Refrigerator Refresh

I don't know about you, but I have to do a quick clean out and wipe down every month to my kitchen refrigerator.

It seems to get messy and disorganized so quickly during the month, and I feel like it's harboring germs and other gross things when it's not clean.

So, I take literally no more than 30 minutes to sweep through it and give it a refresh.

Here's how I do it.

The first thing I do after I open it and gag a bit... is to take a quick visual inventory of what's hanging out inside.

We've had an eventful month which usually includes eating out more than normal (take-home containers) plus the food from my mother-in-law's memorial reception was lurking around, PLUS, there were a few "long-term" residents that needed to be evicted - if you get my drift.

Even the door was looking unkempt and disorganized.  Multiples were hanging out together and somethings needed to be re-homed in the frig in general.

The first thing you should ALWAYS DO?

Take everything, and I mean EVERYTHING out of the refrigerator.  Do not just rearrange.  You cannot possibly inventory and clean effectively if things are just being moved from side to side.

Those deep spaces in the very back of the frig are great harbingers of missing Tupperware and forgotten food.  GET THEM OUT!!!

Do a quick check on expiration dates, throw away old food and left-overs that you do not intend to use in a timely manner, and organize your food by type.  This will help when you go to return it to your frig.

Now you want to do a quick wipe with a clean cloth and food-safe cleaner.

Of course, I use my Thieves cleaner from Young Living.  However, if you don't have that, I suggest a mixture of 1:1 white vinegar and water.  If you have some caked-on areas, spray with your solution and add a bit of baking soda.  Let the combination work its magic and then you can wipe it up.

I don't recommend using a chemical cleaner in your frig simply because it's where you keep your food.  If you think that there might be germs or bacteria (remember it's a cold space, so most general bacteria is not living on the surfaces of your frig, but more than likely on the surfaces of your food) you can use regular isopropyl alcohol as a wipe down.

Speaking of food bacteria that cause illness - ALWAYS keep your thawed raw meat in a bag or container ON TOP OF a plate.  This way you do not cross-contaminate your food.

We leave our meat in its package ON a plate, on the bottom shelf away from other foods.

Wipe down the walls, shelves, and edges.  You will probably find lots of crumbs (how???) and little bits of unidentifiable stuff lurking near the edges and backs of your shelves.

Remove any drawers, rinsing them out and wiping them down.  Wipe the areas where the drawers reside.  This is usually the bottom of the frig where all those crumbs have gathered for a crumb convention!

Now start organizing your food to return to the refrigerator.

I LOVE the clear acrylic organizers that you can find for reasonable prices at places like Marshals, Home Goods, and TJMaxx.  You can also order them on Amazon or purchase them from the Container Store (expensive!).

I suggest you look at the regular inhabitants of your frig and THEN decide what organizers will work best for you.  I've collected mine over time.  They are not all in the frig at once, but make a rotation as needed.

I like to keep this little bin in my crisper drawer so that my fresh cilantro, parsley, and garlic don't get crushed and hidden below my larger veggies like cucumbers and lettuce.  The organizer stays in the front which allows me to see it and remember that that stuff is there.

I organize the cheese drawer with the unopened bags in the back and the opened stuff near the front.  Again, this helps us to use the cheese in a manner that doesn't end up with food waste.

I have a 14 compartment egg organizer (perfect to see if we need eggs) and two flat hinged lidded containers that hold our lunch meat.  

The clear acrylic lets us see what's in there, which means that we use it.

A narrow organizer is where we keep our supplements that need to be refrigerated.  Did you know that most probiotics should be kept cold in order to keep them potent?  Ours stay front and center so we take them with regularity.

Of course, my chocolate fix hangs out in the back.  A girl's gotta have some chocolate stashed somewhere!  (Whole Foods)

And just like that, your refresh is done.  

You can see the left-overs on the bottom shelf, all together, so that we don't forget what needs to be eaten.

