Find refreshment for your heart, home and life
This weekend I had a couple hours when my love for organizing and my love for cooking collided. It was a needed collision! My spice cabinet that had been in good order at one time, had sadly gotten out of hand. It made my cooking more difficult, and I even found that I sighed inwardly any time I needed to search for a spice.
Here’s the other side of the mess cabinet.
You can listen to this post here on Refresh Her Podcast
A real estate broker asked a young woman if she was thinking about buying a house.
“Why would I need a house?” she answered. “I was born in a hospital, educated in a college, courted in a car, married in a church. I eat my meals in restaurants and spend my evening in the movies. When I die, I’ll be buried from a mortuary. I don’t need a house; all I need is a garage.”
To that I would answer – Oh, but a home is a haven from this world where we foster love for God and people. It’s where we are nourished, rested and strengthened to go back into the world. All that is made easier and more welcoming in a home that is clean and organized.
This is episode five in our Clean with Me series. We’ve hit most all the main rooms of the house – the bathroom, bedroom, living room, and kitchen. How’s it going for you? Remember, we’re not out for perfection, but progress! Keep at it, and little by little you will get there!
There are still two areas that need our attention. The one we’ll address today is our storage spaces. That could mean closets or attics or any other place that might be “hidden” from view, but has gotten crowded or out of control!
Let’s discuss three things:
The starting point for your hidden spaces is to snap a picture of it exactly as it is. It’s embarrassing how bad some of my storage spaces had gotten! But I’m equally happy about the end result!
Continue reading “Clean the Storage Spaces with Me!”Whether it’s in the kitchen, bathroom or bedroom, I love having my tools ready and at my fingertips so that my work is made easier. However, I’ve found it so difficult to keep them neat and organized. I had this issue in my bedroom where I store all my hair tools – dryer, round brush, curling iron and styling spray. I had thrown them all into a small basket and every time I’d get one out, it would be tangled up with the others. The cords stuck out like serpents, wriggling all over the place. What to do?
My dad has always said,
If you have a home and a car, you always have something to do!
Like anything, a home needs constant maintenance. I think closets and pantries that are used every day need frequent refreshment. Things need to be reevaluated to know if the space is working at its optimal potential.
We have lived in our house for nine and half years and we are going through and slowly giving each room a fresh coat of paint. It feels amazing. This week the entry way, living room and kitchen were painted a lovely white called, Blue kiss. It’s a white paint with blue hues. As I was getting the rooms prepped for the paint job, I realized that my pantry was also a spot that had the “old” paint color. Soooo, I pulled everything out, put it on the kitchen table so it could get brightened up with the new white shade. It was a good bit of work, but I knew it was going to pay huge dividends!
Last week on Instagram I saw Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman) do a reel showing how she stocked her refrigerator. She started with a fridge that clean and empty. Then she added all new, unopened grocery items –
It was pretty incredible to view the video, but as I watched, I wondered what “regular person” could really purchase all that so they could end up with that lovely, satisfying result? What do you think? Could the average person fill their fridge like that all at one time? I don’t think very many would be able to follow her example.
But I have some good news! I have a few ideas for you today to help your fridge be as organized and lovely inside as Ree’s – and it will cost you nothing extra!
Since we’ve just come through the holidays, perhaps your fridge is nearly bare. Great! Or maybe it’s still full of little leftover containers of this and that. That’s okay.
I like using vinyl placemats in my fridge because it makes it easy to wash. I plunge them into the hot, soapy water, then dry them and put them back in their spot! You’ll notice the turquoise ones in the picture below.
I like putting my blueberries and strawberries into Mason jars (after the berries have been washed). They stay fresh SO much longer that way! You’ll see the jar in the left drawer below. They also look pretty displayed in the fridge that way! Mason jars are also great for leftovers!
I try to keep all the leftover containers together on one shelf, that way nothing gets forgotten, and it keeps the fridge from getting cluttered up with little dishes.
Start the new year with a fresh start in your kitchen by taking what you have and getting it clean and organized. You’ll be inspired to keep it that way. There’s something very satisfying about opening up a freshly straightened up space – especially something as big and important as the refrigerator!
Is your fridge full or empty now that the holidays are past?
RefreshHer 