved the squash - it was a big hit!! I also bought some President's Choice Kobe Beef Frozen meatballs not expecting too much but the girls loved them. I have some leftovers that we'll eat this week.

Menu Plan Monday

2009-11-30T10:38:00.005-05:00

Monday - Burritos (too busy on Saturday to make them)

Tuesday - Oven baked chicken with white rice and brussel sprouts

Wednesday - Baked ham, mashed potatoes and baked beans

Thursday - Meatballs, white rice and corn

Friday - Pizza Fridays

Saturday - Potluck at the church (I think I'll make baked chicken with acorn squash), a vegetable and some brownies for dessert

Sunday - Burritos (the girls love having this weekly and we'll miss it on Saturday because of the potluck

I have to say that we've had some favourites this past month. Most noteworthy were the baked chicken and acorn squash (I'd say it was the best tasting squash I'd ever made). The girls really loved the honey-soy porkchops done on the BBQ.

Making Strawberry Jam

2009-11-28T15:23:00.004-05:00

I thought I'd document the process so I can follow it the next time I make jam.

Put on a large pot of water to boil.
Place a clean tea towel on the counter
Wash jars/lids in hot soapy water
Keep a sink of hot soapy water ready to add pots/bowls, utensils for easier washing later
Place jars in pot of boiling water to sterilize for 10 minutes - also add ladle and tongs
Wash and cut strawberries - place in large pyrex glass bowl for measuring
Use wand mixer to blend strawberries. Keep adding berries until it measures 4 cups of pureed berries.
Transfer berries to pot on med-high heat.
Add 1/4 cup of lemon juice
Add 2 cups of sugar
Stir in sugar until dissolved then add liquid pectin
Boil on med-high heat for 8-10 minutes until it turns darker (maroon) in colour. Keep stirring to avoid the jam burning. Liquid pectin reduces cooking time!! Stir and watch the pot constantly as the jam can burn in an instant.
When done, take off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes - skim off foam from top
Take hot jars out of the water at the last minute (they must be hot for the lids to set) and set on tea towel
Pour jam into jars and screw on lids.
Don't screw lids too tight or air can't escape
Jars should seal as the jars cool.

Makes 9 - small jars of jam. The whole process from start to finish takes about 45 minutes.

Menu Plan Monday

2009-11-09T09:21:00.002-05:00

Here's a quick post this week:

Monday - Oven baked chicken with rice and vegetables

Tuesday - Honey-Soy Porkchops with chinese noodles and green beans

Wednesday - BBQ chicken wings with classic macaroni salad and carrots

Thursday - Ham with mashed potatoes and baked beans

Friday - Pizza Fridays

Saturday - Dinner at a Friend's House

Sunday - Not sure (it's up to hubby)

Quick note: our girls are known to be picky but they both love the chicken! The classic macaroni salad lives up to its name and reminds me of the salad the ladies bring to our church potlucks. Good old-fashioned salad - true to its name.

Dominican Rice and Beans

2009-11-02T17:14:00.005-05:00

This was my mom's specialty dish. Although she made many kinds of "rice and peas" dishes. The one with kidney beans was my favourite. I also loved her rice with "black eyed peas" as well. I make this on special occasions such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. It also makes a good Sunday dinner accompaniment. It's great with roast beef, roast pork or roast chicken. My daughters love it with roast gravy on top. Here's the recipe:

Dominican Rice and (Kidney) Beans
(makes about 6 cups of rice)
Printable recipe

Ingredients:
1 - 19oz can kidney beans (I prefer Unico brand)
2 cups white long grain parboiled rice (choice of rice is critical - it isn't the same unless it's parboiled rice)
Reserved liquid from kidney beans + water to make 4 cups
1 small can of tomato paste (freeze what you don't use for another time)
1 tsp salt (there's salt in the boullion cube)
1 tsp vegetable oil - helps to keep the rice from sticking
1 chicken boullion cube

Directions:
1. In a medium sized pot, add the liquid, salt, boullion cube and oil and bring to a boil.
2. Meanwhile, rinse the rice in cold water until the water runs clear. Don't rinse too much. My mom used to say that if you rinse too much, you'll take the "strength" out of the rice. Never knew what that meant but I always heeded her warning.
3. Add the rice to the pot and stir. Add 1 - 2 tbsp of tomato paste (for colour)
4. Turn down the heat to low, cover the pot and let the rice simmer for about 45 minutes.
5. Check the rice and when the water has been absorbed, remove from heat. Stir.
6. Keep rice covered and let it sit for about 10 minutes off the heat. This step is important as it gives the rice just the right consistency (hard to describe). Taste the rice and add more salt if needed before serving.

When done, the rice should not be soggy or soppy. Tastes great reheated.

Chicken Soup (A Canadian version of my mom's recipe)

2009-11-02T16:10:00.006-05:00

My mom is from "The Islands", namely the Dominican Republic. She came to Canada in the 1950s and has been here ever since. When I was a little girl, she used to make this soup and everyone loved it. We lived in an inner city neighbourhood and my mom was the best cook around. The neighbours would come over for a bowl and she'd make some for the few Dominican ex-pats that there were in Canada in the 1970s. My mom's in a long term care facility now and no longer cooks. I make this soup from memory and always bring her some when I can. I'm documenting it so my daughters' will have this recipe and to share this soup with others. It's great comfort food and helps me when I'm on chemo.