I use three shallow bins on top to hold my pastry and bread doughs, freshly washed fruit, and jars of jams, jellies, and sauces.

The door gets that same treatment, and I make sure that all the rims and lids of items like ketchup and mayo are wiped and cleaned as well.

Once the inside is tidy, I do a quick wipe and swipe to the outside and it's done for another month.

I realize that this might seem like something that will take lots of time to accomplish.  The first time, it may take a bit more time than the 30 minutes it took me to do it here.

However, once you do it initially, getting it really clean and organized, a quick monthly refresh will really be all you need after that.

It's an investment in your health and sanity...think of it that way!

Have a great day!

Transforming Tree Cookies

No, this is not a post about eating...

Although, the term "Tree Cookies" may be deceiving.

Tree cookies are actually horizontal slices of branches that form a "cookie" of the tree if you will.  It allows you to see the rings of the tree, but it also allows for some very fun and unique opportunities for decorating.

Let me show you...

We had a large hickory tree removed from the side yard about 6 months ago.  I asked the tree removal service to cut me three cookies from one of the large branches.  I stored these in the garage for those months so that they would dry out and "cure" prior to doing the three projects I had in mind.

This is important when you first take your cookie cuts.  They MUST have time to dry out AND allow any critters living in the tree to vacate.  You don't want to introduce them into your home!

I started with the first large cookie, placing it on a stool so that it was workable height.  (I know it looks good on that stool as well and would make a cool table...hmmm.)

Notice how the cookie split while drying.  This is one of the reasons that you let it dry.  IF I had already done one of my projects, this would have definitely affected the outcome.

But now, I am going to incorporate that split as part of the character!

Here's a great side view of the cookie.  It's pretty thick, like between 4 and 5 inches thick, which is perfect for this first idea.

I ordered 4-inch metal hairpin legs from Amazon, which are a great retro touch that's super "IN" with decor right now.  

My goal was to make a "stool" or plant stand for the back deck.  In fact, all of these projects were for the back deck.

I simply placed the legs where I wanted them to go, working around the split, and then used my DeWalt drill to screw them in place.

Easy Peasy!

I was left with this super cute mini stand.

It wasn't perfectly level, but that will not make a difference for its use.

I love the retro-rustic feel of this and the powder coated metal legs and tree cookie will be able to stand the elements.

Next, I took the second cookies and added multi-directional, rubber casters to the bottom.

These wheels were purchased at Lowes, but you can find them anywhere.  Be sure to get ones that are screwed into the wood with a drill and NOT the ones that have a threaded post - that's a totally different application!

I used some basic wood screws that I had on hand and placed one in each of the FOUR holes on each wheel.

I had a small split in this cookie as well and just used the wheel to "bridge" it.

Now, I have a rolling plant stand for my super large tree that lives on our deck.  The multi-directional casters allow me to move it for easy cleaning behind it (it's very hard to lug around if not on wheels) and to let it take advantage of additional sunlight if needed.

Check out how easy it is to move with just my foot!

With my last cookie, I had a very specific place in mind and an idea that would make this project just as cute as the other ones.

I had purchased these two lucite and brass drawer knobs from Hobby Lobby during a time when the knobs were 50% off... so I got both of them for the price of one.

I matched the screw width with a drill bit width and drilled hole opposite each other on the last cookie.

And yep...you guessed it!

I made a display tray!

Now, a display tray and a serving tray are totally different things in my mind.

Using trays to serve (and you can have some that do double duty) you must keep in mind that they need to be level and fairly lightweight otherwise you are going to have your hands full once you add the weight of whatever you are serving to the top.

Using a tray as simply a piece of decor gives you multiple options in terms of materials, weight, strength, and look.  This cookie wasn't level, but boy do those cut grooves add texture and organic touch.

Perfect for the out of doors!

Here are all three projects in their element...

I know we are going to enjoy them all through the summer months and into the fall.

I like to think out of the box and break those rules when it comes to creating and decorating.

