Friday, January 31, 2014

Organizing in the New Year (ONY) kitchens



Welcome to our final post in our series
Organizing in the New Year
(ONY).
We hope the series has gotten your year
off to a good start by challenging you to rethink
the way you use your space,
ridding yourself of unnecessary items, 
and allowing you to appreciate the satisfaction of a job well done.

Organizing in the New Year
 focuses on one area each week,
keeping these intentions in mind:

~Purge if necessary,
because you can't create your dream
if it's cluttered with things you don't use.
Keep in mind, one object in, one object out.
If it doesn't do something for you, 
pass it on to someone else who can use it.  
It's all good.

~Use what you have to create a more streamlined home 
that still has your special touch.
Repurposing functional items adds to their value.
If they make your life easier or help you feel more comfortable, 
they are worth keeping.

~Try moving everyday items to different rooms
and use your creativity to use them in a new way.
The worst that can happen is that 
you find it doesn't quite work in the new application.  
Just start over!

If you are working toward more order in your life,
I hope these posts will help you jump start your vision.

The best advice I can give you is to
just start somewhere

*******
The kitchen is the heart of the home
and where we focus our time today.





It's vital to have a well-stocked kitchen
if you're going to cook from scratch.
We do our food shopping once a week
so that we save gas, money and time.
This door rack is a good use of otherwise wasted space.
It hangs on the pantry door and adds tons of storage.
If you only do one thing, find a place
where you can add one of these.
You'll thank me later!




We use mason jars to keep everything from soup
to nuts fresh and easily identifiable.
It's another simple, inexpensive way to organize.
Aside from being so versatile, I enjoy the uniform look.

 

Larger jars can be found at most discount stores
and are fantastic for containing a whole bag of flour or sugar.
Not only do they look attractive, 
the wide mouth allows for easy access
and bugs don't stand a chance of finding their way in.



A baking station can easily be created out of one kitchen cabinet.
Sheet pans, molds, mixing bowls, measuring cups and anything else used
for baking is housed together to make quick work of your task.
It just makes sense to keep like things together.



Drawers are pared down to only those items used regularly.






We also keep our favorite family recipes amassed in one binder.




It's kept in a basket on the countertop
along with a few cookbooks used regularly, 
a cell phone and any outgoing mail or coupons to use up.
Anytime baskets or bins can be used, they should be,
as they not only corral like items,
but make cleaning easier by only having to remove one item,
instead of each individual one.

 Our monthly meals are planned ahead of time as well.
I created a system that worked for our family.
You can find our Menu-by-the-Month plan here.




We hope you have enjoyed this series.
It's still the beginning of the new year,
but anytime is a good time to get more order in one's life.
There will be additional upcoming posts on organizing,
because there is always room for improvement.
Start small, but just start.
A sense of accomplishment is the result.
I encourage you to begin today, 
in some small way,
to start taking control of  your stuff,
before your stuff starts taking control of you.
Are you up for the challenge?

Here are the other posts in this series:








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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Homesteading Where You Are Series-Grow



This is the third in a 7-part series
about how five bloggers strive to homestead 
right where they are.

 


Our focus today is GROW.

*******





Before moving to Central Florida,
gardening was something I dabbled in.
After buying a (nearly) new home,
I felt a desire to make it my own
and create a more customized garden.
Creating a wildlife sanctuary was also on my mind.




Then I discovered "Florida-friendly",
which is a way of gardening using natives
or plants that do well in our climate with very little care.
I took as many workshops as I could 
offered by the local extension center focused on this way of gardening.
It makes so much more sense to grow things
that thrive in one's particular area.
It also lends itself well to attracting wildlife to your yard.



A few years later, I started experimenting with crops.
After reading a lot of books on the subject,
and viewing documentaries about our food system,
I was spurred to try growing at least a portion of our food.
A couple of organic growers at the farmer's market
helped me figure out what to grow when.
The growing season in Florida is different than
in other parts of the country, and it takes some getting used to.





I've had limited success.
We've harvested eggplant, garlic, green beans, herbs, pineapple, 
shallots, snap peas, strawberries, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes.
I learned about growing in a square-foot bed,
and created a 6X3 bed in the backyard.







One of the challenges for us in wanting to grow organically,
has been that all of our neighbors spray pesticides on their lawns.
We have no fence, so there is the concern that those poisons 
will contaminate our crops. 
 Therefore, we keep most of our food crops close to the house.
It's not ideal, but it's the best we can do for now.




One of the easiest plants to grow here is pineapple.
You simply lop off the top, stick it in the ground
and watch it do its magic.
The flavor is succulent and witnessing the metamorphosis is amazing.





 
 


After working with Lynn at Farm School for the past year,
I know I will never again want to be without a garden.
He's shown me that there are other ways to garden,
and that you can adapt nearly anything to suit your needs.
Learning that not only can I grow food for my own family,
but enough to give away to others who might be in need,
is a very powerful thing indeed.
Being able to feed people is a big deal.





One of the things I'd like to do more of is save seeds.
I've done it with ornamentals,
 but I'm looking forward to saving crop seeds when I can and becoming more self-reliant.





Our goals for the future include moving to North Carolina this year to look for property.
We have had our time in suburbia and it's not for us.
We hope to acquire at least a few acres,
so that we can have a big garden and chickens.
I'm considering finding an apprenticeship up there
to help me learn about gardening in that climate.
I'd love to be able to take the Master Gardener course someday.
If you read "daisy's dream" under the header,
you'll get a better idea of our future plans.