Keep in mind this is not an exact science. My mom was always short on money and this was a great way to feed lots of people with whatever you had on hand.

My mom always put in Yucca/Cassava and green banana. Mine is the Canadian version and will leave it out.

Chicken Soup with Dumplings
(makes a big pot)
Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
Chicken pieces (4-8 pieces will do)
3-4 large carrots, thickly sliced
5-6 medium sized potatoes (yellow or russet is fine) cut in chunks
1 large onion (whatever you have on hand - I used a yellow onion) cut into chunks
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 stalks of celery, sliced.
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 to 1 tsp poultry seasoning (to taste)
2 tbsp powdered chicken broth (use cubes or liquid broth - the idea is to enhance the chicken flavour)
1/2 green pepper, diced (seems odd but I love the subtle taste it adds to the soup once it's cooked)

Optional vegetables:
Yucca/Cassava
Green banana
Butternut squash
Green peas

Directions:
1. Fill a large pot with cold water (I add about 8 cups of water) and bring to a boil
2. Meanwhile, remove skin from chicken pieces (in true West Indian style, my mom would leave the skin on)
3. Wash and season the chicken with salt and pepper. You could do this first and leave the chicken in the fridge until it's time for the pot.
4. Prepare the celery, green pepper, garlic and onion.
5. Once the water comes to a boil, drop in the first piece of chicken. Wait until the water comes back to a boil before adding the next piece of chicken, etc. I find this keeps the water clear and you don't need to skim anything off the top.
6. Add the celery, green pepper, garlic and onion to the boiling water.
7. Add the chicken broth, poultry seasoning
8. Bring the heat to low and cover the pot. Let the chicken simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour. It's done when the chicken meat falls off the bone.
9. At this point I strain the soup and remove the bones and leave just the chicken meat (Canadian version) in the pot. My mom wouldn't have bothered with this. I guess part of the enjoyment of the meal is to pick the chicken off the bones when you're eating the soup.
10. Before you continue, taste the soup and adjust the amount of salt, pepper, garlic, etc. until it tastes "seasoned enough".
11. Add the carrots and the potatoes. At this point you can add optional vegetables. My mom often added green peas (for colour and to use up what was in the fridge), cassava and green banana.
12. Cover the soup and cook until the vegetables are done.
13. Taste the soup again before serving. You may need to add more salt, poultry seasoning or chicken powder.
14. About 20 minutes before eating the soup, prepare and add the dumplings. Use your favourite recipe if you wish. I just love the way the dumplings thicken the soup.
15. Pour into a large bowl and enjoy!

I've added the recipe for dumplings that I use. This isn't my mom's recipe but it comes pretty close.

Dumplings
Ingredients:
1 cup All purpose flour
2 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Butter or margerine
1/2 cup Milk

Directions:
Stir flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together in medium sized bowl. cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in milk to make soft dough. Drop by spoonfuls into boiling soup. Cover and simmer 15 minutes without lifting lid. Serve. Makes about 6 dumplings.
Directions:

Menu Plan Monday

2009-11-02T10:50:00.005-05:00

Okay, here it is. My stomach's kinda picky this week from the chemo so there's more chicken (i.e. comfort food) on the menu than usual. I've added some "quickie" foods as the comfort foods I like aren't often loved by my kids. I've been dropping weight like crazy from the chemo so I'm trying to "fatten myself up". Ordinarily this would be a happy dilemma but being on chemotherapy is a terrible way to lose weight.

Monday - Chicken soup with dumplings (KD for one of my girls who doesn't like this West Indian version of the "old favourite".

Tuesday - Oven Baked whole chicken with mashed potatoes and vegetables

Wednesday - 50's style meatloaf (thanks, Tiffany) with white rice and corn (I'm making double to give a "loaf" to a friend). Normally we'd have mashed potatoes but I think rice is easier to transport.

Thursday - Hamburger Helper with green salad - man, my kids love this. Perhaps if I add it to the menu every week, they'll grow tired of it and I'll no longer need to make it! I have to confess that it is EASY and is a blessing to make when you're dragging yourself around most of the time.

Friday - Homemade cheese pizza (dough from bread machine) - Cheese was on sale this week so I bought lots

Saturday - Spaghetti dinner fundraiser at the church (no cooking tonight!!). Everyone's panicked at the church about H1N1 so I wonder if this will be cancelled??

Sunday - BBQ burgers/fries OR breaded sole/fries and a vegetable - TBD (cooking out of the freezer tonight)

I'm feeling pretty optimistic with my menu but I hope I have the energy to make it. This chemo sucks but it keeps me alive.

Menu Plan Monday

2009-10-26T21:46:00.007-05:00

A new week already. Whew! This one's shaping up to be busy. I need to make treats for Cubs tomorrow night as well as my youngest's halloween party on Friday. My hubby also needs treats for his students. I'll be making a very large batch of cookies to last for each of these events.