Memory Trees

When planning a funeral these days, there are a number of things that MUST be done involving estates, financials, and coordinating last wishes.

One of the things I wanted to help my husband and his family with was the luncheon reception following the memorial service for his mother.  I knew that with a bit of Pinterest help and my own ideas I could provide a wonderful setting for those gathered.

It all started with this pin.

Source:  The Knot

I loved the photo display idea, and even though it was not for a funeral, I could see exactly in my mind how it could easily be adapted in a respectful and honorable way.

So, off to Hobby Lobby to grab some large twig-like branches and QuickWater.  Then to the Dollar Tree to grab three tall glass cylinders and 2 bags of river stone.

I had my wooden skewers, scissors, plastic take-out pint container (saved of course from take-out Chinese Won-Ton soup), paper towels, painters tape, and lots of ambition.

Here's how to do this successfully.

First, clean the glass cylinders both inside and out with glass cleaner, making sure they are residue and lint free.  Then, place as many stones in the bottom of each; looking across to make sure they are even.

REMOVE the stones into three separate piles.  It's important to NOT have the stones in there UNTIL you have poured the QuickWater.  (I'll explain why in a bit.)

At Dollar Tree, there are great river stones.  I bought two bags, looking for one bag that had larger stones and one that had smaller stones.

QuickWater can be found in Hobby Lobby and Amazon.  It's an epoxy mix that allows you to simulate water in clear containers AND hold your faux flowers and filler in a permanent state once it dries.

The directions are very clear and it's a fun product to work with.

There are two parts.  Part A and Part B.

The directions call for putting Part A in a plastic container (Saved take-out containers are great for this, so save them if you get them!) THEN adding Part B while mixing it.

I recommend that you put the ENTIRE contents of each into your container.  Do not try to figure out half and half.  You may not have enough of one part and then your acrylic won't cure correctly.

Once you begin to pour Part B, use 2 wooden skewers together to mix SLOWLY, avoiding build-up of air bubbles.

You will need to mix for several minutes to thoroughly mix both parts while avoiding bubbles.

You will not totally avoid bubbles, but you don't want to have a lot of them floating in the acrylic mixture if you can avoid it.

I always have these skewers on hand.  They are great for cooking as well as craft projects.

Now, here is an important part.  

Fill your containers FIRST with the mixed acrylic.  

The acrylic takes 8-10 hours to fully harden, so you have enough time to make multiple arrangements.  This also allows you to evenly distribute the acrylic.

NOw, slowly drop your piles of stone into each container.

TIP:  Do not put the stone in first then the acrylic.  Here's why.  If the stones are in and you pour the acrylic, it will take a long time for the acrylic to fill the holes and opening around the stones.  This means that the acrylic level will slowly sink, leaving a film of acrylic clinging to the sides of the glass.  Water doesn't do this in real life, and since you want it to appear as "real water" you must pout the acrylic first.

Once you have your stones in, and your multiple containers look even across, use clean skewers to poke the air bubbles on the surface and just below the surface.

Now is the time to also place a few smaller stones as well.

Carefully SHOVE your twigs down into the acrylic and stones, gently forcing the end to the bottom of the container.

Now start pulling off long strips of painter tape.

Use those long stips to wrap once around each twig, pulling in opposite directions until you have each twig suspended right where you want them to be.

The trick is to use the tape to leverage the twigs out and away from the edge of the container.  This makes it appear that the stones in the "water" below and holding up the twigs.

In the photo above, I tried it first without the acrylic to make sure that the tape would be able to do what I intended it to do.  It worked like a charm.

Once you have the twigs set, you can add a few more stones, which will raise the QuickWater level again.

Find a place for them to set up and cure.  Again, it takes about 8-10 hours for it to set fully.

And here's what I visualized. 

See how the twigs look like they are being held up by the stones in "water?"  

The tree was used to showcase photos, Cardinals, and memory quotes.

I made one for each of the children and personalized them with photos that included them with their mother.