This week we've talked about growing,
and I must say that as a gardener, I have.
I'm looking forward to learning so much more.




For additional great homesteading ideas, visit these other bloggers posting to this series:
*Jackie, at Born Imaginative, grew up as an avid 4-Her, on a 50 acre hobby farm, with parents who pursued a homesteading life. Now, with a husband and two small children of her own, she is bringing an 1880s farmhouse/30acre farm back to life in Southern Coastal Maine.

*Mary, at Homegrown on the Hill, lives in Southwestern Ohio with her family on a 5 acre homestead. Their goal is to be as self sufficient as possible. In helping with this goal, they raise a big garden and keep chickens, rabbits, and cattle for food.

*Staci, at Life At Cobble Hill Farm, was bitten by the homestead bug in 2006 and although she began her homesteading ventures in a rented condo, is now homesteading on less than an acre in Upstate NY.

*Sue, at The Little Acre that Could, shares her body with an auto-immune disease, and life with her husband. They live in a once-working Victorian farm cottage now bordered by a modern subdivision. She has dreamed of homesteading as long as she can remember and continues to strive toward that goal in rural Atlantic Canada.


Five bloggers, 7 weeks,
Big Ideas!
Join us every Wednesday!

Homesteading Where You Are-Intro
Homesteading Where You Are-Make






Tuesday Garden Party Co-Hosts

Our Simple Homestead Blog Hop

motivation monday


Tuesday, January 28, 2014

The Maple Hill Hop 15



Maple Hill Hop

Welcome back to The Maple Hill Hop.
Here we share what is happening outside our doors,
no matter the season. 
We hope you'll join us
and we appreciate you linking back to us!


We've had quite a few days that looked like this.
Dreary, cold and sometimes damp.
Perfect days for staying in with a good book, a classic movie
or a challenging jigsaw puzzle.
And don't forget the cocoa!


In our backyard, a few things are still doing well,
not bothered by Mother Nature's changes.
This Bibb lettuce has been planted in two separate pots.
Growing your own lettuce is so satisfying.



I had reseeded a few green bean plants,
and I'm happy to see that they have germinated just fine.



The garlic is still going strong.
All crops were fertilized this past weekend
and will continue to be fed every two weeks.



The passionflower graces us with amazing texture, color and vibrancy.


This little cutie must have found a cozy place to spend the chilly nights.
I can't wait to see what life outside looks like in your neck of the woods!

Let's HOP!





Friday, January 24, 2014

Organizing in the New Year (ONY)-Closets





Our month-long series continues today on  
ONY.
Organizing in the New Year
 focuses on one area each week,
keeping these intentions in mind:

~Purge if necessary,
because you can't create your dream
if it's cluttered with things you don't use.
Keep in mind, one object in, one object out.
If it doesn't do something for you, 
pass it on to someone else who can use it.  
It's all good.

~Use what you have to create a more streamlined home 
that still has your special touch.
Repurposing functional items adds to their value.
If they make your life easier or help you feel more comfortable, 
they are worth keeping.

~Try moving everyday items to different rooms
and use your creativity to use them in a new way.
The worst that can happen is that 
you find it doesn't quite work in the new application.  
Just start over!

If you are working toward more order in your life,
I hope these posts will help you jump start your vision.

The best advice I can give you is to
just start somewhere.


Closets are one of my favorite things to organize.
There's just so much potential!


 

Baskets are a wonderful way to corral linens.
This small linen closet was reorganized here.

 



Two sheet sets for each bedroom and a few extra towels and washcloths
are more than adequate for our family of three.
When sheets or towels are replaced,
 the used items are donated to the local animal shelter.


 The master bedroom closet in our home is actually a walk-through.
It spans the bathroom on the other side of this wall.
Even though the size is generous, 
it's important to use the space efficiently.



 

 Including a linen closet in the master bedroom is a great idea.
Sheets for this room can be kept here,
and there is ample room on the shelves for miscellaneous items.
(An emergency kit and an extra flashlight are housed here too.)


 

Color coding your wardrobe is a real time-saver.
Especially when time is limited, 
it makes it that much easier to find exactly what you want to wear.



Placing a small mason jar filled with baking soda in the closet keeps things fresh.

Acrylic cubes can be used for shoes, gloves or mittens,
scarves, or even small toys in a child's room.
Don't be afraid to think of new uses for storage items.


 

This is a tool caddy,
slated to house all those loose nuts and bolts in a garage.
Instead, we used it as an initial place to store Lil' Guy's Lego bricks.
Then, we came up with a better idea.



You can see that this could easily be placed in a closet
to make a built-in work area for homework or creating.
Using the closet in that way frees up space in the room.
See our final solution here.




 Here's where you can find a complete closet makeover we did for Sister
a few years ago when we went to visit her on vacation.



Getting started is the hardest part.  
One closet in your home could be a great jumping off place.
Start small, even if it's just a shelf or purging the clothes 
that no longer fit or work for your family.
It feels mighty satisfying to open those closet doors, 
knowing that what's inside is a little bit of order.
Consider this your challenge to organize one of your closets this weekend!

Read more about this series here:

ONY-bathrooms
ONY-office



One Project at a Time Link party - ABFOL







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