Money's also tight this week and probably will be for a while. How does anyone budget for less than $100 a week? I also notice that food's a lot more expensive in Canada. I shop at the least expensive of all supermarkets - it doesn't get any cheaper. Even so, as an example, a small bag of flour is $6. I was shocked to see on a recent visit to the Carolinas, Ramen noodles at 9 cents a package! On sale I'm lucky to get them for 33 cents a package. It's also more difficult to find coupons here. People just don't use them as much. I'll have to think of something less expensive to eat this week that my kids will actually like. It won't be easy...

Here goes:

Monday - breaded chicken cutlets/mashed potatoes/broccoli (from the freezer)

Tuesday - Italian Chicken Skillet/garlic bread

Wednesday - Tuna turnovers/salad (a variation of salmon turnovers compliments of The Happy Housewife)

Thursday - BBQ burgers/fries (buns and fries are in the freezer)

Friday - homemade cheese pizza (dough in freezer)

Saturday - burrito Saturdays (halloween)

Sunday - Whole chicken or (Mimi's sticky chicken), rice and veg. - compliments of The Recipe Mission

A recap of the past week:
Crockpot orange chicken - Although I enjoyed it and so did my hubby, the girls weren't too keen on it. I don't think I'll be making it again. I think it was fine but they're ever so picky and it's just not worth the effort if everyone isn't going to eat the same meal.

Menu Plan Monday - 10/12 to 10/18

2009-10-12T09:44:00.006-05:00

Last week I tried 2 new recipes. I thought I'd give my comments here so I can backtrack in future to see how well they were received:

Crockpot Beef Stew - Although my husband and I loved it, my kids wouldn't eat it. The addition of coffee was genious. It gave the stew a rich colour and robust taste. It was enough for dinner and there was some leftover for about 2 lunches. I was hoping to freeze some but there just wasn't enough. I cooked the stew on high for about 4 hours. I found that the meat wasn't as tender as I would have liked but I could break it apart with a fork although it was kinda chewy. Not sure if I should have cooked it longer or shorter.

Salmon Turnovers - I made major mods to this by using mayo instead of cream cheese. Everyone like this and it was faster to make than I had originally thought. I didn't cook the dough long enough so it was still kinda "pasty" in spots. If I make this again, I'd omit the celery and onion because my "picky" daughter complained the whole time. It was one dish that everyone ate. It's also very filling. I think of them as "gut bombs". Next time I'll just accompany them with a green salad.

This week's menu:

Monday - Thanksgiving leftovers
Tuesday - Hamburger helper with green salad
Wednesday - Spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread
Thursday - Sloppy Joes on braided egg bread
Friday - Pizza and leftovers
Saturday - Burritos with guacamole and refried beans
Sunday - 50's style meatloaf (frozen) with mashed potatoes and green beans

Tuesday was so rushed I didn't get home until 5 p.m. I didn't get a chance to shop so had little or nothing in the pantry. On chemo, I no longer "rush" to be the perfect mom, so HH worked just fine. The girls loved it and dinner was done in 20 minutes.

Thursday's meal is a sloppy joe's recipe that the kids love. The braided egg bread loaf is quite large and looks just like the bread you buy in a bakery. The taste is great and I modify the recipe so I can make it in the bread machine.

Menu Plan Monday - 10/5 to 10/11

2009-10-06T12:04:00.005-05:00

I guess this post is more like Menu Plan Tuesday.

Let's see for this week....

Monday - Hamburger Helper/Bisquick Biscuits/Green salad - okay, I vowed I never feed my kids HH but seeing as they never had it when they were younger, they had a taste of it and now enjoy it. Go figure.

Tuesday - BBQ burgers/wings with fries - this is a clean out the freezer type of meal. Using the remaining BBQ stuff I bought over the past few weeks. Hopefully, I don't freeze using the BBQ in the backyard as it's suddenly turned cold.

Wednesday - Crockpot Beef stew - it's a busy day today so I thought I'd put this on around lunchtime. I couldn't find stewing beef at the supermarket (that's a first) and bought veal instead. I may have to find another recipe.

Thursday - Salmon Turnovers. Recipe compliments of The Happy Housewife.

Friday - Pizza Fridays (as usual). Hubby and I will eat leftovers (hmmm...stew)

Saturday - Burrito Saturdays (the kids never tire of this)

Sunday - Canadian Thanksgiving - looks like it'll be Turkey, Rice and Peas, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli, Stuffing and Cranberry Sauce. I always make Pumpkin Pie for dessert. The girls love Cool Whip so there's some in the freezer as we speak

Menu Plan Monday - 9/28 to 10/4

2009-09-28T17:28:00.007-05:00

I find it time consuming to post my menu online. I type it out, add links, add photos, etc., etc. I think that's why I stopped posting online for two years. It takes what little energy I have to write out the menu in the first place. By the time I'm finished posting online, the satisfaction gained from planning a week's worth of menus has subsided.

After 6 years of being on chemo almost continuously with just a few months break here and there, I decided that my kids would get a home cooked meal whenever I can make it. It involves some creative planning but it's been working. I used to receive meals from friends but, fast forward 5.5 years, and that's a lot of meals. So, I cook when I have energy and store meals away when I don't. On the days I know I can't cook, I plan ahead and fill in the menu with some convenience items to avoid the last-minute McDonald's foray whenever possible. If we eat out, it's a planned dinner.