I included some of the same photos and all the quotes were the same as well.

I simply used twine and computer scanned photos to attach them to branches going all around the tree. I alternated between photos and quotes to make it appear evenly distributed.

The Cardinals just clipped onto branches.

I searched the internet for quote ideas, but you could use anything you wanted.  Special Bible verses, song quotes, and familiar remarks, life achievements.  It's truly a personal selection.

I think these trees would make great ideas for just about anything.  You could even adapt them into a money tree if needed.

Think along the lines of:

Retirement Parties

Bridal Showers

Baby Showers

Birthdays

Weddings

Graduations

Church Remembrance Services

Sorority/Fraternity Socials

Anniversary Parties

Reunions

Really, you could make them work for any idea you have, even if it's just displaying a Family Tree or cherished family photos.

Think outside the box and make a tree of your own.

In Memory...

I am not going to be doing my usual Saturday post because today we have the memorial service for my sweet mother-in-law. 

After a short term illness and the onset of dementia, she departed this earth on Monday, May 6th at 96 years of age.

She saw a lot in those 96 years.

She was married for 77 years.  Yes, that's right.  I said 77 years.

My father-in-law is 101 years old and will live out the rest of his life without her by his side.

She birthed 4 children, one who preceded her in death.  I know they are together once again.

She was a teacher to many students over her 21 years in education.

She was a hospital volunteer, lover of reading, competitive Bridge then Bingo player, and overall great friend to many.

We loved her and she will be missed.

We are celebrating her life today and happy that she is no longer in pain and confusion.

I will be back on Tuesday with a new post, but for today, I'm going to pause and reflect.

Thank you.

The Ultimate Yard Sale Prep Guide

One of the things that I truly DON'T enjoy is having my own yard sale.

Guess what we did this past Saturday...

Yep, we had a yard sale.

Credit

I guess we technically had a garage sale since everything was housed in our garage.  

While I was prepping for the sale, I decided to create a blog post to take you through the organized set-up, pricing, and selling of your own yard sale items.

Let's get started!

STEP 1

Pick the date you want to have your yard sale.  

If you live in a neighborhood, ask a neighbor if they want to have one with you.  This way, you can advertise it as a "multi-family" sale.  This entices more buyers to your sale first thing.  Yard Sale People are always on the lookout for those listings because it means more stuff in one stop!

I would also consult google to see what they are predicting for weather at that time.  I realize this is still a chance you take, but if you have somewhat of an idea, you can plan a bit better.

Make sure if you are also "allowed" to have a yard sale.  Some deed-restrictive communities don't allow them, BUT, they may have a community-wide yard sale date already set aside.

Decide how you will advertise your sale.

We have a local publication that places online and printed ads for a fee.  I also took some photos and placed 2 notices on my FaceBook feed.  Using free social media is a great way to alert friends that you are having a sale.  

You may also want to see if there are some local businesses that will place a flyer or sign in their window as well.  

STEP 2

Decide IF you have enough stuff for a good yard sale.

The only way to do this well is to gather all the items you want to sell in one pile, somewhere in your house.  We placed all of our items in the garage.  My car had to spend a week outside in the driveway, but it was well worth it.

The reason you want to get all your items together is this:

1 - You can assess if you have more than 100 items to sell (usually a good starting point to make the time and effort worth it).

2 -You can be inspired to "shop" your house many times over to see if there are additional items to add to the pile.

3 - By having all your items in one set spot you are not driving yourself crazy with boxes and stuff all over your house!

STEP 3

Set up your tables in the shape that you want them, in the area where you will be having your sale.

IF you do not plan on having your sale inside your garage, you can still set up your tables and then two people can move them out first thing in the morning. 

If you must set up outside, without a covered structure, you can just place tarps or beach towels over the tables if you have a secure neighborhood.

We've done both before and it worked out either way.

We set our tables up in a U shape.  Our neighbor next door graciously lent us two folding tables, we had three already, and we use 2 saw-horses and an old door as a sixth table.

