Kitchen clean up

 

My kitchen has always been the place where we throw stuff into corners, every cupboard is full and we just live with it that way. Lately I have been feeling the NEED to purge and clean and simplify.

One night after the kids were in bed, I decided to tackle the kitchen and I am so thankful that I did!

 

Here is a before from one of the corners:

{I didn't take many pictures because I jumped right in}

This is where we kept Wyatt's bottles and formula, miscellaneous baby feeding supplies, our most often used cookbooks, CD's, and whatever else ended up there.

 

Here is the top of the fridge: Our place to store big items, extra goods, random items that have no where else to go. 

 

AND NOW... for the good part:

 

SO much cleaner!

What a concept...moving the utensil holder closer to the stove where I use those items.

Putting the cookbooks in a cupboard {and getting rid of a bunch that I've never used a recipe out of}, moving those Christmas CD's to the Christmas boxes and deep cleaning the counter.

I feel less stressed just looking at this picture!

 

And a shot of the entire kitchen after it was cleaned:

 

I wish I had taken a before picture, because it is a huge difference! Chris came home from work and was surprised at how good it looked. I love being in the kitchen and having it clean really makes cooking and doing dishes and keeping it clean easier!

 

I also cleaned out and moved our "junk" drawer:

I tried to shop our house to find ways to keep this drawer organized. It's narrow and shallow so I found small Tupperware and a long basket that work perfectly. I am much happier knowing that all of our pens/pencils/tape/rubber bands/coins/etc. are all in one place and organized.

 

I have definitely began purging, organizing, donating, and really deciding if I'm keeping items for a real purpose, or to have them just to have them. I've come to realize that having a cluttered/disorganized/overstuffed home makes for a cluttered/disorganized/overstuffed mind.

 

Now, onto the next room!

 

What is your favorite organizing tip?

Cleaning brushes

I am not a big make-up wearer. I have my normal routine of powder, blush and eye shadow... And that's about it. No fuss, no look-at-me bold colors, nothing dramatic.

 Half the time I don't spend a lot of time on my make up because I'm too tired/feeling frumpy to bother with it and the other half because I don't really know what I'm doing.

I have seen, on Pinterest, many easy looking ways to clean make-up brushes and since my face has been breaking out a lot more lately I thought I'd wash them and see what happened.

I can't find the original pin that I used, so I'll show you what I did.

Step 1:

add water (about 1/4 c) to a small bowl

add equal parts dish soap and olive oil (I used about a tablespoon each)

Step 2:

swirl brush in mixture until a froth appears and make-up comes off the brush

Now I wasn't expecting much to come off of my brushes because I don't use them everyday, but HOLY COW! Now I can see why my face has been breaking out!

This was what came out of my powder brush.

Almost immediately the water turned color and I was pretty shocked with how dark the water was.

This  what came out of my blush brush!

And this is what came out of my three eye shadow brushes.

I changed the water/soap/oil mix after each brush and let them dry (bristles down) on a paper towel. The brushes I use are all from Target and are pretty inexpensive and I was surprised at how much softer they felt after washing them.

I also cleaned out my make-up. I have a mish-mash of MAC/drugstore/random make-up and it felt good to purge and organize and see what products I really have. I even decided to wear some red lipstick while out running errands.

Wearing red lipstick definitely made me more aware of myself and I found myself checking my teeth in the mirror often to make sure I didn't have it anywhere other than my lips. I also realized I was acting more confident and smiling more {when I was sure my teeth were not marred by red}.

It's amazing how one little change from the norm can make a big difference in your day. So go out here friends {after your clean brushes have added a bit more sparkle to your already beautiful faces}, swipe on a bit of bold color and make the world a prettier place by being out in it!

Happy day!

Today was...

A day of cleaning!

Fortunately, when you have a cute apron and gloves, it does make cleaning a little better! (Thanks Susie for the cute outfit!) Please don't look at the background, this was the before shot. {My camera is still acting up, so I'm sorry for the dark shot! My apron and gloves are red with black polka dots and cute ruffles on both!}

Ahhh...the after shot! Our little red and white kitchen was scrubbed, dusted, swept, and mopped so it shines!

So wonderful to have our white grout actually white!

I love this tiered wire rack that Mom bought us (and painted red to match) and right now it is filled with fruit and veggies. I love seeing the vibrant colors of the lemons, green apples, and new potatoes filling the baskets.


This is the corner between the stove and fridge. The bowl that is displayed was a wedding gift that my cousin, Pauline, painted with our names in different writing styles, so fun!

This is our little wine monkey, but since we aren't big wine drinkers, he is holding Chris' Captain Morgan rum bottle. (at first I thought of him as a little odd creature, but he grew on me and now puts a smile on my face when I see his big grin)

Today was the first day that it felt like Fall, there was definitely a crispness in the air. When I went to Trader Joe's to get some veggies to add to our dinner, I found mulling spices. Mom always had some simmering on the stove in the Fall and it reminds me of home, filling the house with delicious aromas.


I hope that you are enjoying your Thursday and are getting ready for the changing of the seasons!