Our meals are far from elegant but my family loves my cooking. My girls have a healthy love of food and that's all I ask.

So, for the past two years, at my daughter's suggestion, I printed a monthly calendar in Word. I just filled in the blanks for each day of the month. Easy, peasy and fast. Anyway, I'll give this online menu planning a go and see how long I can keep this up.

Monday: Crockpot corny chili. Actually made this today before I posted my entry. My youngest daughter loved it although we both found it a bit too thin. I managed to thicken it with some tomato paste. Mind you, the finished product looked just like the photo. I'll be freezing half for another day's meal.

Tuesday: Eating from the freezer (I have a little bit of this and a little bit of that in the freezer. I think I'll cook it all up and call it dinner).

Wednesday: BBQ Burgers and fries (I'm hoping the rain lets up so we can have some end-of-season burgers on the BBQ. My kids and hubby love BBQ'd food

Thursday: Spaghetti with garlic bread. Depending upon my energy level, I may make a homemade sauce during the day. Gotta love that crockpot. In the ideal world, I'd love to make enough so that I can freeze a batch for another time.

Friday: Frozen pizza/leftovers - must have pizza on Fridays and I have 4 of them bought on sale sitting in the freezer right now

Saturday: Burritos (of course)

Sunday: This will depend upon whatever meat I can buy on sale tomorrow at the supermarket. I try to cook a nice Sunday meal each week. I'll update this link once I know what meat I purchase.

Well. Menu done. Not bad considering I'm on Day 13 of 14 of my chemo pills. This upcoming week is my off week for one set of chemo pills that I take so I hope I have more energy than I do now.

Menu Plan Monday - 9/21 to 9/27

2009-09-21T12:31:00.008-05:00

Wow, I can't believe it's been 2 years since I updated this blog. I'm happy to report that I've still been menu planning all this time and it's helped me through some difficult times. In particular, I'm now on my 5th or 6th chemo (lost track) and I'm able to plan my menus on a day when I feel better knowing that my kids will eat foods they know and love even when I'm ill. I also plan easy meals around the days when I know I won't be much good in the kitchen. This helps me keep some normalcy under uncertain circumstances.

I should mention that I'm the one in the family who is extremely lactose-intolerant. My kids aren't and my hubby is only slightly. Most of my meals are dairy free except for the pizza and burritos (see my mods below).

Here's this weeks' menu:

Monday: Fish and Chips/salad (this is just freezer bought breaded fish with tater tots)

Tuesday: Spaghetti and Meatballs with garlic bread

Wednesday: Crockpot Cantonese Sweet and Sour Chicken with Rice (a new recipe from Cook at Home)

Thursday: 50's Prime Time Meatloaf (my kids love meatloaf, I'll be trying this also from Cook at Home's website), mashed potatoes and a veg from the farmer's market visit on Tues.

Friday: Frozen pizza/leftovers - the kids mutiny if we don't have pizza on Fridays. The kids eat their pizza with cheese but I don't. My hubby and I are the ones who eat the leftovers from the past week.

Saturday: Burritos with brown rice and beans - again, the kids mutiny if we don't eat burritos on Saturday. The kids eat theirs with cheese, I omit the cheese and stock my burritos with refried beans instead.

Sunday: Baseball banquet - eating out (I usually cook a traditional Sunday meal but not this week).

30 Day Challenge - Final Post

2007-05-02T17:48:00.000-05:00

Well, this post is a long one because I've entered the 30 Day Challenge and this is my, hopefully, winning entry. Before reading on, keep in mind that my goal was to reclaim my basement space. Although it may not look aesthetically pleasing, painting walls and putting in a new floor was not my initial intent. I wanted to have a useful space and simplify an area of my home that just wasn't working for us.

Here's my story:

What was the hardest part of the challenge for you and were you able to overcome it? The hardest part of the PROCESS was removing items. I’ve had my plan of attack ready for quite some time but every time I had planned a “clear out” day to remove stuff from my basement, I’d get sidelined with health issues. I have cancer in my spine and I find if I lift too many items or bend over too often to pick something up off the floor, I was “laid up” for a day or two afterwards. The 30 day challenge helped me overcome this obstacle. By changing my mindset (I thought everything had to be done in one day - that was the pre-cancer "me") and spreading the work out over 30 days I was able to accomplish my goal.

Tell us what kind of changes/habits you have put into place in order for your area/room to maintain its new order? I had to discuss the changes/habits with my husband. Although I did most of the basement cleaning and clearing, he’s the one who does the laundry and is often “looking” for stuff. He helped me move some of the larger items and carted quite a few stuff off to various charities.

We worked together come up with the following changes:

Garbage can – seems simple but we didn’t have one in that area of the basement. Old laundry boxes had piled up. We weren't picking anything up 'cause there was no place to put it.

Laundry baskets – my husband does the laundry and he’d grab clothes out of the hampers in bedrooms and carry the clothes in a heap down to the basement. He’d sort them on top of any surface he could find. As a result, we were losing socks (they didn’t make the trip from the 2nd floor to the basement) and other articles of clothing along the way. I’ve asked him to carry the clothes down using laundry baskets and sort the clothes into colours and whites into the new baskets I’ve supplied beside the washer/dryer. I just put a load in myself tonight and I'm finding it's a breeze.