STEP 4

Once the tables are set, start placing your items on top.

Place like items together either by similarity OR by subject.

For example, all my baskets were together on the back table.  Stacked on top of each other as well as larger baskets on the floor below.  If a buyer was looking for baskets or cute storage, they could see it all at once without "hunting" for it.

  All the items that were kitchen related were placed on two tables, all together.

You want to stage your sale like a store stages their items... Like with Like.

It's a brain thing.  People will walk in and quickly scan your tables, looking for something that grabs their eye IF they are not looking for something specific.  If your items are willy-nilly placed, the eye will graze right over them and the brain will not comprehend what it's seeing.  When your eyes see like/similar items altogether, it will send a signal to the brain to stop and look over all those like items.

This gets your buyers interested in what you have and they will pause and really look at what is on your tables.

Remember to use the valuable real-estate below your tables for larger items.  I used a plastic tarp to cover the garage floor while I placed pillows on top of it. 

STEP 5

Start a box of items that you decide are truly only donation worthy.

You are not going to sell everything you price and display.  As you start to group your items, some items are just not worth the time and effort.  Place them aside in your donation box.

More than likely, you are going to donate all your unsold items at the end of your sale.  (We decided that what didn't sell was not going back into the house, but was going to our local Teen Challenge Thrift Store.  We will use the tax-deductible donation on our 2019 taxes.)

At the end of your sale, you can add the non-sold items to this box until it's full and take it all to your local charity.

STEP 6

NOW is the time to price your items, when everything is set up and ready to go.

Take your price labels (Amazon or Dollar Tree), start on one end, and place a sticker on every single item as you go around your tables.  Don't spend too long thinking about the price for items of you will get stuck and frustrated.  I highly recommend that you get pre-printed price stickers and only price in dollar and quarter amounts.  don't waste your time with dimes, nickels, or pennies.  

I know that some folks like to price items as they are grabbing them from around their home, but I don't think this is a great idea in the long run.

Let me tell you why.

If you start to price items, you will not have consistency in pricing similar items.  For example, if I had priced all my baskets separately, on different days, while I was in different moods and distracted with things in boxes, the prices would have been all over the place.

However, IF you put them all together, you can price them similarly and consistently because you will set those prices at one time.  People will recognize dissimilar pricing and wonder if something is wrong with your item.  This will lead them to start "dickering" with you over price.

I also want to caution you about pricing your items too high.

Here's where we often allow emotion to price instead of common sense.  

I realize that you paid "good money" for something that you are now trying to sell for pennies on the dollar.  You may feel wasteful and guilty about the money spent OR for the emotional ties you have to specific items.

BUT, think of it this way.  IF you used that item and it is no longer needed, then you have gotten "good use for your good money" spent.  If you are selling a gifted item that you don't care for, then you are allowing someone else the opportunity to enjoy it.  If you purchased the item and you never used it, be mindful when you are out shopping again and ask yourself if you really need the item in your hand or will it eventually end up donated or in your next year sale.

These are tangible things that you will forget about in a few days or months anyway.  Give yourself a break.  Thank that item for it's service to you (Marie Kondo style) and let it go!!!

STEP 7

Make sure you have your money ready in small amounts to make change for customers.

I use my cooking apron (clean of course) as my yard sale apron.  The pockets in front hold my quarters, 50 $1 bills, and a few fives, tens, and twenties.  I also keep my cell-phone in there to use my calculator if needed, and to post to social media as the morning progresses.

I used my saved shopping bags to offer to customers who purchase more than one item and I also have some paper to wrap delicate items.

FINALLY

Get up early, check the weather and dress to stay comfortable.  Get your coffee or tea and start your sale.

Hubby and I greeted every person who came through.

We saw some folks we hadn't seen in a while and we met a couple of RVers who share some great camping information with us.

Enjoy the day and be happy with the amount you make.  It's all relative anyway!