Pages

Saturday, January 24, 2015

A Snow Kind of Day

It wasn't a big snow but it sure was a pretty one. I've missed the whiteness this winter, so I was happy to see today's little covering.

The bird feeders have been very busy with visitors all day and I was glad we stocked up on seed this week.


I spent this quiet day working in the kitchen. It's been a mess all week as we emptied out the cabinets and painted them inside. Truthfully, I would love to have new cabinets, but with a new roof last week it's not in the budget. My cabinets are the same ones my first husband and I built in 1975, and they're rustic--and that's an understatement. But they're sturdy and they work and we don't usually replace things unless they're broke (or leaking, like the roof!).

So in the process of emptying them out and getting them ready for paint, I've done a lot of sorting. I had, if you can believe it, about 20 muffin tins in there. Why? I have no idea, except that I got them at auctions and thought I'd just keep them. And lids without pots--I sorted those a couple years ago and got rid of a lot of spare lids then. I know I did not keep any extras, so where did these come from? No clue, but they're on their way out. There were lots of other duplicates, things I've never used and never will, you know the kind of stuff.

Right now all the doors are off the cabinets; Larry is sanding them in preparation for re-staining. We will paint the frames the same color we used inside the cabinets, and I think I'm going to put white pulls on them just for a different look. 40 years with the same ol' same ol' has gotten, well, old.

And that project spun right into cleaning out the big pantry cupboard. I pulled out all the food and started looking at dates, organizing as I put it all back. There was no out-of-date food in there but there was a lot of duplicate and triplicate items--like 3 boxes of rice, about 6 different kinds of pasta, 2 boxes of grits, 3 of baking powder, 3 cans of spray olive oil...I guess I'd think I was out of something and just buy another!

The herbs were another matter. I found jars of oregano and other herbs I'd dried (and labeled, thankfully) in 2010. I now have lots of empty jars for this year's harvest, but I will be more circumspect about how much I put away. Two people can only use so much basil, after all.

Even with all this work, the kitchen is still a mess because I now have a pile of stuff to dispose of (anyone need a muffin tin or two or three??) and the trash can is overflowing. But it's a work in progress and by this time next week I hope we are finished with the cabinets and ready to move on to some needed work in the bathroom. One thing at a time, right?


Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

10 comments:

  1. I love having things all sorted & cleaned out. It's taking that first step getting started that is so hard.

    I painted my kitchen cabinets last year instead of replacing them. I love going in & seeing the fresh paint & how clean it still looks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jenny, I know it will be worth the mess in the end. I do love going in there and knowing what I have. It gets crazy with my schedule sometimes and I end up at the store guessing what we need. I don't have much cabinet space; the big pantry cupboard helps a lot and I wonder how I managed without it, really. We have another one to move in as soon as we can sell the old wood cookstove, or move it to one of our booths. I need storage more than I need a stove we'll never use again.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ah, that's a great cupboard pantry, and as for the old cook stove, I would love to have one blasting away the cold here tonight, blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm trying to wait til the porch is completely finished (on the inside at least) before doing a big clean-out this year, because some BIG items will be moving to the porch which I hope will make cleaning the rest of the tiny house a lot easier. The painter is coming Monday - or so he said before yesterday's big snowstorm - so fingers crossed everything will get back into gear in the coming week. Slowly (by necessity) but surely (by sheer stubbornness)!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This snow really stuck to all the tree limbs. It was really pretty. A wonderful change from the dull and dirty look. Waiting to see how much we get again tonight.
    I'm getting that spring-cleaning bug too. I think it's from being cooped up in the house too long. Sure hope spring arrives quickly.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I need a muffin pan! are you putting them on ebay? I went to look for some the other day and had one! : ) I may have to inspect 3 daughters' kitchen cupboards.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Nance, send me your address again and I'll send you a couple, if you can pay the shipping :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nance, send me your address again and I'll send you a couple, if you can pay the shipping :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Those bird feeders look so appealing in the snow.

    =)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your projects amaze me!! Everything looks organized and the snow so pretty! I have missed snow this year as I love a white winter!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Comments are moderated so may not appear immediately, but be assured that I read and enjoy each and every word you write, and will post them as quickly as possible.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...