Basket on top of dryer for cleaning supplies – this should keep our supplies tidy and organized. It’ll also help us dust the dryer more often and easily since all the stuff is “together”. We’ll also be able to see what supplies we have on hand and what needs replacing.

Labeling for plastic containers – I’ve purged ALL of our existing containers and only kept the stuff we need. I wrote down the contents onto an index card which I keep in my index card box (yes, I’m a SHE (sidetracked home executive) and have been for 6 months). Now my husband won’t be overturning everything just to find that one thing he needs for his gig (he’s a musician).

Broom holder – I installed one beside the dryer so I have somewhere to place my mop and cleaning supplies

Glad Big Bags – I purchased these to place my yarn in. I have tons of yarn and I like the fact that the bags are “see through”. Before I started using the bags, I wasn’t easily able to see what I had when my yarn was in containers. This was causing me to “rummage” through bins leaving a wake of mess behind.

What did you do with the "stuff" you were able to purge out of your newly organized space?

Let’s see, here’s where the stuff went:

Church sale – they made over $3000 (I left them with so much stuff that I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s where they made the bulk of their money – jokingly said, of course.) One of the ladies at the sale commented on what a great fit her new jeans were – I then realized they were the jeans I brought to the sale because they didn’t fit me. :-)
The “bring and buy” sale at my daughters’ school – they were raising money for their Grade 5 graduation
The Diabetes Association – they came to my home at least once or twice for a pickup
Recycling blue bin – this is where the paper ended up
Grade 3-5 knitting club at school - I brought in bags of yarn for the kids to use

What was the biggest lesson you learned from this experience?
Gee, there were so many…Be choosy about what I bring into my home – don’t accept everything everyone offers you. When I was bedridden, everyone and his uncle kept giving us stuff to “help out” - mostly clothes. Much of the stuff we just didn’t need but I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings by refusing it. Now, I’m finding we had to weed through a lot of stuff we really didn’t need. Bottom line is that if we keep the area “clutter free”, there’s less to clean up and keepup.

Now that you have completed the PROCESS, do you think having and keeping your space organized will make a difference in your life?
Absolutely! We’ve already noticed (not in order of importance):
Our house is safer since there isn’t that build up of clutter around the furnace
We’re not injuring ourselves every time we walk down to the basement. We were always stepping on something
I can bring people down to the basement without feeling embarrassed (we have a perfectly functioning bathroom that I was reluctant to have "company" use).
We can find what we need so there’s no more “rooting around” looking for stuff
I feel better – I was carrying a lot of stress and guilt over not having my house clean because of my illness. I'm not a "clean freak" but when your clutter becomes hazardous, it certainly does weigh on your mind. Knowing that we have a working system makes things better so, if I’m laid up again, I know that the system will run without my input.
We haven’t been losing clothes in the trip from the bedrooms to the basement. No more “sock orphans”. My girls have matching socks when they go to school. I'm saving money on clothes because I don't have to buy "replacements".

Now, the before and after photos:

BEFORE

AFTER (remember, aesthetics was not my goal this time around - it's clear and functional)

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Thank you, Laura, for initiating this. My friends think I'm nuts entering into an online "challenge". I started reading your blog about 2 months ago and it's really helping me. It's nice to know that there are others out there who have organizing advice they can share.

THANK YOU!!!

2007-04-24T15:46:00.000-05:00

Tuesday - Oven baked chicken - I'm sure this isn't the healthiest meal in town but every now and then I get an urge for baked chicken that tastes like fried chicken. I really like this recipe as the chicken turns out nice and crispy. I've been making this off and on for about 6 years now. I notice on the Betty Crocker site that this recipe is highly-rated. I'm not surprised!

Wednesday - Chicken nuggets/fries - A chaotic night that calls for a quick and easy dinner

Thursday - Meatloaf (I didn't get to this last week, we used the ground beef to BBQ burgers instead since the weather was perfect for BBQing)

Friday - Leftovers/pizza night

Saturday - Something vegetarian but I haven't decided yet. Maybe a veggie lasagne with lactose-free cheese

Sunday - Roast beef

Monday - Meatballs

Check out I'm an organizing junkie, for more great menu plan ideas

Scrub a dub dub

2007-04-22T13:38:00.000-05:00

I've acquired a new tool to scrub my kitchen floor - a vintage Sears/Kenmore shampooer/polisher. Problem is, I don't know how to use it.

There appears to be a tank that holds water and there are 2 large round scrub brushes on the bottom. My guess is that you put some kind of solution in the tank, depress a "pull up" knob near the top of the handle to release the liquid. There are 2 speeds on this thing and a "scrub" setting. If anyone's used this before, can you explain:

1) How much liquid should I put in the tank?
2) What would be the best shampooing solution I should use? I hate to buy something commercial when a mixture of lysol would do.
3) Can I just put "water only" in the tank, sprinkle some Ajax on the floor and scrub that way?

I'm ashamed to admit that my floor hasn't seen a good scrubbing in about 3 years. With the spine problems I have, I can't get on my hands and knees to scrub my linoleum well. I couldn't very well ask someone else to do it for me. I thought using one of these scrubbers would be the best solution.

