Organizing

Since we have not had a lot of winter in Nashville this year, I am ready to do some "spring cleaning." If you know me in real life, you know I HATE to clean. There are a lot of things to do in life that are way more fun than cleaning.  But, alas, it must be done.  So, being the procrastinator that I am, I decided to go to Pinterest to see what cleaning tips I could come up with.  And here is what I came up with...

52 Weeks to an Organized Home

I've tried Fly Lady and several other plans, but I never stick to them. But, I'm trying to turn over a few new leaves in my old age and I'm going to give this a try.  I started this week and I jumped right in with this week's assignment - creating menus and grocery lists for healthy eating.  This was an easy one to start with for me because I usually do this anyway.  I check the sale ads and plan my menu.  I like to check with Southern Savers to see what coupons I might have and if there are any really good deals to be found. Also, in my searching and researching (sounds scientific, doesn't it) I decided to use my Evernote app on my phone to store my weekly menu and also to start a recipe file.  I have a recipe file on my computer that I have printed out in a notebook.  It stores my famous Sweet Potato Casserole and several other family recipes from my mom.  But Evernote is great because I can paste from the internet and eventually, print it out if I want to. If you are not familiar with Evernote, it is a note system that syncs with your phone, laptop, desktop, tablet so that all your notes are always available.  It's a handy little tool.

So having made my menu for the week and also, getting a start on next week, I decided to make some other organizational tools for the pantry.  Here are two that I made this week.

 

I just love bins! This is a handy little bin that I'll be making several of to coral things like lunch snacks, pantry items and video games.

 

 

 Grocery bag holder.  I made one of these many years ago, however, I made it WAY to small.  This new and improved version is much larger and holds many more bags.  Savannah reuses these bags for her lunch and when I get a huge build-up I donate them to our food pantry at church.

Of course, both of these items are featured in my Etsy Store.

How are you staying organized? 

I need all the inspiration I can get!

Because I'm blogging instead of cleaning...

What can I say...

I'm hopeless!

Brrr....Burlap!

I always try to use all the leftover bits and pieces when I craft, so naturally, I am constantly finding new ways to use all those leftovers. Here are two new items that I've added to my Etsy store that are part of that constant drive to use everything up!

Both are available by clicking here.

More Scrapbooking Goodies!

I have been digitally creating paper! I have a yummy new turquoise and chocolate paper pack. I have been trying to better my grunge techniques and also I have been trying out some new paper pattern creations. I hope you like them.

I also have created two birth announcement cards for my Etsy store. They are a bit boyish and are created from my latest two paper packs. I will be working on some more girly cards this weekend.

Where does time go?

Where does it go? It seems like there is never enough time and I want to do more than it seems I have time to do. At least that is my reason for not posting again for almost a month! I've been busy crafting and scrapping so I have a couple of new things to share with you.

First, check out the new pendants in my Etsy store. They are the popular glass tile pendants and I am featuring some of my photos in them. You can also send me your photo and I'll gladly make a custom pendant for you.

Also, I've been creating some digital scrapbooking kits and even did a couple of layouts last night with my new kit. I really like the color combinations and I have to thank the girls at DSP in Saturday Night Live forum for that. SNL is a group of scrappers who are practicing their digitizing. We are challenged to create a mega kit with the same color combination each month. Everyone who creates at least 4 items and submits them to the group, gets all the other submitted kits free. It's like one huge mega kit! Tons of Fun!

Here are my two layouts. I hope you like them! And who knows? The kit might end up in my Etsy store one day!

A Cutie Pie and a Delicious Soup!

First, let me show off my darling granddaughter sporting the pumpkin knit hat I have in my store. It is great for those fall photo shoots or a day out in the park. Click on the photo to take you to the store.

Second, most of you who know me well, know that I am not a cook. But from time to time, I try to do better and cook a meal or two. Today I have prepared a wonderful crock pot chowder. If you are a fan of Chunky's Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder, then you should try this recipe. I found it on the web here, but I'll repost the recipe for you as well. My only comments about the prep are that you should dice you potatoes pretty small. Mine were not completely done in the six hour time frame. They took another hour to get edible. I used frozen carrots that were sliced instead of diced and they worked fine. It think it would not have crusted on the sides if I had been home to stir it but even the crusty bits were good!

Crock Pot Chicken Chowder Recipe

½ cup chopped carrots
1 cup skim milk
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 potato, peeled and cubed
½ lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" pieces
2, 15 oz. cans creamed corn
¼ cup dried potato flakes
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients except dried potato flakes and cheese in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until potatoes are tender and chicken thoroughly cooked. Add potato flakes and stir well to combine.