I'm planning to tackle this thing tomorrow when the kids are at school. Any advice would be appreciated.

Grout be gone

2007-04-18T17:42:00.000-05:00

I've managed to tackle another one of those chores that has been weighing on my mind for almost 4 years. Yes, the dreaded tub caulking.

Everytime I went into the bathroom, all I could see was the brown stuff (mildew?) that I could never remove from the caulking no matter how hard I tried. I envisioned all my guests looking at that stuff and going "yuck".

Problem was, for a long time I could barely bend over to clean the tub let alone replace caulking. Well, I finally tried it. I found a tool to scrape off the old stuff and it worked wonders. Within 15 minutes I had the old stuff removed. I used plastic tape stuff instead of more caulking. I remembered the last time I did this the caulking fumes just about knocked me out.

I'm still having problems removing some of the old stuff from a few of the tiles. I have these 1" tiles that cover the entire bathtub enclosure. They're a bugger to clean and you pretty much need to be on hands and knees with a toothbrush to do it.

It's not perfect but it's definitely better. Chalk this up to another task "done"!

Before

After

2007-04-17T16:36:00.000-05:00

Thinking about this week's menu was more work than usual. For some reason, I had difficulty choosing meals. After much deliberation, here's this week's "chow".

Monday - Cook's choice - we ate leftovers (crock pot pork chops from Sunday) since there was so much to eat.

Tuesday - Vegetarian Spinach Curry (I didn't make this last week as it was on the menu - can't remember why now...?)

Wednesday - Frozen chicken nuggets/fries (I need a quick meal tonight that the children will eat - lots going on)

Thursday - Fast food (we rarely eat take-out but I couldn't think of a meal and I've already gone shopping. We'll be at the dentist until 5 p.m.)

Friday - Paperplate/leftovers/pizza night

Saturday - Spaghetti and meat balls (the meatballs are frozen but I'm thinking of making a nice "crock pot" sauce and I am looking for recipes)

Sunday - Meatloaf (yes, my family has requested this yet again).

For more great menu plan ideas, please visit I'm an organizing junkie.

The struggle continues...

2007-04-14T15:51:00.000-05:00

that's the phrase my husband always uses...

I bought these Glad XXL bags at Walmart yesterday. These things are enormous. When my husband saw me with the Glad box he said: "you're not going to put me in one of those, are you?". He also commented on the happy look the woman on the box has as she's carrying one of those bags. He said I had the same look as I carried the box in from the car.

Anyway, I've decided to remove the 3 bins of yarn I have and put them in these bags. I was hoping to fit all my yarn into one bag but, alas, no such luck. I did manage to clear out 2 bins of yarn (one being a very large bin) into one XXL bag. I figure it's cheaper to buy these plastic bags than it is to buy 3 more plastic bins. Mind you, where can I put it now. It doesn't really fit on the shelves like the bins did.

Here are the bins I've liberated, hoping to be filled with more stuff:

Here's my yarn. One thing I notice is that a photo does not do the bags justice for size. This thing's so heavy it's really awkward to carry.

As I type this, I think I should really aim for fitting all my yarn into 1 bag rather than two bags. It'll require some giveaways and eBay selling of yarn but I think I can do it.

Did I mention the huge shopping bag of yarn I have slotted to give away already. I think I have a problem. A serious problem with yarn....H E L P M E!!

Chippin' away at the clutter once piece at a time

2007-04-12T11:56:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd show some of the progress I'm making on my basement:

The "before" photo

The "in progress" photo

Wow, did this take me a while to do. Mostly throwing out garbage. I'm not done with this area yet. My goal is to buy some more of those blue 40L containers and put all the "loose" stuff into them. I originally bought the blue containers you see in the photo about 5 years ago and I can't find them anymore. I found something similar but they're about $8 each (before taxes) and I'm willing to pay no more than $5 (before tax). So, the hunt continues. All told, I don't want to spend more than $50 on containers.

Ready for some more photos?

The 'before' photo

The "in progress" photo

We can now walk over to the washer and dryer to do laundry. Again, there's still more to do here. I need to purge a little more. My basement is so drab and dreary I'm not sure if there's anything I can do to make it more aesthetically pleasing. The walls are concrete which makes it virtually impossible to drill into. There are also many pipes above the washer/dryer so I can't really work around them. Do you see that storage box behind the washer? I bought that about 10 years ago to install above the washer and dryer to hold items. Unfortunately, it has a 48" depth and my basement ceiling is so low that it won't fit. I don't know whether I should get rid of it or keep it to use elsewhere.

More photos to come in a later post....

Some good eatin' at our house!!

2007-04-11T17:25:00.000-05:00

I made two recipes that were so good I had to blog about it.

Chicken (or should I say turkey) pot pie
First the recipe for chicken pot pie. It's the Chicken Pot Pie IX recipe on allrecipes.com. I used what I had on hand in the way of vegetables and omitted the celery (since I had none).

I made my pastry from a boxed mix. The brand I use is Robin Hood Flaky Pie Crust mix. This revalation came from a grandmother at my daughters' school who bakes constantly for everyone. Her food is "to die for" and I asked her what her pie crust secret was. She confided that she uses the stuff "in the yellow box".

I always made mine from scratch. Well, I was skeptical but I gave it a try. I'm telling you, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference taste wise. All you do is add some water to this mix and, voila, you have a pie crust.

Anyway, I digress....

When I finished the pot pie, I knew we were in for a treat because this baby looked like a work of art. My husband was mightily impressed. It was almost the chicken pot pie that wasn't because, unknown to me, my hubby ate most of the turkey for lunch. There was just about 3/4 cup left. Of course I didn't find this out until it was time for me to put the turkey into the recipe. I did what I could and you couldn't even tell it was lean on turkey.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
A mom at my daughters' school gratiously stepped in to take care of my kids, without pay, when my oncologist's appointment ran 3 hours long today! Gee, that's a story for another blog entry. I thought I'd make some cookies for her two boys. I'd remembered a recipe a friend had used when she gave my family some cookies a few years ago. Something about Hilary Clinton....

Anyway, I found the recipe and made it. The recipe's called Hillary Clinton's Chocolate Chip Cookies. The cookies are (should I say "were") great!! It was inspiration from above since the idea just "came to me". The friend who first made me the cookies was a member of a cancer support group I belonged to. Sadly, she passed away about a year ago. When I made the cookies today, I thought of her.

I just had to pass these recipes on....

2007-04-10T09:20:00.000-05:00

Tuesday - Turkey pie (to use up all my turkey leftovers) - anyone have a good recipe I can use? If so, please post in my comments before 4:00 p.m. today

Wednesday - Vegetarian Spinach Curry - I like to cook a vegetarian meal at least once or twice a week, thanks to Across My Kitchen Table, for the inspiration for this one. I just found this recipe on the Internet, I've never tried it before.

Thursday - Crockpot BBQ chicken - yup, I'm livin' on the edge - two new recipes this week. Thanks to A Jugglin Mum for the recipe.

Friday - leftovers/frozen pizza for the kids/paperplate night

Saturday - Tacos (my youngest daughter's suggestion)

Sunday - Oven baked pork chops - I'm not sure yet how I'll bake these

Monday - Cook's choice

For more great menu plan ideas, please visit I'm an organizing junkie.

I've been sidelined...

2007-04-07T15:17:00.000-05:00

I'm down but I'm not out. I knew that working on my basement would put me into recuperative mode. I still have some cancerous spots on my spine but, for the most part, I don't feel them. Whenever I move boxes or do anything even remotely strenuous, I end up in pain. It gets me mad because I want to do stuff. The main reason for my clutter is because I wasn't able to do much for several years. So I'm sitting here with a hot water bottle on my back.

Well, I've taken a break from the basement for a few days. Actually, my goal now is to sort through one box a day. I do believe that taking small bites rather than big ones will show progress over time.

Is it worth it? People always say, take care of yourself first and I agree. I have to say that tripping over stuff in the basement and spending endless amounts of time looking for stuff that should be in order is not taking care of myself. It makes me angry and frustrated. Both things I think tend to take away from the "harmony" I need to feel better.

The worst of the moving of stuff is over. I just need to clean and tidy now. I couldn't in all honesty invite people over to help for fear of them hurting themselves. I will succeed. I think it's time to call in the troops!

2007-04-06T06:19:00.000-05:00

The Basement
I did manage to spend about a hour on my basement. I emptied two garbage bags of stuff but aside from a noticeable clearing of the floor (you can now walk unimpeded to the washing machine), there appeared to be little noticeable improvement, hence no photo.

The Living Room
On the other hand, I did manage to get some photos of my living room:

I have a small space which shows clutter almost immediately. I've managed to pick up everything that was in corners and on the floor. Somehow the floor is a magnet for stuff. As you can see by the window, I still have a wooden chest that acts as a "catch all" for stuff. I've tried to organize the stuff on it as best as I could. My plan is to remove it and shift the contents elsewhere.

My focus now is on making the room cozy. I'd like to buy a rug and proper coffee table(s). I'm currently selling some furniture to add to my "home improvement fund". I'm also not sure what to do with the big empty "wall" that's beside the flowers in the vase. Hmmm...

Now the other side of my living room:

I need to replace those "dingy" blue pillows. I sewed them myself about 20 years ago and they used to match my "old" couch. My plan is to sew about 6 or 7 pillows for this couch to make it more comfortable. Notice my kitty? I can always tell the sign of a clean room as he likes to curl up in clean spaces.

I find the photos somewhat misleading. Considering the amount of work I accomplished here, I would have figured there would be more to show. I have to say that I notice photos show "everything" and it doesn't look too bad. Maybe that's something...

My living room is the first place people see when they enter my home. There's no indoor porch or landing so once you step in, you're there. Keeping my front door area uncluttered has always been a challenge.

What do you do with all the boots, coats, etc? I bought this at IKEA and I find it's a lifesaver!

It keeps all the shoes self-contained. I used to have about 30 pairs of shoes at the door. Now, if the shoes don't fit in the cubby, I move them into storage. I find that 6 slots are sufficient for 4 people. I can often fit more than one pair of shoes in each slot. I placed baskets in two of the cubby holes to hold hats, scarves and mitts in the winter. I do find that the top of the shoerack tends to be a catch all for backpacks, etc., but I clear this daily. The surface makes a nice "resting place" when you come in to take off your boots. One day, I'd love to put a cushion on top.

As for the coats, I hang them on pegs in the hallway going downstairs to the basement.

I find this arrangement keeps my front door area clear.

2007-04-02T17:09:00.000-05:00

I was about to blog about this on my knitting/crochet blog and realized that this is the better spot for it. It's all part of my plan to become better organized and I've been planning my menus since November. Here's this week's plan:

Tuesday - Vegetarian Chili (hmmm, I'd love to try a crockpot recipe for this one)
Wednesday - Hotdogs/fries
Thursday - BBQ Chicken wings
Friday - Leftovers/pizza
Saturday - Meatloaf
Sunday - It's Easter (we're having turkey and ham)
Monday - Leftovers again, of course!

I get rave reviews about my meatloaf. It's super simple and fast and my kids (who are very picky) actually ask for this dish to be put on the menu. I've used this recipe for almost 8 years now.

Home photos to follow in next post. :-)

Starting off with a Bang

2007-03-31T13:22:00.000-05:00

This is a long post but I had to start somewhere....

For almost 5 months now, I've been slowly starting to crawl out from under the clutter in my home.

Where it all began...

Over the past few months, I've been giving this some thought. At first I thought my problems began when I was diagnosed with cancer in December 2003. I was so sick from chemo and numerous surgeries that my home slid into disastrous decline. I think what made it the worst was the fact that I had two small children at the time (4 and 6 years) and my hubby worked almost non-stop. Who was left to clear the clutter? It wasn't me since I was bed-ridden most of the time. I needed help just going to the bathroom sometimes.

I think that's the point when I realized the extent of the problem. But, really, the clutter had been building up since about 1997. I was a workaholic and a non-stop person. I rarely spent time at home unless I absolutely had to. I was a firm believer that life was to be "lived" and you couldn't do so spending time at home. I'm also a people-person and HATED housework.

Where I am now...

So, after deciding in November 2006 that change was in order, I decided to correct 10 years worth of "stuff". Now, don't get me wrong--my home was "clean". I did the daily stuff around the house but I had never thrown out of the "big stuff" (e.g. old printers, children's outgrown clothes, etc.". Part of the problem was that for the longest time I was too weak to carry stuff and would suffer the consequences afterwards if I lifted anything heavy.

So, to date, I've thrown out between 20 and 30 garbage bags of stuff. Most were old clothes that I've since passed on to others. When I was sick, anyone who helped me "tidy" would put stuff into garbage bags (rather than throw out stuff) and shove the bags into the basement "out of sight".

I'm now at the point where I would glady have people over to visit. I've done the following:

My Kitchen

Cleared out all my kitchen cupboards (approx. 5 large cupboards) and given away all my old appliances, dishes, etc.
Cleared out the space under the sink and organized my cleaning supplies, dishtowels, etc.
Organized my recipes into a three-ring binder
Cleared the top of my fridge, cleaned the inside
Cleared all the stuff off my kitchen table and kept the necessities
Cleaned the baseboards around the kitchen

My Living Room

Washed and ironed the curtains and added some sheers
Threw out old VHS tapes/CDs and organized the remaining ones
Removed any clutter that didn't belong in the living room
Bought a wooden table with cubbie holes for shoes for the front door
Cleared all clutter from tables
Cleaned the baseboards in the living room

My Bathroom

Cleared the shelf of all unused bathroom supplies and regularly tidy this

My Bedroom

Removed an old broken dresser and bought a new one
Cleared out the bedroom closet and reorganized it so a lot of the clutter in the bedroom now has a proper home
Gave away tons of clothes that no longer fit
Cleaned fingerprints, kids' drawings off walls

Kid's Room

Removed 5 garbage bags of toys for recycling/garbage
Cleared their closet that contained lots of my overflow stuff
Reorganized stuff that now belongs in the closet
Painted their bedroom (this is a huge one since I haven't enough energy do so do for years)

Those are the major areas in my home. Now, guess where all the stuff that didn't find a home ended up. Yup, in my basement along with the other stuff that was already there.

Here are my photos of the work still left to be done.

My basement is divided into two halves separated by the stairs:

The lovely view as you walk down the stairs to the basement. Now let's turn to the left:

Did I mention that I like to knit and crochet. Those are bins of yarn, etc. Let's turn around a little and view my laundry area:

It really makes you want to do a load of laundry, doesn't it. How about now?

And now for the other half of the basement:

Did I mention that my hubby's a musician. That's sheet music, my friends, all loose and unorganized. He just had to have an organ in the basement but ask how often he uses it. Wonder why?

There's also a bathroom in the basement and, strangely enough, it's a showplace as I fixed it up many years ago and always keep it clean and tidy. Unfortunately, we rarely use it as no one can through the clutter to find their way to it.

I've joined Tackle-it-Tuesday and the 30 day organizational challenge. My goal is to continue to "chip away" at this stuff until it's cleared. There's a church sale coming up at the end of April and I'm determined to liberate myself from as much stuff as possible.

In the next post, I'll post some of the more clutter-free areas of my home just so that you know not all the rooms in my home look like this.... :-)